TALES.

TALES.

AN ANSWER TO THE

SOMPNER'S PROLOGUE OF CHAUCER.

IN IMITATION OF CHAUCER'S STYLE.

THE Sompner leudly hath his prologue told,
And saine on the freers his tale japing and bold,
How that in hell they searchen near and wide,
And ne one freer in all thilke place espyde;
But lo! the devil turn'd his erse about,
And twenty thousand freers wend in and out;
By which in Geoffry's rhyming it appears,
The devil's belly is the hive of freers.

Now listneth, lordings! forthwith ye shall hear,
What happen'd at a house in Lancashire.
A misere that had londs and tenement,

Who raketh from his villaines taxes and rent,
Owned a house which emptye long ystood,
Full deeply sited in a derkning wood;
Murmring a shallow brook runneth along,
'Mong the round stones it maken doleful song.
Now there spreaden a rumour that everich night
The rooms yhaunted been by many a sprite,

The miller avoucheth, and all there about,
That they full oft hearen the hellish rout;
Some saine they hear the jingling of chains,
And some hath yheard the psautries straines :
At midnight some the headless horse ymeet,
And some espien a corse in a white sheet,
And oother things, faye, elfin, and elfe,
And shapes that fear createn to it selfe.
Now it so hapt, there was not ferre away,
Of grey freers a fair and rich abbaye,
Where liven a freer ycleped Pere Thomas,
Who daren alone in derke through church-yerds

pass.

This freer would lye in thilke house all night, In hope he might espyen a dreadful sprite. He taketh candle, beades, and holy watere, And legends eke of saintes, and bookes of prayere: He entereth the room, and looketh round about, And haspen the door to haspen the goblin out. The candle hath he put close by the bed, And in low tone his Ave Marye said: With water now besprinkled hath the floore, And maken cross on key-hole of the doore. Ne was there not a mouse-hole in thilke place, But he y-crossed hath by God his grace: He crossed hath this, and eke he crossed that, With Benedicite, and God knows what.

Now he goeth to bed and lieth adown,

When the clock had just stricken the twelfth

soun.