The Shipman's Tale
Folio 153v
7 of 9 folios
By twixt vs two / nedetħ no straunge fare
Fare wel Cosyn / god shilde ȝow from care
265
And if that any thyng / by day or nygħt
If it be in my power / and my mygħt
That ȝe me wol comaunde / in any wyse
It shal be don / rigħt as ȝe wol deuyse
But oo thyng or that ȝe gon / if it may be
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I wolde preye ȝow / for to lene me
An hondred Frankes / for a weke or tweye
For certeyne bestes / that I must beye
To store witħ a place / that is oures
God helpe me so / I wolde it were ȝoures
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I shal nat faile surely / of my day
Nat for a thousand frankes / a myle way
But lat this thyng besecree / I ȝow preye
For ȝet to nygħt / theise bestes mot I beye
And fare now wel / myn owen Cosyn deere
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Graunt mercy of ȝoure cost / and of ȝoure chere
¶ This noble Marchaūt / gentilly a noon
Answered and seide / o Cosyn myn / Daun Ioħn
Now sekirly / this is a smal request
My gold is ȝoures / whan that it ȝow lest
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And nat oonly my gold / but my chaffare
Take what ȝow lest / god shilde that ȝe spare
But o thyng is this / ȝe knowen it wel I now
Of chapmen / that here moneye is here plow
We moun creaunce / whil we han a name
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But goldlees for to ben / it is no game
Paie it a geyn / whan it litħ in ȝoure ese
After my mygħt / ful fayn wyl I ȝow plese
Theise hondred frankes / he fette fortħ a noon
And piuely he toke hem / to Daun Ioħn
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No wigħt in al this world / wist of this lone
Sauyng this Marchaūt / and Daun Ioħn allone
They drynke and speke / & rome a while and pleye
Til that Daun Ioħn / ridetħ to his Abbeye
¶ The morwe cam / and fortħ this Marchaūt ridetħ
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To Flaundres ward / his Prentys wel hi gydetħ
Til he come in to Brugges / merily
Now gotħ this Marchaūt / faste and bisily
A boute hise nedes / and byetħ and creauncetħ
He neither pleyetħ atte dees / ne dauncetħ
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But as a Marchaūt / shortly for to telle
He ledetħ his lyf / and there I lete hi dwelle