see hys frende
in Egipte/ of whom he was receyuyd ryght honourably And thys marchant of
Egipte had in his hows a fayr yonge mayden whom he shold haue had in
maryage to hymslf/ Of the whiche mayde thys marchant of Bandach was
esrysd wyth her loue so ardantly that he was ryght seeke/ And that men
supposid hym to dye. And than the other dyde doo come the phisicyens
whiche sayd that in hym was none other sekenes sauf passyon of loue/
Than he axid of the seeke man yf ther wer ony woman in hys hows that he
louyd and made alle the women of his hows to come to fore hym/ And than
he chees her that shold haue ben that others wyf and sayd that he was
seek for the loue of her/ Than hys frende sayd to hym Frende conforte
your self/ For trewly I gyue her to yow to wyf wyth alle the dowayre
that is gyuen to me wyth her/ And had leuer to suffre to be wyth oute
wyf than to lese the body of his frende And than he of Bandach wedded
the mayde. And wente wyth his wyf and wyth his richesse ayen in to his
contrey And after this anone after hit happend that the marcha[=n]t of
Egipte be cam so poure by euyll fortune/ that he was constrayned to
feche and begge his brede by the contrey in so moche that he cam to
bandach. And whan he entrid in to the toun hit was derke nyght that he
coude not fynde the hows of his frende/ but wente and laye this nyght in
an olde temple/ And on the morn whan he shold yssue oute of the temple/
the officers of the toun arestid hym and sayd that he was an homycide
and had slayn a man whiche laye there dede And an[=o]n he confessid hit
wyth a good wylle/ And had leuyr to ben hangid/ than to dye in that
myserable and poure lyf that he suffrid And thus whan he was brought to
Iugement And sentence shold haue ben gyuen ayenst hym as an homicide/
his frende of bandach cam and sawe hym and anone knewe y't this was his
good frende of Egipte And forthwyth stept in and sayde that he hymself
was culpable of the deth of this man/ and not that other/ and enforced
hym in alle maners for to delyuer and excuse that other/ And than whan
that he that had don the feet and had slayn the man sawe this thynge/ he
considerid in hym sels that these two men were Innocente. of this feet/
And doubtynge the dyuyn Iugement he cam to fore the Iuge and confessid
alle the feet by ordre/ And whan the Iuge sawe and herd alle this mater/
and also the causes he considerid the ferme and trewe loue that was
betwene the two frendes And vnderstode the cause w