He that me broughte first unto that game,
Er that he die forwe have he and shame,
For it is erneft to me by my faith;
That fele I wel, what that any man faith;
And yet for all my fmert and all my grief,
For all my forwe, labour, and meschief,
I coude never leve it in no wife.
Now wolde God my wit mighte fuffice
To tellen all that longeth to that art;
But natheles yet wol I tellen part:
Sin that my lord is gon I wol not spare;
Swiche thing as that I know I wol declare.

16180

16185

16190

THE CHAN. YEMANNES TALE. WITH this chanon I dwelt have seven yere, And of his fcience am I never the nere; All that I had I have ylost therby, And God wot fo han many mo than I. Ther I was wont to be right fresh and gay Of clothing, and of other good array, Now may I were an hose upon min hed;

And wher my colour was both fresh and red 16195 Now is it wan and of a leden hewe;

(Who fo it useth fo fhal he it rewe)

And of my fwinke yet blered is min eye;

Lo which avantage is to multiplie!

The Chanones Yemannes Tale] A prieft of London, more covetous than wife, is deceived by a chanon proteiing the art of alchymye, Urry.

While this Yeman was thus in his talking

This chanon drow him nere and herd all thing
Which this Yeman fpake, for fufpecion
Of mennes fpeche ever had this chanon;
For Caton fayth, that he that gilty is
Demeth all thing be spoken of him ywis:
That was the cause he gan fo nigh him drawe
To his Yeman, to herken all his fawe;
And thus he faide unto his Yeman tho:
Hold thou thy pees, and fpeke no wordes mo,
For if thou do thou fhalt it dere abie:
Thou fclaundrest me here in this compagnie,
And eke difcovereft that thou shuldest hide.

16155

16160

Ye, quod our Hofte, tell on, what fo betide; Of all his thretening recke not a mite.

In faith, quod he, no more I do but lite. And whan this chanou faw it wold not be But his Yeman wold tell his privetee,

16166

He fled away for veray forwe and shame.

16170

A! quod the Yeman, here fhal rife a game:

All that I can anon I wol you telle,

Sin he is gon: the foule fend him quelle,

For never hereafter wol I with him mete

For peny ne for pound, I you behete.

16175

. 16156. For Caton fayth] This precept of Cato is in 1. i.

dift. 17.;

Ne cures fi quis tacito fermone loquatur;
Confcius ipfe fibi de fe putat omnia dici.

He that me broughte first unto that game,

Er that he die forwe have he and fhame,
For it is ernest to me by my faith;
That fele I wel, what that any man faith;
And yet for all my fmert and all my grief,
For all my forwe, labour, and meschief,
I coude never leve it in no wife.

Now wolde God my wit mighte fuffice
To tellen all that longeth to that art;
But natheles yet wol I tellen part:
Sin that my lord is gon I wol not spare;
Swiche thing as that I know I wol declare.

16180

16185

THE CHAN. YEMANNES TALE. Wo ITH this chanon I dwelt have seven yere, And of his fcience am I never the nere;

All that I had I have yloft therby,

16190

And God wot fo han many mo than I.
Ther I was wont to be right fresh and gay
Of clothing, and of other good array,
Now may I were an hofe upon min hed;
And wher my colour was both fresh and red 16195

Now is it wan and of a leden hewe;

(Who fo it useth fo fhal he it rewe)

And of my fwinke yet blered is min eye;
Lo which avantage is to multiplie!

The Chanones Yemannes Tale] A prief of London, more cnvetous than wife, is deceived by a chanon profeffing the art of alchymye, Urry..

That fliding science hath me made fo bare
That I have no good wher that ever I fare;
And yet I am endetted fo therby,
Of gold that I have borwed trewely,
That while I live I fhal it quiten never;
Let every man beware by me for ever.
What maner man that cafteth him therto,

If he continue, I hold his thrift ydo;

1620

16205

So helpe me God, therby fhal he nat winne,
But empte his purfe, and make his wittes thinne.
And whan he thurgh his madnesse and folie, 16210
Hath loft his owen good thurgh jupartie,

Than he exciteth other folk therto,

To lefe hir good as he himself hath do,
For unto fhrewes joye it is and efe

To have hir felawes in peine and disese.
Thus was I ones lerned of a clerk.

16215

Of that no charge; I wol fpeke of our werk.

. 16211. thurgh jupartie] So mf. C. t. I have followed it as it comes nearest to the true original of our word jeopardy, which our etymologifts have fadly mistaken: they deduce it from j'ai perdu or jeu perdu, but I rather believe it to be a corruption of jeu parti. A jeu parti is properly a game in which the chances are exactly even. [See Froifart, v. i. c. 234. ; “ils "n'eftoient pas à jeu parti contre les Francois. V. ii. c. 9, Se nous "les voyons à jeu parti."] From hence it fignifies any thing uncertain or hazardous. In the old French poetry the difcuffion of a problem where much might be faid on both fides was called a jeu parti. See Poefies du Roy de Navarre, Chanfɔn xlviii, and Glo in v. See also Du Cange, in v. Focus partitus.

Whan we be ther as we fhuin exercise
Our elvish craft we femen wonder wife,
Our termes ben fo clergial and queinte.
I blow the fire til that myn herte feinte.
What fhuld I tellen eche proportion
Of thinges whiche that we werchen upon,
As on five or fix unces, may wel be,
Of filver, or fom other quantitee?
And befie me to tellen you the names,

16220

16225

As orpiment, brent bones, yren fquames,
That into poudre grounden ben ful fmai?
And in an erthen pot how put is al,

And falt yput in and also pepere,

16230

Beforn thife poudres that I fpeke of here,

And wel ycovered with a lampe of glas?

And of moche other thing which that ther was?
And of the pottes and giaffes engluting,

That of the aire might paffen out no thing? 16235

Aad of the efy fire, and fmert alfo,

Which that was made? and of the care and wo
That we had in our materes fubliming,

And in amalgaming and calcening

Of quickfilver ycleped Mercurie crude?

16240

For all our fleightes we can not conclude.

Our orpiment and fublimed mercurie,

Cur grounden litarge eke on the porphurie,
Of eche of thife of unces a certain

Not helpeth us; our labour is in vain.

16245