The Merchant's Tale
Folio 104v
5 of 26 folios
155
With face sad / his tale he hath hem toold
He seyde freendes / I am hoor and oold
And almoost god woot on my pittes brynke
Vp on the soule / somwhat moste I thynke
I haue my body / folily despended
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Blessed be god / that it shal been amended
For I wol be / certeyn a wedded man
And that anoon / in al the haste I kan
Vn to som mayde / fair / and tendre of age
I prey yow / shapeth for my mariage
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Al sodeynly / for I wol nat abyde
And I wol fonde / tespien on my syde
To whom / I may be wedded hastily
But for as muche / as ye been mo than I
Ye shullen rather / swich a thyng espyen
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Than I / and where me best were to allyen
¶ But o thyng warne I yow / my freendes deere
I wol noon oold wyf han / in no manere
She shal nat passe / twenty yeer certayn
Oold fissħ and yong / flessħ / wolde I haue fayn
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Bet is quod he / a pyk than a pykerel
And bet than olde boef is the tendre veel
I wol no wōman / thritty yeer of age
It is but benestraw / and greet forage
And eek / thise olde wydwes / god it woot
180
They konne / so muchel craft on wades boot
So muchel broken harm / whan þt hem leste
That wt hem / sholde I neuere lyue in reste
For sondry scoles / maken sotile clerkis
Wōman of manye scoles / half a clerk is
185
But certeynly / a yong thyng may men gye
Rigħt as men may / warm wex wt handes plye
Wherfore / I sey yow pleynly / in a clause
I wol noon oold wyf han / for this cause
For if so were / þt I hadde swich myschaūce
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That I in hir / ne koude han no plesaūce
Thanne sholde I lede my lyf in Auoutrye
And streigħt vnto the deuel / whan I dye
Ne children / sholde I none vp on hir geten
Yet were me leuere / þt houndes had me eten
195
Than þt myn heritage sholde falle
In straunge hand / and this I telle yow alle
I dote nat I woot the cause why ;
Men sholde wedde / and forthermoore woot I
Ther speketh / many a man of mariage
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That woot namoore of it than woot my page
For whiche causes / man sholde take a wyf
Siththe / he may nat lyuen chaast his lyf /