A posie of gilloflowers eche differing from other in colour and odour, yet all sweete. By Humfrey Gifford gent.

¶Maister Gasparinus a Phisition, by his cunning, healeth fooles.

THere dwelt in times past in Englande, a very rich man who had one only sonne, cal∣led Gasparinus, whom he sent ouer too the vniuersity of Padua, that he might there follow his studie: but hee making no ac∣count of learning, spēt his time in gaming and rioting, haunting brothel houses, and o∣ther suspected places, leading y^e most dissolute life that might be: His father thinking that he spent his time in the study of Phisicke; he practized in stéed of bookes, bowles; for disputing di••ing; and whereas he should haue attayned learning, he al∣together frequēted loytring. Hauing remayned there y^e space of fiue yéeres, he returned into his countrey and shewed by ex¦perience y^• he had learned backwards, for going about to séem a Romaine, he manifested himselfe to be a Barbarian; and men noted him and poynted at him, as a common laughing stocke, in the towne where he dwelt. What griefe it was vn∣to

the poore father to sée his cost lost, and his onely childe as it were cast away, I referre the consideration thereof to your discretions. Wherfore for the mitigating of his sorowes, hée called his sonne vnto him, and opening a chest full of money and iewels, layde forth vnto him the one halfe of his goodes (which verily he deserued not) & said, Take here (my sonne) thy portion of thy fathers hereditamentes, & get thée farre frō me; For I rather choose to remain without a child, then to liue with thée in infamie. No sooner were these words spoken, but he most willingly obeying his fathers commandement finge∣ring the money, tooke his leaue & departed. And being farre di∣stant from him, at the entrance of a wood néere a riuer, hée built a costly & sumptuous pallace, the gates being of brasse, and with this riuer it was moated about. Herein with a de∣uice of sluces he made certayne litle pooles, whose depth hée woulde encrease or diminish at his pleasure. Into some, the water entred the depth of a man; into some other, y^• it would reach to his eyes; others, vnto the nauel, some to the middle, & some to the knées; & vnto euery of these pooles, an yron chaine was fastened. Ouer the gate of this pallace was a title writ∣ten, which sayd, A place, wherein to heale fooles. The fame of this pallace, in short space, was spread abrode in most places of the world, & fooles repayred thither in great abundance, to be cured, but (to speake more néerer the troth) to bée washed. The maister according to the greatnes of their follies, would plundge them in these pits, and some of these he would heale with whippings, some with watching, some with fasting, & other some by little & litle he would restore to their former e∣state, & vnderstanding, by the tēperature & suttlety of y^• ayre. On a time in a large court, without the gates of this pallace, as certayne of the meanest sort of these fooles, were sporting themselues in the heate of the sunne, it fortuned that a Fal∣coner came by, which carried a sparhawk on his fist, hauing a great number of Spaniels wayting on him. Who presently beyng espird by these fooles, they maruelled greatly what he meant to ride with that birde and spaniels: and one of them

demanded of him what bird it was that he carried on his fist? He answered, a Sparhawke. And to what end (quoth he) doe yée kéepe her? (quoth the Gentleman) shée is a birde gréedy at her pray, and I keepe her to kill Partridge with, which is a great bird, and delicate in tast: these are called spaniels which spring and retrine the birdes, & this sparhauke killeth them, and I eate them. Quoth the ••oole then: I pray doe tel me what this Sparhawke & Spaniels stand thée in? The Falconer made answeare, I bought the horse that I ride on, for sixe pound, the Sparhawke cost mée twenty shillings, & my Spa¦niels thrée pouud: and the féeding and nourishing of all these yéerely, I value at xx. pounds. Now I beséech thée tell mée said the foole how many Partridges thou takest yéerely, and what they bée woorth. I catch (quoth he) about two hundred, and they are at the least, woorth twenty shillings. The foole, but not a foole herin, but rather he shewed himself very wise, with a loude voyce cried vnto him, fly, fly, foole that thou art, which spendest twenty pound yéerely, for the gaining of twē∣ty shillings, and yet reckonest not the time, that is vaynely consumed. Fly with al spéede, for the passion of God, fly, for if my maister finde thée héere, he will throw thée into a pitte, where thou shalt be plunged ouer head & eares, & be suffered hardly to escape with life. For I which am a f••ole, may dis∣cerne that thou art more foolish then them which are most foolish of all.