For thy my Kiddie be ruld by mee,

And neuer giue trust to his trecheree.

And if he chaunce come, when I am abroade,

Sperre the yate fast for feare of fraude:

225

Ne for all his worst, nor for his best,

Open the dore at his request.

So schooled the Gate her wanton sonne,

That answerd his mother, all should be done,

Tho went the pensife Damme out of dore,

230

And chaunst to stomble at the threshold flore:

Her stombling steppe some what her amazed,

(For such, as signes of ill luck bene dispraised)

Yet forth shee yode thereat halfe aghast:

And Kiddie the dore sperred after her fast.

235

It was not long, after shee was gone,

But the false Foxe came to the dore anone:

Not as a Foxe, for then he had be kend,

But all as a poore pedler he did wend,

Bearing a trusse of tryfles at hys backe,

240

As bells, and babes, and glasses in hys packe.

A Biggen he had got about his brayne,

For in his headpeace he felt a sore payne.

His hinder heele was wrapt in a clout,

For with great cold he had gotte the gout.

245

There at the dore he cast me downe hys pack,

And layd him downe, and groned, Alack, Alack.

Ah deare Lord, and sweete Saint Charitee,

That some good body woulde once pitie mee.

Well heard Kiddie al this sore constraint,

250

And lengd to know the cause of his complaint:

Tho creeping close behind the Wickets clinck,

Preuelie he peeped out through a chinck:

Yet not so preuilie, but the Foxe him spyed:

For deceitfull meaning is double eyed.

255

Ah good young maister (then gan he crye)

Iesus blesse that sweete face, I espye,

And keepe your corpse from the carefull stounds,

That in my carrion carcas abounds.

The Kidd pittying hys heauinesse,

260

Asked the cause of his great distresse,

And also who, and whence that he were.

Tho he, that had well ycond his lere,

Thus medled his talke with many a teare,

Sicke, sicke, alas, and little lack of dead,

265

But I be relieued by your beastlyhead.

I am a poore Sheepe, albe my coloure donne:

For with long traueile I am brent in the sonne.

And if that my Grandsire me sayd, be true,

Sicker I am very sybbe to you:

270

So be your goodlihead doe not disdayne

The base kinred of so simple swaine.

Of mercye and fauour then I you pray,

With your ayd to forstall my neere decay.

Tho out of his packe a glasse he tooke:

275

Wherein while kiddie vnwares did looke,

He was so enamored with the newell,

That nought he deemed deare for the iewell.

Tho opened he the dore, and in came

The false Foxe, as he were starke lame.

280

His tayle he clapt betwixt his legs twayne,

Lest he should be descried by his trayne.

Being within, the Kidde made him good glee,

All for the loue of the glasse he did see.

After his chere the Pedler can chat,

285

And tell many lesings of this, and that:

And how he could shewe many a fine knack.

Tho shewed his ware, and opened his packe,

All saue a bell, which he left behind

In the bas-ket for the Kidde to fynd.

290

Which when the Kidde stooped downe to catch,

He popt him in, and his basket did latch,

Ne stayed he once, the dore to make fast,

But ranne awaye with him in all hast.

Home when the doubtfull Damme had her hyde,

295

She mought see the dore stand open wyde.

All agast, lowdly she gan to call

Her Kidde: but he nould answere at all.

Tho on the flore she sawe the merchandise,

Of which her sonne had sette to dere a prise.

300

What helpe? her Kidde shee knewe well was gone:

Shee weeped, and wayled, and made great mone.

Such end had the Kidde, for he nould warned be

Of craft, coloured with simplicitie:

And such end perdie does all hem remayne,

305

That of such falsers freendship bene fayne.

PALINODIE.

Truly Piers, thou art beside thy wit,

Furthest fro the marke, weening it to hit,

Now I pray thee, lette me thy tale borrowe

For our sir Iohn, to say to morrowe

310

At the Kerke, when it is holliday:

For well he meanes, but little can say.

But and if Foxes bene so crafty, as so,

Much needeth all shepheards hem to knowe.

Of their falshode more could I recount.

315

But now the bright Sunne gynneth to dismount:

And for the deawie night now doth nye,

I hold it best for vs, home to hye.

Palinodes Embleme.

Πimageς μimagev imageπιστος imageπιστεī.

320

Piers his Embleme.

Timageς δ’ imageimageα πimageστις imageπimageστω;

GLOSSE.

[1] Thilke) this same moneth. It is applyed to the season of the moneth, when all menne delight them selues with pleasaunce of fieldes, and gardens, and garments.

[5] Bloncket liueries) gray coates. [6] Yclad) arrayed, Y, redoundeth, as before.

[9] In euery where) a straunge, yet proper kind of speaking.

[10] Buskets) a Diminutiue .s. little bushes of hauthorne. [12] Kirke) church. [15] Queme) please.

[20] A shole) a multitude; taken of fishe, whereof some going in great companies, are sayde to swimme in a shole.

[22] Yode) went. [25] Iouyssance) ioye. [36] Swinck) labour. [38] Inly) entirely. [39] Faytours) vagabonds.

[54] Great pan) is Christ, the very God of all shepheards, which calleth himselfe the greate and good shepherd. The name is most rightly (me thinkes) applyed to him, for Pan signifieth all or omnipotent, which is onely the Lord Iesus. And by that name (as I remember) he is called of Eusebius in his fifte booke de Preparat. Euang; who thereof telleth a proper storye to that purpose. Which story is first recorded of Plutarch, in his booke of the ceasing of oracles, and of Lauetere translated, in his booke of walking sprightes. who sayth, that about the same time, that our Lord suffered his most bitter passion for the redemtion of man, certein passengers sayling from Italy to Cyprus and passing by certain lies called Paxæ, heard a voyce calling alowde Thamus, Thamus, (now Thamus was the name of an Ægyptian, which was Pilote of the ship,) who giuing eare to the cry, was bidden, when he came to Palodes, to tel, that the great Pan was dead: which he doubting to doe, yet for that when he came to Palodes, there sodeinly was such a calme of winde, that the shippe stoode still in the sea vnmoued, he was forced to cry alowd, that Pan was dead: wherewithall there was heard suche piteous outcryes and dreadfull shriking, as hath not bene the like. By whych Pan, though of some be vnderstoode the great Satanas, whose kingdome at that time was by Christ conquered, the gates of hell broken vp, and death by death deliuered to eternall death, (for at that time, as he sayth, all Oracles surceased, and enchaunted spirits, that were wont to delude the people, thenceforth held theyr peace) and also at the demaund of the Emperoure Tiberius, who that Pan should be, answere was made him by the wisest and best learned, that it was the sonne of Mercurie and Penelope, yet I think it more properly meant of the death of Christ, the onely and very Pan, then suffering for his flock.

[57] I as I am) seemeth to imitate the commen prouerb, Malim Inuidere mihi omnes quam miserescere.

[61] Nas) is a syncope, for ne has, or has not: as nould, for would not.

[69] Tho with them) doth imitate the Epitaphe of the ryotous king Sardanapalus, whych caused to be written on his tombe in Greeke: which verses be thus translated by Tullie.

„ Hæc habui quæ edi, quæque exaturata libido

„ Hausit, at illa manent multa ac præclara relicta.

which may thus be turned into English.

„ All that I eate did I ioye, and all that I greedily gorged:

„ As for those many goodly matters left I for others.

Much like the Epitaph of a good olde Erie of Deuonshire, which though much more wisedome bewraieth, then Sardanapalus, yet hath a smacke of his sensuall delights and beastlinesse. the rymes be these.

„ Ho, Ho, who lies here?

„ I the good Erle of Deuonshere,

„ And Maulde my wife, that was ful deare,

„ We liued together lv. yeare.

„ That we spent, we had:

„ That we gaue, we haue:

„ That we lefte, we lost.

[75] Algrind) the name of a shepheard. [76] Men of the Lay) Lay men. [78] Enaunter) least that.

[82] Souenaunce) remembraunce. [91] Miscreaunce) despeire or misbeliefe.

[92] Cheuisaunce) sometime of Chaucer vsed for gaine: sometime of other for spoyle, or bootie, or enterprise, and sometime for chiefdome.

[111] Pan himselfe) God. according as is sayd in Deuteronomie, That in diuision of the lande of Canaan, to the tribe of Leuie no portion of heritage should bee allotted, for GOD himselfe was their inheritaunce.

[121] Some gan) meant of the Pope, and his Antichristian prelates, which vsurpe a tyrannical dominion in the Churche, and with Peters counterfet keyes, open a wide gate to al wickednesse and insolent gouernment. Nought here spoken, as of purpose to deny fatherly rule and godly gouernaunce (as some malitiously of late haue done to the great vnreste and hinderaunce of the Churche) but to displaye the pride and disorder of such, as in steede of feeding their sheepe, indeede feede of theyr sheepe.

[130] Sourse) welspring and originall. [131] Borrowe) pledge or suertie.

[142] The Geaunte) is the greate Atlas, whom the poetes feign to be a huge geaunt, that beareth Heauen on his shoulders: being in deede a merueilous highe mountaine in Mauritania, that now is Barbarie, which to mans seeming perceth the cloudes, and seemeth to touch the heauens. Other thinke, and they not amisse, that this fable was meant of one Atlas king of the same countrye, (of whome may bee, that that hil had his denomination) brother to Prometheus who (as the Grekes say) did first fynd out the hidden courses of the starres, by an excellent imagination, wherefore the poetes feigned, that he susteyned the firmament on hys shoulders. Many other coniectures needelesse be told hereof.

[145] Warke) worke. [147] Encheason) cause, occasion.

[150] Deare borow) that is our sauiour, the commen pledge of all mens debts to death.

[159] Wyten) blame. [158] Nought seemeth) is vnseemely.

[163] Conteck) strife contention.

[160] Her) theyr, as vseth Chaucer. [168] Han) for haue.

[168] Sam) together.

[174] This tale is much like to that in Æsops fables, but the Catastrophe and end is farre different. By the Kidde may be vnderstoode the simple sorte of the faythfull and true Christians. By hys dame Christe, that hath alreadie with carefull watchewords (as heere doth the gote) warned his little ones, to beware of such doubling deceit. By the Foxe, the false and faithlesse Papistes, to whom is no credit to be giuen, nor felowshippe to be vsed.

[177] The gate) the Gote: Northernely spoken to turne O into A.