CHAUCER
WOMEN ben full of Ragerie,
Yet swinken nat sans secrefie.
Thilke moral shall ye understond,
From Schoole-boy's Tale of fayre Irelond :
Which to the Fennes hath him betake,
To filch the gray Ducke fro the Lake.
Right then, there passen by the Way
His Aunt, and eke her Daughters tway.
Ducke in his Trowses hath he hent,
Not to be spied of Ladies gent.
"But ho! our Nephew, (crieth one)
"Ho! quoth another, Cozen John;
And stoppen, and lough, and callen out,-
This fely Clerk full low doth lout:
They asken that, and talken this,
"Lo here is Coz, and here is Miss.
But, as he glozeth with Speeches foote,
The Ducke fore tickleth his Erse roote:
Fore-piece and buttons all-to-brest,
Forth thrust a white neck, and red crest.
Te-he, cry'd Ladies; Clerke nought spake:
Miss star'd; and gray Ducke crieth Quaake.
"O Moder, Moder, (quoth the daughter)
"Be thilke same thing Maids longer a'ter?
"Bette is to pyne on coals and chalke,
" Then trust on Mon, whose yerde can talke.
N ev'ry Town, where Thamis rolls his Tyde,
A narrow Pass there is, with Houses low;
Where ever and anon, the Stream is ey'd,
And many a Boat soft sliding to and fro.
There oft are heard the notes of Infant Woe,
The short thick Sob, loud Scream, and shriller
How can ye, Mothers, vex your Children so ? Some play, fome eat, some cack against the wall, And as they crouchen low, for bread and butter call.
And on the broken pavement, here and there, 10
Doth many a stinking sprat and herring lie;
A brandy and tobacco shop is near,
And hens, and dogs, and hogs are feeding by;
And here a failor's jacket hangs to dry.
At ev'ry door are fun-burnt matrons seen,
Mending old nets to catch the scaly fry;
Now finging shrill, and scolding eft between;
Scolds answer foul-mouth'd scolds; bad neighbour-
The snappish cur, (the passengers annoy)
Close at my heel with yelping treble flies; 20
The whimp'ring girl, and hoarfer-screaming boy,
Join to the yelping treble, shrilling cries;
The fcolding Quean to louder notes doth rise,
And her full pipes those shrilling cries confound;
To her full pipes the grunting hog replies;
The grunting hogs alarm the neighbours round,
And curs, girls, boys, and scolds, in the deep bafe
Hard by a Sty, beneath a roof of thatch,
Dwelt Obloquy, who in her early days
Baskets of fish at Billinsgate did watch,
Cod, whiting, oyster, mackrel, sprat, or plaice: There learn'd she speech from tongues that never
|