[6-text p 178]
ffor ye / so kyndely / this oother day
Lente me gold / and as I kan and may
Line 1544
I thanke yow / by god and by seint Iame
But nathelees / I took vn to oure dame
Youre wyf / at hom / the same gold ageyn
Vpon youre bench / she woot it wel certeyn
Line 1548
By certeyn tokenes / that I kan yow telle
Now by youre leue / I may no lenger dwelle
Oure Abbot wole out of this toun anon
And in his compaignye / moot I goon
Line 1552
Grete wel oure dame / myn owene Nece sweete
And fare wel deere cosyn / til we meete
This Marchant which þat was ful war and wys
Creanced hath / and payd eek in Parys
Line 1556
To certeyn lumbardes / redy in hir hond [.i. obligacionem]
The somme of gold / and hadde of hem his bond
And hoom he gooth / murie / as a Papeiay
ffor wel he knew / he stood in swich array
Line 1560
That nedes moste he wynne in that viage
A thousand frankes / abouen al his costage
¶ His wyf ful redy / mette hym atte gate
As she was wont of oold vsage algate
Line 1564
And al that nyght in myrthe they bisette
ffor he was riche / and cleerly out of dette
Whan it was day / this Marchant gan embrace
His wyf / al newe / and kiste hire on hir face
Line 1568
And vp he gooth / and maketh it ful tough [folio 151b]
¶ Namoore quod she / by god ye haue ynough
And wantownely agayn / with hym she pleyde
¶ Til atte laste / this Marchant seyde
Line 1572
By god quod he / I am a litel wrooth
With yow my wyf / al-though it were me looth
And woot ye why / by god as þat I gesse
That ye han maad / a manere straungenesse
Line 1576
Bitwixen me / and my cosyn daun Iohn
Ye sholde han warned me / er I had gon
