Sey: "These ben they that wolde honour
Have, and do noskinnes labour,

listeth. F. B. P. om. to; Cx. Th. insert it. 1822. P. not; which F. B. Cx. Th. omit. 1824. F. choppen; B. choppyn; Th. clappen; Cx. P. clappe. 1828. B. P. folk; rest folkes. 1836. F. B. suche be; Cx. Th. P. be suche.

1834. P. vice; Cx. Th. vyce; F. B. vices.

1843. Here P. ends. be but for (Koch).

1853. F. Th. be noght for; Cx. B. be for; read 1862. Cx. Th. they; F. B. this folke.

'But what dost thou here than?' quod he.

1885

Quod I, 'that wol I tellen thee,
The cause why I stondë here:-
Som newe tydings for to lere :-
Som newe thinges, I not what,
Tydinges, other this or that,
Of love, or swiche thinges glade.
For certeynly, he that me made
To comen hider, seyde me,
I shulde bothe here and see,
In this place, wonder thinges;
But these be no swiche tydinges
As I mene of.' 'No?' quod he.
And I answerde, 'No, pardee !
For wel I wiste, ever yit,

(800) 1890

1895

Tho saugh I stonde in a valeye,
Under the castel, faste by,
An hous, that domus Dedali,
That Laborintus cleped is,
Nas maad so wonderliche, y-wis,
Ne half so queynteliche y-wrought.
And evermo, so swift as thought,
This queynte hous aboute wente,
That never-mo hit stille stente.
And ther-out com so greet noise,
That, had hit stonden upon Oise,
Men mighte hit han herd esely
To Rome, I trowe sikerly.
And the noyse which that I herde,
For al the world right so hit ferde,
As doth the routing of the stoon
That from thengyn is leten goon.

And al this hous, of whiche I rede,
Was made of twigges, falwe, rede,
And grene eek, and som weren whyte,
Swiche as men to these cages thwyte,
Or maken of these paniers,

Or elles hottes or dossers;

(830) 1920

That, for the swough and for the twigges,

1925

(840) 1930

1935

(850) 1940

This hous was also ful of gigges,

And also ful eek of chirkinges,

And of many other werkinges;

1926. Th. it stil; rest stil hyt. had.

1931. Th. B. that I; F. I haue; Cx. I 1938. F. B. Whiche; Cx. Th. Suche. 1940. F. Cx. B. hattes; Th. hutches. Read hottes. 1941. F. twynges (!); B. twigys. 1944. Corrupt. From Cx. Th.; B. omits the line; F. has only As ful this lo