Justice he was ful often in assise,

By patent, and by pleine commissioun ;
For his science, and for his high renoun,
Of fees and robes had he many on.
So grete a pourchasour was nowher non.
All was fee simple to him in effect,
His pourchasing might not ben in suspect.
Nowher so besy a man as he ther n'as,
And yet he semed besier than he was.
In termes hadde he cas and domes' alle,
That fro the time of king Will. weren falle.
Therto he coude endite, and make a thing,
Ther coude no wight pinche at his writing.
And every statute coude he plaine by rote.
He rode but homely in a medlee cote,
Girt with a seint of silk, with barres smale;
Of his array tell I no lenger tale.

A FRANKELEIN was in this compagnie ;
White was his berd, as is the dayesie.
Of his complexion he was sanguin.

Wel loved he by the morwe a sop in win.
To liven in delit was ever his wone,

For he was Epicures owen sone,

That held opinion, that plein delit

Was veraily felicite parfite.

An housholder, and that a grete was he;

Seint Julian he was in his contree,

1 Dooms, judgments.

His brede, his ale, was alway after on;
A better envyned' man was no wher non.
Withouten bake mete never was his hous,
Of fish and flesh, and that so plenteous,
It snewed in his hous of mete and drinke,
Of alle deintees that men coud of thinke,
After the sondry sesons of the yere,

So changed he his mete and his soupere.
Ful many a fat partrich hadde he in mewe,
And many a breme, and many a luce in stewe.
Wo was his coke, but if his sauce were
Poinant and sharpe, and redy all his gere.
His table dormant in his halle alway
Stode redy covered alle the longe day.

At sessions ther was he lord and sire.
Ful often time he was knight of the shire
An anelace and a gipciere' all of silk,
Heng at his girdel, white as morwe milk.
A shereve hadde he ben, and a countour.
Was no wher swiche a worthy vavasour.

An HABERDASHER, and a CARPENTER, A WEBBE, a DEYER, and a TAPISER, Were alle yclothed in o livere

Of a solempne and grete fraternite.

Ful freshe and newe hir gere ypiked was.

Hir knives were ychaped not with bras,

But all with silver wrought ful clene and wel,

Hir girdeles and hir pouches every del.1
Wel semed eche of hem a fayre burgeis.

To sitten in a gild halle, on the deis.
Everich for the wisdom that he can,
Was shapelich for to ben an alderman.
For catel hadden they ynough and rent,
And eke hir wives wolde it wel assent:
And elles certainly they were to blame.
It is ful fayre to be ycleped madame,
And for to gon to vigiles all before,
And have a mantel reallich2 ybore.

A COKE they hadden with hem for the nones, To boile the chikenes and the marie bones, And poudre marchant, tart and galingale.3 Wel coude he knowe a draught of London ale. He coude roste, and sethe, and broile, and frie, Maken mortrewes, and wel bake a pie. But gret harm was it, as it thoughte me, That on his shinne a mormals hadde he. For blanc manger that made he with the best.

A SHIPMAN was ther, woned fer by West:
For ought I wote, he was of Dertemouth.
He rode upon a rouncie, as he couthe,
All in a goune of falding to the knee.

A dagger hanging by a las hadde he

About his nekke under his arm adoun.

The hote sommer hadde made his hewe al broun. And certainly he was a good felaw.

Ful many a draught of win he hadde draw

From Burdeux ward, while that the chapman slepe.

Of nice conscience toke he no kepe.

If that he faught, and hadde the higher hand,

By water he sent hem home to every land.

But of his craft to reken wel his tides,

His stremes and his strandes him besides,
His herberwe, his mone, and his lodemanage,"
Ther was non swiche, from Hull unto Cartage.
Hardy he was, and wise, I undertake:
With many a tempest hadde his berd be shake.
He knew wel alle the havens, as they were,
Fro Gotland to the Cape de Finistere,
And every creke in Bretagne and in Spaine.
His barge ycleped was the Magdelaine.

With us ther was a DOCTOUR OF PHISIKE,
In all this world ne was ther non him like
To speke of phisike, and of surgerie :
For he was grounded in astronomie.

He kept his patient a ful gret del

In houres by his magike naturel.
Wel coude he fortunen the ascendant

Of his images for his patient.

He knew the cause

of

every maladie,

Were it of cold, or hote, or moist, or drie,
And wher engendred, and of what humour,
He was a veray parfite practisour.

The cause yknowe, and of his harm the rote,
Anon he gave to the sike man his bote.'
Ful redy hadde he his apothecaries

To send him dragges, and his lettuaries,
For eche of hem made other for to winne :

Hir frendship n'as not newe to beginne.

Wel knew he the old Esculapius,

And Dioscorides, and eke Rufus ;

Old Hippocras, Hali, and Gallien ;
Serapion, Rasis, and Avicen;

Averrois, Damascene, and Constantin ;
Bernard, and Gatisden, and Gilbertin.
Of his diete mesurable was he,

For it was of no superfluitee,

But of gret nourishing, and digestible.

His studie was but litel on the Bible.

In sanguin and in perse he clad was alle

Lined with taffata, and with sendalle.3

And yet he was but esy of dispence :

He kepte that he wan in the pestilence.

For gold in phisike is a cordial;
Therfore he loved gold in special.

A good WIF was ther of beside BATHE,

But she was som del defe, and that was scathe.

1 Remedy.

2 In blood-red and in sky-blue.

3 A thin silk.