190 HOUSE OF FAME. FAIRFAX MS. 16. With boystes Crammed / ful of lyes Folke kan synge hit/ bet than) I For alle mote oute / other late or rathe I herde a grete / noyse with alle In a corner of the halle Ther men of loue / tydynges tolde And eueryche cried / what thing is that XI. The Legend of Good Women. [Of the first cast of the Prologue to this Poem, only one copy is known, that in MS. Gg. 4. 27, Cambridge University Library. To show the differences between the two casts of the Prologue, the two are here printed opposite to one another-as they were in my Odd Texts, Part I-with double line-numbers, so as to show which lines in one cast correspond to the same, or the like lines, in the other. cast. Those lines which differ slightly' from their mates in the other cast are markt †; those which differ more are markt §; those which are only in one cast, *. The differences between the two casts are spoken of in my Trial-Forewords, at the end.] 1 A few differences I've thought too slight to need a mark, 192 LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN. MS. Gg. 4. 27, CAMB. THE LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN. [Cambr. Univ. MS. Gg. 4. 27, leaf 445. No gaps in MS.] [THE PROLOGUE. First Cast.] Fx. lines. Gg. li. +Thousent sythis haue I herd men telle 1† †That there is Ioye in heuene & peyne in helle † †And I a-corde wel that it be so +But natheles this wit I1 wel also 3+ 3 4 wit I corrected] +That there ne is non that dwellyth 2 In this cuntre 5† [2 I corr.] That eythir hath in helle or heuene I-be 6 Ne may of it non othere weyis wytyn 7 But as he hath herd seyd/or founde it wrytyn 8 8 ffor by asay/there may no man it preue 9 +But goddis forbode / but men schulde leue 10+ Wel more thyng / than men han seyn with eye 11 12 12 Sffor that he say it nat of 3ore a-go 17 19 3euyn credence 5 In euery 6skylful wyse [I, 6 sky, corr.] 20 § And trowyn on these olde aprouede storyis Of holynesse of regnys of victoryis 21§ 22 Of loue / of hate / of othere sundery thyngis 23 Of whiche I may nat make rehersyngys And If that olde bokis weryn aweye I-loryn were of remembrance the keye LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN. FAIRFAX MS. 16. 193 THE LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN. [Fairfax MS. 16, leaf 83.] [ñ is printed for n. t for t with a curl te generally. There are no gaps in the MS.] ¶ The prologe of .ix. goode Wymmen./ [2nd Cast.] Gg. lines. 1+ 2ተ A Fx. lines. + thousande tymes / I haue herd telle ther ys Ioy in heuene / and peyne in helle † and I acord wel/ that it 4+But netheles yet / wot I wel also 3t. ys so 5†that ther is nooñ duellyng / in this contree + 4 8 but as he hatħ herd seyde / or founde it writen 8 9 for by assay / ther may no mañ it preve 10+But god forbede / but meñ shulde leve Bernardus Monachus non vidit omnia. 11 Wel more thing / then men han seen with eye 20 24 |