Wit and mirth chargeably collected out of tauernes, ordinaries, innes, bowling greenes, and allyes, alehouses, tobacco shops, highwaies, and water-passages : made vp, and fashioned into clinches, bulls, quirkes, yerkes, quips, and ierkes : apothegmatically bundled vp and garbled at the request of old Iohn Garrets ghost
Taylor, John, 1580-1653.

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A Poore labouring man was maried and natched to a creature that so much v∣sed 〈◊〉 scold waking, that she had much adoe to refrain it sleeping, so that the poore man was so batterfang'd and belabour'd with tongue mettle, that hee was weary of his life: at last foure or fiue woman that were his neighbours (pittying his case) came in his absence to his house to admonish and connsell his wife to a quiet behauiour to∣wards her husband; telling her that shee was a shame to all good woman, in her bad Page  [unnumbered] vsage of so honest a painfull man: the wo∣man replyed to her neighbours, that shee thought her husband did not 〈◊〉 her which was partly the cause that shee was so froward towards him; why (said an old woman) I will shew thée how thou shalt proue that he loues thee dearely; doe thou counterfeit thy selfe dead and lye vnder the table. and one of vs will fetch thy hus∣band, and he shall find vs heauy and grie∣uing for thée; by which meanes thou shalt perceiue by his lamentation for thée how much hée loues thée: this counsell was al lowed and effected; when the poore man came home, be hearing the matter (being much opprest with griefe) can vnder the table bemouing the happy losse of his most 〈◊〉 vexation, and making as though hee would kisse her, with a most louing em∣brace, to make all sure, he brake her necke. The 〈◊〉 pittying the mans extream passion, in compassion told him that his wife was not dead, and that all this was done but to make a triall of his loue to∣wards her: whereupon they called her by her name, bidding her to rise, and that shee had fooled it enough with her husband: but for all their calling, shee lay still, which Page  [unnumbered] made one of the women to shake and iogge her, at which the woman cryed, alas she is dead indeed: why this it is quoth her hus∣band to dissemble and 〈◊〉 with God and the world.