Chaucer's Works-The Canterbury Tales Part 62

O lord, the peyne I dide hem and the wo, Ful giltelees, by G.o.ddes swete pyne! 385 For as an hors I coude byte and whyne.

I coude pleyne, thogh I were in the gilt, Or elles often tyme hadde I ben spilt.

Who-so that first to mille comth, first grint; I pleyned first, so was our werre y-stint. 390 They were ful glad to excusen hem ful blyve Of thing of which they never agilte hir lyve.

383. Hl. vpon. 385. E. Hn. giltlees. 389. _So_ Hn. Cp. Pt. Ln.; E.

Who so comth first to mille; Hl. Who-so first cometh to the mylle.

391. E. Cm. _om. 2nd_ ful.

Of wenches wolde I beren him on honde, Whan that for syk unnethes mighte he stonde.

Yet tikled it his herte, for that he 395 Wende that I hadde of him so greet chiertee.

I swoor that al my walkinge out by nighte Was for tespye wenches that he dighte; Under that colour hadde I many a mirthe.

For al swich wit is yeven us in our birthe; 400 [332: T. 5983-6019.]

Deceite, weping, spinning G.o.d hath yive To wommen kindely, whyl they may live.

And thus of o thing I avaunte me, Atte ende I hadde the bettre in ech degree, By sleighte, or force, or by som maner thing, 405 As by continuel murmur or grucching; Namely a bedde hadden they meschaunce, Ther wolde I chyde and do hem no plesaunce; I wolde no lenger in the bed abyde, If that I felte his arm over my syde, 410 Til he had maad his raunson un-to me; Than wolde I suffre him do his nycetee.

And ther-fore every man this tale I telle, Winne who-so may, for al is for to selle.

With empty hand men may none haukes lure; 415 For winning wolde I al his l.u.s.t endure, And make me a feyned appetyt; And yet in bacon hadde I never delyt; That made me that ever I wolde hem chyde.

For thogh the pope had seten hem biside, 420 I wolde nat spare hem at hir owene bord.

For by my trouthe, I quitte hem word for word.

As help me verray G.o.d omnipotent, Thogh I right now sholde make my testament, I ne owe hem nat a word that it nis quit. 425 I broghte it so aboute by my wit, That they moste yeve it up, as for the beste; Or elles hadde we never been in reste.

For thogh he loked as a wood leoun, Yet sholde he faille of his conclusioun. 430

393. E. hym; _rest_ hem; _but see_ 394. 395. E. it; _rest_ I. 400.

E. thyng was; _rest_ wit is. 401. E. yeue. 402. _All but_ Hn. Hl.

_ins._ that _before_ they. 406. E. continueel. 428. E. rest.

Thanne wolde I seye, 'G.o.de lief, tak keep How mekely loketh Wilkin oure sheep; Com neer, my spouse, lat me ba thy cheke!

Ye sholde been al pacient and meke, And han a swete spyced conscience, 435 Sith ye so preche of Iobes pacience.

Suffreth alwey, sin ye so wel can preche; [333: T. 6020-6056.]

And but ye do, certain we shal yow teche That it is fair to have a wyf in pees.

Oon of us two moste bowen, doutelees; 440 And sith a man is more resonable Than womman is, ye moste been suffrable.

What eyleth yow to grucche thus and grone?

Is it for ye wolde have my queynte allone?

Why taak it al, lo, have it every-deel; 445 Peter! I shrewe yow but ye love it weel!

For if I wolde selle my _bele chose,_ I coude walke as fresh as is a rose; But I wol kepe it for your owene tooth.

Ye be to blame, by G.o.d, I sey yow sooth.' 450

431. Cp. Pt. Hl. _ins._ now _before_ goode. 445. E. Hn. Pt. Wy.

Swiche maner wordes hadde we on honde.

Now wol I speken of my fourthe housbonde.

My fourthe housbonde was a revelour, This is to seyn, he hadde a paramour; And I was yong and ful of ragerye, 455 Stiborn and strong, and Ioly as a pye.

Wel coude I daunce to an harpe smale, And singe, y-wis, as any nightingale, Whan I had dronke a draughte of swete wyn.

Metellius, the foule cherl, the swyn, 460 That with a staf birafte his wyf hir lyf, For she drank wyn, thogh I hadde been his wyf, He sholde nat han daunted me fro drinke; And, after wyn, on Venus moste I thinke: For al so siker as cold engendreth hayl, 465 A likerous mouth moste han a likerous tayl.

In womman vinolent is no defence, This knowen lechours by experience.

456. Cm. Cp. Ln. Styborne; Pt. Hl. Stiborn; E. Hn. Stibourne. 464.

Cm. muste; Ln. must. 467. E. Hl. wommen.

But, lord Crist! whan that it remembreth me Up-on my yowthe, and on my Iolitee, 470 It tikleth me aboute myn herte rote.

Unto this day it dooth myn herte bote That I have had my world as in my tyme.

But age, allas! that al wol envenyme, [334: T. 6057-6093.]

Hath me biraft my beautee and my pith; 475 Lat go, fare-wel, the devel go therwith!

The flour is goon, ther is na-more to telle, The bren, as I best can, now moste I selle; But yet to be right mery wol I fonde.

Now wol I tellen of my fourthe housbonde. 480

479. E. myrie; Hn. murye.

I seye, I hadde in herte greet despyt That he of any other had delyt.

But he was quit, by G.o.d and by seint Ioce!

I made him of the same wode a croce; Nat of my body in no foul manere, 485 But certeinly, I made folk swich chere, That in his owene grece I made him frye For angre, and for verray Ialousye.

By G.o.d, in erthe I was his purgatorie, For which I hope his soule be in glorie. 490 For G.o.d it woot, he sat ful ofte and song Whan that his shoo ful bitterly him wrong.

Ther was no wight, save G.o.d and he, that wiste, In many wyse, how sore I him twiste.

He deyde whan I cam fro Ierusalem, 495 And lyth y-grave under the rode-beem, Al is his tombe noght so curious As was the sepulcre of him, Darius, Which that Appelles wroghte subtilly; It nis but wast to burie him preciously. 500 Lat him fare-wel, G.o.d yeve his soule reste, He is now in the grave and in his cheste.

486. E. c_er_tein. 497. E. Hn. curyus.

Now of my fifthe housbond wol I telle.

G.o.d lete his soule never come in h.e.l.le!

And yet was he to me the moste shrewe; 505 That fele I on my ribbes al by rewe, And ever shal, un-to myn ending-day.

But in our bed he was so fresh and gay, And ther-with-al so wel coude he me glose, Whan that he wolde han my _bele chose,_ 510 That thogh he hadde me bet on every boon, [335: T. 6094-6129.]

He coude winne agayn my love anoon.

I trowe I loved him beste, for that he Was of his love daungerous to me.

We wommen han, if that I shal nat lye, 515 In this matere a queynte fantasye; Wayte what thing we may nat lightly have, Ther-after wol we crye al-day and crave.

Forbede us thing, and that desyren we; Prees on us faste, and thanne wol we flee. 520 With daunger oute we al our chaffare; Greet prees at market maketh dere ware, And to greet cheep is holde at litel prys; This knoweth every womman that is wys.

508. E. ful; _rest_ so. 511. Cp. Hl. boon; _rest_ bon. 513. Cm. Hl.

beste; E. Hn. best; Cp. Pt. the bet; Ln. bette. 520. E. Hn. Preesse; Cm Presse. 521. E. Hn. Cm. oute; Cp. Ln. Hl. outen; Pt. outer.

My fifthe housbonde, G.o.d his soule blesse! 525 Which that I took for love and no richesse, He som-tyme was a clerk of Oxenford, And had left scole, and wente at hoom to bord With my gossib, dwellinge in oure toun, G.o.d have hir soule! hir name was Alisoun. 530 She knew myn herte and eek my privetee Bet than our parisshe-preest, so moot I thee!

To hir biwreyed I my conseil al.

For had myn housbonde p.i.s.sed on a wal, Or doon a thing that sholde han cost his lyf, 535 To hir, and to another worthy wyf, And to my nece, which that I loved weel, I wolde han told his conseil every-deel.

And so I dide ful often, G.o.d it woot, That made his face ful often reed and hoot 540 For verray shame, and blamed him-self for he Had told to me so greet a privetee.

528. E. hadde; hom. 532. E. Hn. as; _rest_ so. 534. E. Hn. Cm. Cp.

hadde.

And so bifel that ones, in a Lente, (So often tymes I to my gossib wente, For ever yet I lovede to be gay, 545 And for to walke, in March, Averille, and May, Fro hous to hous, to here sondry talis), [336: T. 6130-6164.]

That Iankin clerk, and my gossib dame Alis, And I my-self, in-to the feldes wente.

Myn housbond was at London al that Lente; 550 I hadde the bettre leyser for to pleye, And for to see, and eek for to be seye Of l.u.s.ty folk; what wiste I wher my grace Was shapen for to be, or in what place?

Therefore I made my visitaciouns, 555 To vigilies and to processiouns, To preching eek and to thise pilgrimages, To pleyes of miracles and mariages, And wered upon my gaye scarlet gytes.

Thise wormes, ne thise motthes, ne thise mytes, 560 Upon my peril, frete hem never a deel; And wostow why? for they were used weel.

545. Hn. Cm. louede; E. Hl. loued. 550. E. the; _rest_ that. 558.

E. Hn. and to; Cm. Cp. Pt. Ln. and of; Hl. _om._ to (_or_ of). 561.

E. Hn. Cm. Cp. peril (_correctly_); Pt. perile; Ln. Hl. perel.

Now wol I tellen forth what happed me.

I seye, that in the feeldes walked we, Til trewely we hadde swich daliance, 565 This clerk and I, that of my purveyance I spak to him, and seyde him, how that he, If I were widwe, sholde wedde me.

For certeinly, I sey for no bobance, Yet was I never with-outen purveyance 570 Of mariage, nof othere thinges eek.