lyst to
seke me, ye shall be sure to haue me under a toft of grene rushes or
elles in a womans eye. The wynde sayde: yf ye lyst to speke wyth me, ye
shall be sure to haue me among aspyn leuys or els in a womans tong. Then
quod the fyre: yf any of you lyst to seke me, ye shall euer be sure to
fynd me in a flynt stone er elles in a womans harte.

By thys tale ye may lerne as well the properte of the iiii elementys as
the properteis[39] of a woman.

FOOTNOTES:

[35] Orig. reads _of_.

[36] The orig. _saw_.

[37] Orig. _hard_, i.e. _heard_.

[38] There is perhaps an allusion here to the _Interlude of the Four
Elements_, supposed to have been printed about 1510 by John Rastell.

+ _Of the woman that poured the potage in the iudges male._ xviii.

+ There was a iustyce but late in the reame of England callyd master
Vavesour,[40] a uery homely man and rude of condycyons, and louyd neuer
to spend mych money. Thys master Vauysour rode on a tyme in hys
cyrcuyte in the northe contrey, where he had agreed wyth the sheryf for
a certain some of money for hys charges thorowe the shyre, so that at
euery inne and lodgynge this master Vauysour payd for hys owne costys.
It fortunyd so, that when he cam to a certayn lodgyng he comaunded one
Turpyn hys seruant to se that he used good husbondry[41] and to saue
suche thynges as were left and to cary it wyth hym to serue hym at the
nexte baytynge. Thys Turpyn, doyng hys maystres commandement, toke the
broken bred, broken mete and all such thyng that was left, and put it in
hys maysters cloth sak. The wyfe of the hous, perceyuing that he toke
all suche fragmentys and vytayle wyth hym that was left, and put it in
the cloth sake, she brought vp the podage that was left in the pot; and
when Turpyn had torned hys bake a lytyl asyde, she pouryd the podage in
to the cloth sake, whych ran vpon hys robe of skarlet and other of hys
garmentys and rayed[42] them very euyll, that they were mych hurt
therwyth. Thys Turpyn, sodeynly turnyng[43] hym and seeing[44] it,
reuyled the wyfe therfore, and ran to hys mayster and told hym what she
had don: wherfore master Vauesour incontinent callyd the wyf and seyd to
her thus: thou drab, quod he, what hast thow don? why hast thou pourd
the podage in my cloth sake and marrd my rayment and gere? O, syr, quod
the wyfe, I know wel ye ar a iudge of the realme, and I perceyue by you
your mind is to do ryght and to haue that is your owen; and your mynd is