A mery gest how a sergeau[n]t woldel erne [sic] to be a frere More, Thomas, Sir, Saint, 1478-1535. This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A07705 of text S110034 in the English Short Title Catalog (STC 18091). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 12 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2018 A07705 STC 18091 ESTC S110034 99845654 99845654 10568 2240928883

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Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A07705) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 10568) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1475-1640 ; 137:18) A mery gest how a sergeau[n]t woldel erne [sic] to be a frere More, Thomas, Sir, Saint, 1478-1535. [8] p. : ill. (woodcut) By me Iulyan Notary dwelly[n]g in Powlys churche yarde at the weste dore at the sygne of saynt Marke, [Enprynted at Londo[n] : [1516?]] By Sir Thomas More. In verse. Caption title. Printer's name and address from colophon; publication date conjectured by STC. Signatures: pi⁴. Reproduction of a photostat of the original in the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. eng eebo A mery gest how a sergeau[n]t woldel erne [sic] to be a frere: More, Thomas, Sir, Saint, 1516 9 1917 5 0 0 0 0 0 26.08 C The rate of 26.08 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the C category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2002-02 Assigned for keying and markup 2002-02 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2002-03 Sampled and proofread 2002-03 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2002-04 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion
A mery gest how a sergeaunt woldel erne to be a frete :

Wyse men alwaye Afferme & say / the best is For a dylygently ( man For to apply / the besynes that he and in no wyse ( can To enterpryse / an other faculte For he that wyll And can no skyll / is neuer lyke to the He that hath lafte The hosiers crafte & falleth to makynge The smythe that shall ( shone To pantynge fall his thryfte is welhygh A blacke draper ( done With wyte yaꝑ / to go to wrytynge stole An olde butler Betun a cutler / I wene shal proue afole In olde trot That good can not / but euer kysse the cup With her pbysyke Wyll kepe oneseke / tyll she haue soued hym vp A man of lawe That neuer sawe / the wayes to by and sell wenynge to aryse By marchaundyse / I praye god spede hym well A marchaunt cke That wyll good seke / by all the meanes he maye To fall in sute Tyll he dyspute / his monay clene awaye Pletynge the lawe For euery strawe / shall proue a thryfty man with bate and stryfe But by my lyfe / I can not tell you whan whan an hatter wyll go smater In phylosophy Or a pedlat waxe a medlar / in theolegy All that ensewe Suche craftes ne we / they dryue so fere a cast That euer more They do ther fore / boshre we them selfe at laste This thynge was cryed And vere tyed / here by a sergeaunt late That tyfely was Or he coude pas / rapped aboute the pate Whyle that he wolde Se how he coude / in goddes'name play the frere Now yf you wyll Knowe how hyt fyll / Take hede & ye shall here It happed so Not longe ago / a thryfty man dyede An hondred pounde Of nobles rounde that had he layde a syde His sone he wolde Sholde haue this golde / for to begyne with all But to suffyce His chylde well thryes / the monay were to small ! yet or this daye I haue helde saye / that many a man certesse Hath with good cast Be ryche at last / That hath begon , with lesse But this yonge man So well he can his monaye to Imploye That certenly His po●cy / role hyt was a Ioye For lest lum blaste Myght ouer caste / his shyp or by myschaunce Men with some wyle Myght hym begyle / & mynysshe his substaunce For to put out All manere doubte / he made a good putauye For euery why● Of his owne wyt / and toke other waye 〈…〉 te tayre and wele A grete dele / he dyghthyt in a pot But tenh hym thought That was nought / and there he lefte hyt not So was he fayne Frome thens agayne / to put hyt in a cup And by and by Couetously / he supped hytfayre vp In his owne brest He thought hyt best / his monaye to enclose Then wyst he well what euer fell he coude hyt neuer lose He porowed than Of a nother man / monaye and matchaundyse Neuer payde hyt Up he layde hyt / in lyke maner wyse yet on the gete That he wolde were / he rought not what he So hyt were nyce ( spente As for the pryce / coude hym not myscontente With lusty sporte And with resorce / of ioly company In myrthe and playe Full many a daye / he lyued merely And men had sworne Some man is borne / to haue a goodly floure And so was he For suche degre / he gate and suche honoure That with out doubte Whan he went out / a sergaunt well and fayre was redy strayte On him to wayte / as sowne as on the mayre But he doubtlesse Of his mekenes / hated suche pompe & pryde And wolde not go Compnyed so / but drewe hym selfe a syden To saynt Katheryne Streyght as a lyne / he gate hym at a tyde For promocyon Or promocyon / there wolde he nedes abyde There spence he fast Tyll all was past / and to hym rame there many To aske theyr det But non coude get / the valour of a peny With vysage stoute He bare hyt oute / vnto the harde hedge A moneth or twayne Tyll he was tayne to laye his gowne to pledge Than was he there In groter fere / then or that he came thyder And wolde as fayne De parte agayne / but that he wyst not whyther Than after this To a trende of his / he went and there abode Where as he laye So syke al waye / he myght not come abrode Hyt happed than A marchaunt man / that he ought monaye to Of an offycere Than gan enquyre / what hym was best to do And he answerde Be not a ferde / take an accyon therfore I you beheste I shall hym reste / and than care for no more I fere quod he Hyt wyll not be / for he wyll not com out The sergeaunt sayd Be not afrayde / hyt shall be brought aboute In many a game Lyke to the same haue I bene well in vre And for your sake Let me be bake / but yf I do this cure Thus part they bothe And to hym goth / a pace this offycere And for a daye All his araye / he chaunged with a frere So was he vyght That no man myght / hym for a frere deny He dopped and doked He spake and loked / so relygyously Yet in a glasse Or he wolde passe / he to ted and he peted His herte for pryde Lepte in his syde / to se how well he frered Than forth a pace Unto the place / he goeth in goddes name To do this dede But nowe take hede / for here begynneth the game He drewe hy nye And softly / at the dore he knocked A damoysell That herde hym well / came & it vnlocked The frere sayd God spede fayre mayde / here lodget such a man It is tolde me Well syr quod she / and yf he do what than Quod he maystresse No harme doublesse / hyt longethe for our ordre To hurte no man But as we can / euery wyght to fordre With hym truely Fayne speke wolde I / syr quod she by my faye He is so syke ye be not lyke / to speke with hym to daye Quod he fayre maye . yet I you praye / this moche at my despre vouche safe to do As to go hym to / and saye an austen frere molde with hym speke And maters breke / for his auayle certyne Quod he I wyll Stonde ye here styll / tyll I come downe agayne Up is she go And tolde hym so / as she wis bode to saye He mystrystynge No maner thynge / sayd mayden go they waye And fetche hym hyder That we togyder / may talke adowne she goth And vp she brought No harme she thought / but it made some folke But this offycere ( wroth This fayned frere / whan he was come alofte He dopped than And grete this man / relygyously and ofte And he agayne Ryght gladde & fayne / toke him there by the shoude The frere than sayd ye be dysmayde / hith trouble I vnderstonde In dede quod he Hyt hath with me ben better than hyt is Syr quod the frere Be of good chere / yet shall hyt after this For crystes sake Loke that you take / no thought in your brest God may tourne all And so he shall / I truste vnto the best But I wolde now Lomyn with you , in counsell yf you please Or elles nat Of maters that / shall set your herte at ease Downe went the mayde The marchaunt sayd / Now say on gentyll frere Of all this tydynge That ye me brynge / I longe full sore to here Whan there was none But they alone / the frete with euyll grace Sayd I rest the Come on with me / and out he toke his mace Thou shalte obaye Come on thy waye / I haue them in my cloche Thou goest not hense For all the pense / the mayre hath in his pouche This marchaunt there For wrathe and fete / waxed welnyghe wode Sayde horsone thefe With a maschete / who hath caught the good And with his fyste Upon the lyste / he gaue hym suche a blowe That bacwarde downe Almoste in sowne / the frere is ouer throwe yet was this man Well ferder than / lest he the frere had slayne Tyll with good rappes And heuy clappes / he dawde hym vp agayne The frere toke herte And vp he stette / and well he layed aboute And so there goth Betwene them bothe / many aluity cloute They rence and tere Eche other here / and claue togyder fast Tyll with luggynge Halynge & iugynge / they fell doune both at last That on the grounde Togyder rounde / with many asdde stroke The roll and rumble They tourne & cumble / lyke pygges in a poke So longe aboue They heue and shoue / togyder that at the last They mayde the wyfe To breke the stryfe / hyed them vpwarde faste And whan they se They captayues lye / walrtynge on the place T 〈…〉 p 〈…〉 ode They pulled a good : adoune about this face whyle he was blynde The wenche behynde / lent hym on the flore Many a Jolle Aboute the noise / with a grete batyll dore The wyfe came yet And with her fete / she holpe to kepe hym downe And with her rocke Many a knocke she gaue hym on the crowne They layde his mace Aboute his fuce / that he was wode for payne The frere frappe Gate many a swappe / tyll he was fall nyghe slayne Up they hymlyfte And with euyll thryfte / hedlynge all the stayre Downe they hym threwe And sayd a dewe / commaunde vs to the mayre The frere arose But I suppose / amased was his hede He shoke his eres And frome grete feres / he thought hym well a flede Quod he now lost Is all this cost / we be neuer the nere yll morche the That caused me / to make my selfe a frere Now maysters all And now I shall / ende there I began In ony wyse I wolde auyse / and counseyll euery man His owne crafe vse All newe refuse / and vtterly let them gone Playe not the frere Now make good there / and welcome euery chone Enprynted at Loudon by me Julyan Notary dwellyng in Powlys churche yarde at the wistedore at the sygne of saynt Macke