Fro whens came hyther Phedrus, suppose ye not from Trophon [...]us dene.

Wherfore doost thou aske that questyon?

For bycause y^u arte moche sadder than thou arte wonte, more deformed, more fylthy, more ferse, to make fewe word [...]s, nothȳg at all after thy name.

If (as we se by experyē ­ce) they which cōtynew ony space in Foū ­ders shoppes, draweth to them some blaknesse. What grete cause hast y^u to meruey­le, yf I beyng contynually so many days with two seke men, dyeng and buryed be more pensyf than I am wont. & also moch the more whan they were bothe my speciall frēdes?

Who doost y^u tell me was buryed.

Dydest y^u knowe one George balearyke?

Onely I haue herde of him for to my knowlege I neuer sawe his face.

The other I am sure thou knowest nothynge at all / He was called Cornelius montius, with whome I had [Page] grete famylyaryte many yeres.

It was neuer my chaunce to be ps [...]nt at ony mannes dethe.

I haue ben more of ten thā I wold.

I pray the tell me [...] is dethe so horryble a thyng as it is comȳ ­ly sayd?

The passage toward deth is more harde & paynfull thā dethe it self. but he whiche casteth out of his mynde y^e ferefulnesse and ymagynacion of dethe: to hym is released a gr [...]te parte of y^e payne. To speke brefely, all that is paynfull, ey­ther in sekenesse, or in dethe, is made mo­re tollerable yf a man cōmyt hymself hol­ly to the wyll of god [...] For as concernyng y^e felyng of dethe, (whan the very tyme the soule is departynge from the body) after my iugement is nothing at all / or (if there be ony) that it is very dull / for bycause na­ture (before that come to passe) brȳgeth in a slombre, & maketh amased all the sensy­ble partyes.

We are all borne w^tout felyng of our selues.

But not w^tout felyng of our mother.

Why dye we [Page] not in lykewyse? Wherfore hath god ap­poynted dethe to be so cruciable & paynful a thyng?

He so ordeyned y^t our na­tyuytees sholde be paynfull and full of peryls to the mother, that she myght so mo­che more loue y^t, whiche she had brought forthe. Contrary wyse it was his pleasure that dethe sholde be ferefull / leste euery where men shold infere theyr own dethe. For in so moche y^t whan we may se dayly many which do slee thēselues, what thȳ ­kest thou to come, yf dethe had nothynge horryble? as often as a man rebuketh his seruaunt eyther his chylde / yea, as often as the wyfe shold take dyspleasure w^t her husbande, as often as ony maner of thīg dyde myscary, or ony thīg chaūced beyng sorowfull to y^e mynde, by & by men wolde ren̄e to hange themselues, to kyll them w^t swerde, to drawe them to some conueny­ent place where they myght cast thēselfes down heedlynges, eyther to poyson / now the bytternesse of dethe maketh vs y^t we [Page] loue better our lyfe / in especyal whan physyciēs can not heale a man ones deed. Albeit lyke as we all haue not lyke chaunce in our natyuyte / euen so there be diuers maners & ways of deth. Some short & swyft deth deliuereth hens, some other wasteth awaye w^t slowe dethe. Lethargic [...] y^t is to say suche as hath th [...]sekenes of forgetfulnesse. In lykewyse they whiche be stong of the venymous Aspys altogyder in a slō bryng, dyeth w^tout ony felyng of thēselfe. I haue obserued this thyng in especyall, that there is no kynde of dethe so paynful but it is tollerable after y^t a man hath w^t a fully fyxed mynde decreed for to go hens.

Whither of these dethes thynkest y^u to be moost lyke the dethe of a chrystyan?

Me semeth the dethe of George more honorable.

But I pray you hath dethe also his couetousnesse of honoure?

I dyde neuer se two persones dy­eng so vnlyke a dethe [...] yf ye haue so moche leysure to here, I wyl shewe you playnly [Page] y^• departyng of bothe twayne. but it shall be thy parte to iuge whiche of the dethes is moost to be wysshed to a chrysten man.

yea, mary I pray the that y^u wylt not thynke it greuous to tell / for I wold [...] here nothyng more gladly [...]

Therfore here first of G [...]orge. After that deth had shewed certayne & sure tokens of hymself the flocke of phisicions which of longe tyme had take cure of this pacient, nothyng beyng a knowen of th [...] dispayre of lyfe began to aske theyr stypendes.

How many were they?

Sōtymes ten, & somtyme twelue, & syx whan they we­re fewest.

There was ynow to kyl a man in good helthe.

After the ty­me they had theyr money / t [...] [...]rned they pryuely suche as were about the se­ke man, that dethe was at hande. And y^• they sholde prepayre, and make redy all suche thynges as sholde parteyne vnto y^• helthe of the soule / seyng that there was no hope at all of ony bodyly welthe. And [Page] therupon the seke man was louyngly, by suche as were his spaecial frendes, monysshed that he sholde cōmyt y^e cure of his bo­dy to god [...] and that he sholde onely mynde those thynges whiche ꝑteyned to departe wel hens. As soone as George herde these thynges: he loked, & that very fers [...]y, vpō the physicions / and as it were one sore dyspleased that they shold all gyue hym vp, they sayd to hym agayne, that they were physycions & no goddes / & that they had done so moche as they coude by theyr scy­ence. albeit that there was no medycyne whiche coude remedy agaynst the ordy­naunce of god. This doone, they go in to y^• next chambre.

What? dyde they ta­ry styl after that they had receyued theyr wages?

They were not yet agreed what kynde of sekenesse it was. One af­fyrmed y^• it was a dropsy / another sayd it was a tympany. some sayd it was apostome in y^e inner partes. some sayd it was one dysease / some another. and all the ty­me [Page] they toke in gouernaunce the pacyent they dysputed styfly what maner of seke­nes it shold be.

O, how happy was the pacyent in y^• meane tyme?

But bycause at length to ende theyr cōtencyon they desyred his wyfe to aske of suche as were his frendes to suffre an Anothomye or section to be mad [...] of the deed body. and that it shold cause moche honour to be spoken / and also y^• it was so accustomed to be done for honours sake in grete noble men. And moreouer that the thing it self sholde be helthfull to many / & also merytoryous to the seke man. And the rather to optayn theyr purpose they ꝓmised to bye of theyr owne charges a trentall of masses, for the profyte of the deed. This request hardly, but at the length with intreatynge of the wyfe & certayn of his kynsmen was op­teyned. These maters doone the garde of physiciens dyde wynde thēselues away / for they say comynly, y^t it is not conueny­ent that they which be wont to helpe lyfe: [Page] sholde be y^• beholders of dethe, or be pres [...]t at buryalles. Anone was called for one Bernardinꝰ a reuerend father as ye kno­we well ynough, keper of one of saynt frā ceys flockes, to here his cōfessyon. Before the confessyon was all togyder fynysshed a multytude of the .iiij. ordres, whome y^• people call the beggyng ordres was come in to the hous.

So many deuourīg Uultures to one poore pyece of caryon?

Than afterwarde the parysshe preste was called for to anoyle the man, and to gyue hym the sacrament of our lordes body.

Deuoutly.

But there was almoost a blody fray betwyxte y^e pa­rysshe preste & the other solytary fathers.

At the seke mānes bed?

And also Chryst hymselfe lokyng vpon them.

What caused all the besynesse so so­deynly?

The parisshe preste (after that he knewe the seke man was cōfessed to y^e Francyscane) sayd that he wolde neyther mynystre the sacrament of anoylyng [Page] nor of the aulter / or ony buryeng / onelesse that he herde w^t his eares the seke mānes cōfession. He sayd moreouer, that he was the parysshe preste / and that he must gy­ue accompt to god for his lytell shepe. but y^t he sayd he coude not do yf onely he we­re ignoraunt of the secretes of his conscy­ence.

Semed he not to speke reaso­nably?

Not vnto them veryly. For they all cryed agaynst hym, and in especy all Bernardinus, & Uincentius the domynycan.

What reasōs brought they?

They set vpon the poore preste w^t grete rebukes and raylynges [...] callyng hȳ often asse, and a mete keper for hogges. I sayd Uincentius, am a bacheler of dyuy­nyte formate / and shortly shall belycen­cyate / and also shall be promoted with the tytle of a doctour. Thou arte scarcely co­me to the redyng of the gospell. How is it than possyble that thou canst excuse, and iuge the secretes of ony mannes conscyen­ce? But and yf thou lyste for to be besyed, [Page] goo see what thy harlottes, and bastarde brattes doo at home. and many other ob­probryous thynges whiche I am gretly ashamed to shewe.

What sayd he / was he domme at those wordes?

Domme? yea, thou woldest haue sayd he had ben as the prouerbe sayth. A greshop taken by the wynges. I sayd he, shall make of beane stalkes moch better bachelers than thou arte. The [...]utours and capy­taynes of youre ordres Domynyke and Fraūceys, where lerned they I pray you Aristoteles phylophy / or the argumentes of Thomas / eyther Scotus speculaciōs? or where I pray you were they made bachelers? ye creped in to y^e worlde, than ea­sy to beleue your superstycions / but than ye were but a fewe & lowly [...] and some also meke & wel lerned men. Than your nestes were in the feldes and poore cotages / but shortly after ye flitted thens, bothe in to y^e rychest cytees and in to the fayrest partes of thē. Seyng there be so many poore vyl­lages [Page] in y^• countree abrode whiche can not fynde a shepeherde / there shold ye bestow your labours [...] there were conuenyent pla­ces for you to labour in / but now ye wyll be nowhere but in y^e houses of ryche men. ye face & crake vnder the name of popes / but your pryuyleges be not worth a stra­we: but where as the bysshop, parsone, or vycare dooth not his duety. In my chyr­che shall none of you preche so longe as I am the curate and haue my helthe. I am no bacheler, neyther saynt Martyn was ony bacheler, and yet he played y^e very bysshop. yf I lacke lernyng I wyll not aske it of you. Suppose ye y^t the worlde is yet so blynd & folysshe, that (whersoeuer they se saynt Domynyke or Fraunceys co [...]e) they wyll thynke theyr sanctymony and holynes there to be? or is it to you ony mater at all what I do at home at my hous? What pageauntes ye play in your den̄es, & what knauery ye vse with holy nonnes all the worlde knoweth. Also how lytell y^• [Page] better or clener be the ryche mennes howses which ye haunt is opēly knowen. yea as the prouerbe sayth, bothe to blere eyed ꝑsones & barbours. To tell the what was more spoken I dare not. truly he handled those reuerend fathers with small reuerē ce. And none ende sholde haue ben, oneles Georgius had sygnyfied with waggyng of his hande, y^t he wolde say some thyng. Moche adoo it was to apteyne that theyr chydyng myght cease so longe. than sayd the seke man. Kepe peas betwene you, I wyll confesse me agayn to the my curate / than after thou shalt be payed thy money or thou go out of this hous / bothe for bell ryngynge, dyriges, the herse, for buryall vnd stole [...] neyther by ony meanes I wyll gyue the occasion to cōplayn on me.

Dyde the preste refuse so equal a cōdyciō?

Nothyng at all onely he murmu­red moche of the confessyon, which he for­gaue y^e seke man. What nedeth it, sayd he, in repetyng the same agayn to fatygate & [Page] trouble bothe the seke man & the preste: in repetyng all one thyng? If he had confes­sed hym to me in season, parauenture he sholde haue made his wyll better for his soule helth, now take ye the charge. This īdyfferency of the seke sore agreued those solytary fathers, no [...]hyng contented that ony morsell of theyr pray shold be cut out for y^e parysshe preste. But I went betwe­ne them & conclud [...]d so y^• theyr stryfe was ended. & the preste anoyled the seke man, & gaue hym our lordes body. And after he was payde his money & went his way.

Dyde Caromenes than felowe af­ter so grete a tēpest?

Nay by saynt Mary, a sharper storme folowed by & by.

I pray the what was the cause?

Thou shalt here. There were floc­ked togyther in one hous foure ordres of beggyng freres / the fyfthe ordre the whi­ch [...] be called the croked (the crouched fre­res I wolde say) came in amonge them. Agaynst whiche as it had bene a chylde [Page] base goten, y^• other foure arose all togyder makyng no lytell ado. and they asked the fyfth ordre whan euer they dyde se a cha­ryot of .v. wheles / or how they durst ma­ke mo ordres of beggers thā there be Euā ­gelystes. By the same reason [...]they sayd) bryng in hyder all beggers whiche vse to syt at brydges & hye wayes.

What sayd y^e crouched freres to y^t?

They asked the other fr [...]res agayn / how y^• cha­ryot of the chyrche went, at suche tyme whan there was no ordre of beggers [...] and agayn whan there was onely one, & after thre. for truly the nombre (sayd they) of y^e euangelystes hath nomore affynyte with our ordres than w^t a dyce, which on euery syde shewith .iiij. corners. Who brought y^• Austyn freres in to the ordre of beggers? or who y^• Carmelytes? or what tyme beg­ged Augustyn or Hely? for these they ma­ke the auctour of theyr ordres. These thō ­derboltes with many other the crossed freres dyde clatter out, & doubtles very manfully. [Page] But bycause they had none to take parte with them / therfore thynkyng thē not able to resyst the violence of .iiii. suche hostes, gaue place / onely thretnyng them very cruelly [...]

Than I trowe there was nomore brablyng.

No mary. For this parte takynge and atonement a­gaynst the fifth ordre was torned in to an open fray. The francy scan & the domynycan contended, that neyther the augusty­nyans nor the carmelytes were proprely called beggers / but rather mungrelles, & chaūgelynges. This stryfe dyde so moche encrease, that playnly I was afrayd leest it shold come to hand grypes and strokes.

Dyde the seke man abyde all these brablynges?

These maters were not done at his bed syde, but in a court by whiche ioyned to the chambre. But all y^e wordes came to the seke man / for they dy­de not whysper the mater, but it was spoken loude ynough, & w^t ful shawmes, as y^e prouerbe sayth. And thou knowest moost [Page] comynly y^• seke men are sharpe of heryng in especyally.

But how ended y^e batayle?

The seke man sent vnto thē his wyfe, to exhorte them to kepe scylen­ce a lytell whyle, & sayd that he wolde en­de this variaūce. And so desyred, that for that tyme the Augustynyens & the Car­melytes wolde depar [...]e / and ꝓmised that they sholde lose nothyng therby. And sayd more ouer y^• so moche meate sholde be sent home to theyr houses: as the rest whiche taryed styll sholde haue. But he cōmaun­ded y^• they shold all foure ordres be at his buryeng, & also the fyfth, and y^• they shold euery one haue lyke porcion of money. Neuerthelesse he wolde in no wyse that they shold al syt togyder at dyner, lest ony trouble sholde insue at theyr metynge.

Thou tellest me of a ryght good hous ke­per / whiche at the poynt of dethe coud set in quyetnes so many besy maters.

He had bē many yeres a capytayn in warres. there are wont dayly to spryng vp suche [Page] clamoures amonge the souldyours,

Was he ryche?

Uery ryche.

But it was euyl goten, w^t spoyling & sacrylege. or robbynge holy places / ex­torcions & brybes.

Suche is the comyn facion of the capytaynes in warres: nor I dare not styfly swere that this man was altogyder clere & differyng fro theyr maners. But as ferre as I can perceyue he gate more good w^t, polycy of wyt than with vyolen [...]e.

How so?

He vnderstode very wel arythmetike or craft of nombryng.

What therof?

What than? To the hygh capytayne he wolde somtyme accompt [...]xxx. M. souldy­ers, whā there were scarcely .vii.M. And more ouer he payd to many of them neuer a deale.

Certaynly y^u shewest me a worthy craft of accomptyng.

And somtime he caused the warres by craft to contynue & was wont also to receyue euery moneth money of vyllages & townes: bothe of his enmyes & frendes. of his en [...]myes: [Page] to saue them harmeles, of his fren­des to suffer theym to make peace with theyr ennemyes.

I knowe of olde the maners of souldyers. but go forthe in your tale.

Bernarde and Uyncent with certayne other of theyr cōpanyons taryed styll with the seke man / the other whiche were departed had vytayles sent theym.

Dyde not they agre well togyder whiche taryed styll in the house?

not alway, they like hogges grūted I wote not wherfore, of y^• prefermētes of theyr bulles, but leste theyr deuyse sholde not come to passe, they dissembled for that tyme. Here they brought forthe his testa­ment, and certayne demaundes were as­ked before wytnesses, of suche thynges whiche they had concluded amonge thē ­selues before.

I am very desyrous to here what thynges they were.

I shall tell the chyef poyntes, for y^e mater is somewhat tedyous. There remayned his wyfe .xxxviii. yeres of aege / beynge [Page] a woman certaynly very commēdable & wyse. Two sones, the eldre was .xix. ye­res of aege, and the other .xv. And as ma­ny doughters, bothe within aege. Thus was it deuysed by his testamēt / that his wyfe (bycause they coude not enforce her to be a Nonne) sholde take the habyte of a Bighyne, y^t is an or [...]re betwene Nonnes and laykes. The elder sone, bycause they coude not entyse hym to be of ony solitary professyon.

An olde foxe is taken but seldon in a snare.

Hastely after his faders buri [...]ng they determyned that he sholde in al haste go to Rome / and there bye y^e popes dyspensacyon before his law ful aege to be made a preste, to syng dayly in Uatycanes temple, for his faders sou­le. And y^t he sholde crepe on his knees eue­ry fryday all y^e holy stayres in Laterane.

Dyde he take all this wyllyngly?

Euen to be playne, as asses be wōt to take vpon them theyr caryages. More­ [...]r y^t the yongest sone shold be professed to [Page] saynt Fraūceys, y^• elder doughter to saynt Clare, the yongest to saynt Katheryn. For they coude bryng nomore of theyr purpo­se [...]o passe. for George was mīded, bycau­se he wold haue god more bound to hym, to haue his wyfe & .iiii. chyldren to be parted amonge the .v. ordres of beggers / and there was grete procurement therto / but the wife and the eldest sone were to olde to agre thereto, eyther for fayre wordes or foule.

A propre facyon of dysinherytyng.

The inherytaunce altogyder was in suche wyse deuyded, that after y^• charges of the buryeng was taken out of all the hole, one parte sholde inure to y^e wyfe vpon this cōdycion / that she sholde lyue w^t the one halfe therof / the other half shold be put in the place where she shold oblyge herself. Frōwhens, yf she at any tyme he­reafter departed, all the same money shol­de remayne to y^t flocke: Another lyke por­cion shold be gyuen to y^e eldest sone, to whome by & by after sholde be inioyned a iourney [Page] toward Rome / and as moche as was suffycient to bye his bulles, & to paye his costes of meate and drynke at Rome. And yf he refused to be made preste, his porciō shold than be deuyded betwene the freres of saynt Fraunceys, and of saynt Domy­nyke / and yet I feare me that he wyll not ꝑforme theyr iniūct [...]on / the yong man ap­pered to abhorre so moche frō holy ordres. Two porcyons sholde be put in to the mo­nastery which was content to take y^e yongest sone. Other two partes also to the .ii. monasteryes where the doughters were but vnder this condycion / y^t yf they at ony tyme hereafter refused to ꝓfesse y^e lyfe, yet all the money sholde be in theyr custody, sauf, & in no wyse dymynysshed. Agayn on the other syde, the good father Bernardyne must haue one of the porciōs, & Uyncent another / & half of one of the porcyons to y^e Charter monkes, for cōmunyon and parte takyng of all good workes, whiche sholde be done in all the ordre, All the rest [Page] sholde be distrybute to poore people y^t we­re pryuely kept / vpon whome Bernardy­ne and Uyncent thought it best bestowed.

y^u sholdest haue sayd as y^e lawyers do, Quos ve [...] quas.

After the wyll was redde / they asked hī vnder these wordes. George balearike, doost y^u beyng on lyue & hole memory approue this testamēt, which y^u lately hast made of thyn own mȳ de? He answered / I do apꝓue it. & is this thy last & īmutable wyl? it is. And y^u doost īstytute & ordeyn me & fader bacheler Uȳ ­cent here: executors of thy last wyll? I do ordeyne. Than they cōmaunded hym yet ones to subscrybe it with his owne hand.

How coud he, than beyng at poynt of dethe?

Bernardinꝰ dyd gouerne y^• seke man̄es hande.

What dyde he subscrybe?

These wordes. y^e hygh displeasure of saynt Fraūceys & saynt Domynyke may come to hȳ whiche gooth a­bout to chaūge ony thīg her in.

But feared they not y^e action called in the lawe [Page] Actio officiosi testamenti.

No, no: this action lyeth not in those thinges y^t be dedycate to god / neyther I thynke y^• ony man is so folysshe to make ony trouble w^t god. All these maters fynysshed, the wyfe & the chyldren gaue theyr ryght hādes to the seke man. sweryng that they shold ob­serue that thyng whiche they had recey­ued. ¶After these thynges they began to comyn (not without stryfe) of the funeral pompe. At last this sentēce had y^e vyctory, that .ix. of of euery one of y^e .v. ordres shold be present in the honour of the .v. bokes of Moyses / and of the .ix. ordres of aūgelles. And y^e euery ordre sholde haue theyr crosse borne before them / and they sholde synge theyr mournyng songes. Moreouer .xxx. (besyde suche as were kyn̄e to hym) shold be hyred, (for so many pyeces of money was our lorde solde) all in blacke to bere y^e torches. & for his honours sake .xii. mour­ners. (this nombre is in y^e honour of y^e .xii apostles,) sholde go about the corps. Next [Page] after sholde folowe Georges own hors all in blacke, with his necke so bound doune to his knees as though he wold be sene to seke his mayster on the erthe. ¶It was forthermore procured that the couerynge which shold be cast ouer him, shold shewe on euery party his armes. Lykewise euery torche & blacke garment sholde y^e same. The corps they purposed sholde be layde at the ryght hande of the hygh aulter in a tombe of marble, whiche sholde be made iiij. fote hygh fro the the ground. He sholde lye in the top of it grauen in a whyte marble stone / all armed fro top to toe. neyther myght y^e helmet lacke his creste. the creste was the necke of an Anocrotale. A target in the left arme / in the which was his ar­mes blased in this wyse, Thre wylde bo­res heedes all of golde in a syluer felde. A swerde by his syde with a gylted pomell. The gyrdle was gylted, & deuyded with studdes of precyous stones. Golden spur­res to his fete, bycause he was a gentyll [Page] mā of cote armour, vnder his fete shold be set a leoperd, the brynk [...]s of his sepulker sholde haue an epitaphye mete for a wor­thy man. He was wyllyng y^• his hert shol­de be buried seuerally in a chapell of saynt franceys. He cōmitted y^e other inward partys of his body to the parysshe prest, to be buryed honorably in a chapel of our lady.

An honourable buryenge, but very chargeable. At venyce a pore cobler sholde haue more honour for a lytel coste. for com­pany maketh ornate & elygant the bere, & there somtyme syx hondreth monkes: so­me in sleueles s [...]oppes, & other some w^t co­pes wyll folowe one corps.

I haue sene that myself, & haue somtime laughed at suche folysshe vaynglories of poore mē. there goeth fullers & curriers before: & coblers behynd, & mōkes in y^e myddest. thou woldest say they were mōsters / neyther here was ony other thynge yf y^u had sene it. It was also ꝓuided by George, y^e Barnardyne & Uyncent shold decerne by lottes [Page] whiche of them sholde haue the hyghest place in the grete pompe. And afterwarde other sholde doo soo lykewyse, lest ony ru­mour or besynesse sholde be for the same. The parysshe preste & his clerkes were a­poynted to the moost inferyour place, that was to go the formest / neyther y^e solytary fathers wolde suffre it otherwyse.

He coude not onely or [...]yn an army to batayle / but also other solempne tryūphes and pōpes.

It was also prouyded that the masse of Requiem whiche sholde be done by the parysshe preste sholde be in prycke songe, for y^• more honour. ¶Why­le these thynges and certayne other were indeuysyng, the seke man shaked very so­re, and dyde gyue certayne parfyte tokēs that his laste tyme was nygh at hande. The last acte of the comedy was therfore prepared.

Is it not yet at an ende?

The popes bull was there reher­sed / in the whiche was graunted remys­syon of all his synnes quyte and clene / [Page] and all the feare of purgatory was taken away. Beside al these al his goodes was iustyfied.

Suche as was goten by extorcyon and robbery?

Certaynly euen suche as were goten by y^e lawe of batayle or sowlderye. But it fortuned to be presēt one Phylyp a man of lawe y^e wyfs brother, whiche marked a place in y^e bull otherwise set than it ought to be / & caused suspecyon that it was but forged.

Nay, that was not done in tyme. he shol­de haue rather dyssēbled it, though there had ben errour therin / and the seke man sholde haue done neuer the worse.

I thinke the same. For the seke man was so troubled with this mater, that he was not ferre of from disperacion. And there father bacheler Uyncēt played the man. He cōmaunded George to be of a quyet myn­de, he sayd that he had auctoryte bothe to correct ony thyng whiche was fals in the bulles, eyther to restore ony thynge y^• lac­keth. But yf the bull deceyue the, euen ve­ry [Page] now I put my soule for thyne / y^• thyne may come to heuen, and myne I gyue for euer to the derkest pyt of hell.

But wyll god accept suche chaungyng of sou­les? and yf he wolde, was this prouysion for George with suche a guage suffycyēt? What & yf the soule of Uyncent was (w^t ­out ony chaūgīg at all) due to hell.

I shewed you as y^e mater was / but Uyncent fynyshed tha [...] ma [...]er. The pacyent semed to take a good stomacke to hym / by & by was red y^e pardons, wherin was pro­mysed to George to be parte taker of all y^e workes whiche sholde be done by the .iiii [...] ordres & of the Charter monkes.

I wolde be afrayde leste I sholde be thurst downe to the botom of hell, yf I sholde be­re suche an vnprofitable burden.

I speke of theyr good werkes: which dooth no otherwyse aggraua [...]e the soule redy to departe, than fethers dooth the byrde.

To whome bequeth they theyr yll workes?

To the landeskneyghtes [Page] of Germany.

By what auctoryte?

Of the gospell, sayeng to hym that hath: it shall be gyuen / and withall was rehersed the nōbre of masses and noctur­nes, whiche shulde accompanye the dead mannes soule / truely it was an vnreaso­nable nombre. After all these thynges, he was confessed, & had absolucyon.

Dyed he thus?

Not yet. A matte of russhes was spred vpon the grounde, in suche wyse that the vpper parte was lapped togyther, for to make as it were a similitude of a bolster.

What mēt they by that?

They sparpled it all ouer with asshes, but very thynnely, and there they layde the sycke mannes body. A gray freres cote was spred aboue him, but beyng halowed before with a certeyn prayers & holy water. A cowle was put vnder his hed, for at that tyme it coulde not be put vpon hym, and with all was layde the bull and the pardons.

A new maner of dethe.

But they af­fyrme [Page] sty [...]fely y^• he deuyll hath no power ouer them whiche dyeth in suche fasshy­on. So they sayde that bothe saynt Mar­tyne and saynte Frauncys dyed.

But then theyr lyues were no lesse vertuous. I praye the tell me what folowed?

They reachyd the ymage of the crosse, & a waxe candell to the sycke man. At the syght of the crosse he sayd, I was wonte in batayles to be defendyd with myne owne bucklar, but now I wyll put this bucklar agaynste myne enemye, and kyssed it, and put it towarde the left shul­der. To the holy candell he sayd: in tyme past I haue ben valyaūt in warres with speare, nowe I wyll shake this speare a­gaynste the enemy of soules.

Euyn lyke a man of warre.

These wor­des he spake laste / for by and by his tonge was taken with dethe, and with all the pangys of dethe came vppon hym. Bar­nardyne stode harde by hym on the ryght hande, and Uincent on the left syde, bothe [Page] two lowde ynough / the one shewed y^• py­cture of saynt Frāceys, the other of saynt Domynyke / the other good holy fathers sparpled abrode about the chambre, mombled vp besyly certayn psalmes. Bernar­dyne with greate out cryes precelled his ryght eare, and Uyncent the lefte.

What cried they?

Bernardyne sayd in this wyse. George balearyke [...] yf thou now approue those thynges, whiche we haue done betwyxt vs: bowe downe thy heed towarde thy ryght syde. He dyde so. Uyncent on the other syde sayd, be nothīg adredde George / thou hast saynt Frāceys and saynt Domynyke thy defenders, ca­re nothing at all. Remembre what a grete sorte of merytes, what a strong Bull. bre­fely, remembre that my soule is pledged for thyne, If there were ony ieopardy, yf thou vnderstand what I say, and also a lowest y^e same, bowe doun thy heed toward the left syde. He dyde so. And agayn with a lyke outcry, they sayd bothe. yf y^u thynkest [Page] surely all these thynges thyrste dow­ne my hande / and with the same he thirst doune his hande. And so in bowynge his heed here and there / and puttynge doune hādes, was almoost .iii. houres past. And shortly after whan George began to gas­pe, there Bernardyne standyng vp ꝓnoū ­ced the absolucyon / whiche he coude not parfitely fynysshe, before George was departed. this was a lytel after mydnyght. in the mornyng the Anothomy was ma­de.

What noysome thyng was foū ­de within him?

Thou remembrest me in good tyme / for it was gone out of my remembraunce. A pyece of lead cleued in the skyn̄e, which closeth the herte and the lyghtes about, & dooth seperate them from the mylte and the lyuer, called Dia­phragma.

How came it there?

His wyfe shewed that he was ones stry­ken with a gon̄e stone / and therof the physyciens coniectured that a pyece of y^e lead moltyd, taryed styll within his body. By [Page] and by, the corps all to cut and dilanyate aswell as it wolde be, was put in a gray freres cote. After dyner, the buryeng was done with suche and lyke solempnytye, as it was decreed before.

I neuer herde of a more curious dethe, nor a corps more ambycyous. But I suppose thou woldest not haue this spoken abroode.

Wherefore?

Leste the hur­nettes wolde be an angred.

There is no ieoperdy at all. For yf these thynges be godly whiche I shewe, it is theyr profet that the people do know them / yf they be otherwyse, so many as be good among them, wyll gyue me thankes whiche ha­ue shewed forthe suche, wherby some correcte w^t shame, may refrayne lyke dedes. Also such as be sȳple, may take hede lest they be drawen in to like errour / for there be amonge this sorte great wyse men, & very godly, whiche hathe often complay­ned to me, that by the supersticion impro­byte or lewdnes of a fewe, the hole order [Page] is brought to hatred of good men.

Thou sayest very ryght, and boldely / but I am very desyrous to knowe, how Cornelius dyed.

Like as he lyued gre­uous to no man, so dyed he. He was eue­ry yere greued with the febre, cōmyng to hym at certeyne tymes. The same (bothe for bycause he was somewhat in age: for he was past thre score yeres) are for other causes more than was wont infebled the man, and it apered that he felt before that his fatall day was at hande. For the four­the daye before he dyed, was Sondaye, our lordes daye, he wente to the temple, was confessyd to his curate, he herde the cōmune preachynge and masse / and after the masse was done, he was howseled, and so wente home.

Used he no Physycyons?

Onely one he coun­selled, but he was no lesse a good mā, then a good Phisycyon, his name is Iacobus Castrutius.

I knowe hym very well [...] There is no more pure man.

[Page]He answered y^t his frende sholde not lacke his dylygence / but he thought there was more socoure in god than in physyciens. Cornelius dyde as gladly accepte his say­enge, as though he had shewed moost cer­tayne hope of lyfe. Therfore albeit that after his power, he was always very lyberall towarde the po [...]re, euen than all that myght be spared frō necessary ayde of his wyfe and chyldren, was dystributed to y^e poore and nedy men / and not to the amby­cyous beggers, whiche we comynly me­te in euery place / but to suche as were to be cōmended, whiche fought agaynst po­uerte, with al theyr deuyse and power. I desyred hym to lye hym doune / & rather to call the preste to hym, than to fatygate with laboure his feble body. He gaue an­swere, that his specyall study was euer to helpe his frendes, yf he myght, rather than to put thē to paynes / neyther he wolde be vnlyke to hymself at the tyme of his dyenge / neyther truely he laye doune ony [Page] more, but y^• last day, and parte of y^• night, wherin he departed out of this lyfe. Sō ­tyme for werinesse of his body he walked with a staffe / somtyme reposed in a chay­re. He went seldome to bed, but in his clo­thes, & his heed reysed vpwarde. All this tyme he eyther gaue one thing or other to relyue the poore / but [...]n especyall to them which were knowen poore, and dwelled nygh to hym, or e [...]les [...]e redde suche thynges in holy scrypture, whiche prouoketh a mannes conscyence towarde god, & also declareth his charyte towardes vs. And whan he by reason of his werynesse coud not rede hymself, than he herde some frende redyng before hym. Often tymes he exhorted with a vehemēt desyre, his famy­ly to loue one another, & to loue y^e trouthe. He also louyngly conforted them whiche were pensyfe and sorowfull for his dethe. He gaue oftē monycion to suche as he put in trust, that nothyng of his dettes shold be vnpayde.

Made he his wyll?

Yes, longe before, in tyme of his helthe / for he denayed vtterly that they were called testamentes, whiche were made of suche as lye on dyeng: but rather folisshe dotinges.

Dyd he bequethe nothynge to monasteryes, or to nedy men therin.

Nothȳg at all. I (sayd he) haue for my parte distrybute those lytell goodes whiche god hathe sent me. Ther­fore now as I gyue the possession of them to other: so I gyue also the dispensacyon and orderyng. And I trust that they wyll dyspose thē more vtuously, then I haue done my selfe.

Dyd he not call to him suche holy mē as George dyd.

Neuer one. Neither was there any body at all with hym, sauyng his owne fami­lie, and two speciall frendes of his.

I merueyll what he ment.

He said vtterly that he wold be onerous to no mo at his dethe, than he was at his natiui­tie.

I desyre instantly to here the ende of this mater.

Thou shalt here [Page] it by and by. Thursday cam, he laye styll vpon his bed, felynge extreme werynes of his body / the curate was sent for, and anoyled hym, & by and by gaue hym the body of our lorde, without any confession at all. For he sayde there was no scrupe & doubte at all in his mynde, The preste be­gan to aske of hym, with what pompe, and in what place [...] he wolde be buried. He sayd agayn, bury me in suche wyse as ye wold bury a christen man of the lowest degree. Nor I care not in what place ye lay my wretchyd body, whiche shal be foūde in the last day aswell out of one place as o­ther, where so euer it be hyd / nor I regar­de any thyng at all the pompe of burieng. Shortly after, whā mēcion was made of y^e ringyng of belles, trētals, & yeres myn­des, of bulles, of bying part takȳg of merites. Thā answered he thus, my curate, I shal do neuer y^e worse, if no bell at all knoll for me. If it wyll please you to synge one bare masse for me it shalbe more thā nede. [Page] Eyther yf there be ony thynge elles, whi­che (bycause of the comyn custome of the chyrche) may without offence of suche as be infyrme persones scarcely be left out, y^t I ꝑmytte to be at your aduyse. Neyther I am minded to bye ony man̄es prayers, eyther to bereue ony man his merytes. Haboundaunce of merytes floweth ouer in Chryst / and also I trust that y^e prayers and merytes of all thry [...]ten men, (yf I be a lyuynge membre) dooth prousfyte me / Al my hope is in .ii. bulles & pryuyleges / the one is of my offences, that y^e chyef pa­stour Iesus chryst hath clene taken them away, naylȳg it to the crosse. the other is that which he wrote and sealed with his precyous blode / wherby he put vs in cer­taynte of euerlasting lyfe, yf so be that we put all our hole trust in hym. God forfend that I armed with merytes, and bulles, sholde prouoke my lorde god, to come in to iugement with his bondman / beyng cer­tayne of this [...] that all which be lyuynge, [Page] shall not be iustyfied in his syght. I do appele therfore from his iustyce, to his mer­cy / for so moche as it is without measure, & ineffable. ¶After he had spoken these wordes, the preste departed. Corneliꝰ be­yng mery and glad (as though he had conceyued a grete hope of helthe) cōmaunded that suche places of holy scrypture sholde be rehersed to hym, as were wryten to cō ferme the hope of [...]esurrection, and the re­warde of īmortalyte. As for example the texte of Esaye declaryng the dethe of Eze­chias which was deferred, & the cātycle. Moreouer the .xv. chapytre of y^e fyrst epy­stle of Paule to the Corynthiens. Also out of saynt Iohn̄ the euangelyst of the dethe of Lazarꝰ / but namely y^e history of Chry­stes passyon, after the euangelystes. With what a mynde deuoured he euery thyng [...] sighyng at some thynges / & whan he herde some other he (lyftyng vp his handes) gaue thankes. At the heryng of dyuers o­ther thynges, he wexed very mery, and [Page] shewed hym outwardly glad / & at many sayenges, he caste out many shorte pray­ers. After dyner, whan he had taken a ly­tell slepe, he cōmaunded that one shulder [...] herse to hym the .xij. chapytre of saynte Iohn̄s Gospell, vnto the ende of the history. At whiche tyme y^u woldest haue sayde the man had ben cler [...]ly transfigured and afflate w^t a new spirite, Now it drewe towardes night, he [...]alled to hym his wyfe & chyldren. There (his feble body beynge reryd vp asmoche as he coulde suffer) he spake to them in this wyse: Moste dere wyfe, goddes pleasure is nowe to departe them whome he hathe vnyte before / but this separacyon shal be but bodyly, and y^• for a very shorte tyme. All thy dylygence, loue, and pytye, whiche thou were wont in tyme past to bere toward me and those moste dere chylderen, turne all towardes them. Neyther thynke that thou cannest any wise do higher pleasure to god or me, than yf thou nourysshe, brynge vp, and [Page] instytute theym whiche god hathe gyuen vs twayne, as fruyte of our maryage: that they may become Chrystes seruauntes. As towardes them therfore double thy loue, and thynke that the porcyon of my loue is translate all into the / whiche yf thou doest (as I doubte not but thou wylte) they shall in no wyse be sayde Orphanes. But and yf thou doest iterate matrymonye. At that worde the wyfe brast out in wepynge, and began for to swere deuoutely, that [...]he wolde neuer thynke of maryenge agayne. ¶Here Cornelius sayde. My mooste dere beloued syster in Chryste, yf our lorde Iesus Chryst wyll vouchsafe for to graunte the this purpo­se, and spyrytuall strengthe, slake not of thy parte from suche an heuenly calling / For that shall be bothe more conuenyent for thyn own self, and also these chyldren. But yf soo be that the infyrmytye, and weykenesse of the flesshe calle the to ma­rye agayne / knowe thou that my dethe [Page] setteth the at lyberte from the lawe of our matrymony / but y^u arte not at large ther­by from the faythfull promyse, whiche y^u hast made in bothe our names: to cure and bryng vp our comyn children. But as touchyng maryage, vse that lyberte whiche god hath ꝑmytted the. Onely I pray and put you in remembraūce bothe, that thou do chuse a husbande with suche maners, and thou also vse [...]he t [...]warde hym in su­che wyse that he may be led by his mere goodnesse, or prouoked through thy cōmodite or towardnes to loue his stepe son̄es. Take hede y^u doost not bynde thy selfe to ony vowe. Kepe thyselfe at lyberte to god and our chyldren, whome y^u must so brȳg vp in al mekenesse, y^t thou be no lesse cyrcū spect / and ware lest they do addyct them­selues to ony volūtary purposed lyuyng / vnto the tyme it may appere by theyr ae­ge and dyscrecyon, to what maner of ly­uyng they be moost apte. ¶Than after he torned toward his chyldren, and exhor [...]ed [Page] them to the studye of vertue, & obeye theyr moder, & one to loue antoher. These thynges ended, he kyssed his wyfe, and to his chyldren he gaue his blessyng, ma­kynge ouer them the sygne of the crosse, prayenge god to sende them good mynde, and Christes mercye. After this, he loked vpon all that stode by [...] & sayde: God that rose agayne in the mornyng, wyll vouch­safe to morow before the sōne ryse, to euo­cate and call out this symple soule from the sepulchre of this bodye, from the dar­kenes of this mortalitie, into his heuen­ly light. I wyll not that these yong chyl­dren shall be fatygate and wery [...]d with vayne watchynges. Let all oth [...]r goo to bedde also / one is suffycyente to watche with me, whome I wolde haue for to [...]eherse some holy scrypture. ¶Whan the nyght was past, a lytell after foure of the clocke, in the presence of all that were in the house, he cōmaunded one to rede out a [...]owde the hole psalme whiche our lorde [Page] prayenge, sayde at the tyme he suffered his pasiyon. That done, he commaunded one to brynge hym an halowed candell, & the sygne of the crucifyxe. He toke the candell in his hande, sayeng, the lorde is my lyghtenynge, and my helthe / whom shall I feare? He also kyssyng the crosse, sayd: The lorde is protectour, and defender of my lyfe, whom shall I therfore be adred of [...] [...]y and by, he helde his handes togy­ther vpon his breste, as a man in feruent prayer, lyftyng vp his iyes towarde he­uen, sayd: Lorde Iesu, take my spyryte. And shortely after, he shytte his iyes, as thoughe he wolde goo to slepe / and there­with, with a softe blast, he yelded vp the goste. Thou woldest rather haue sayd he had ben on slepe, than deade.

I ne­uer herde of dethe more quyet.

He was of lyke fasshyon in all his lyfe tyme / bothe twayne were my frendys. Per­chaunce I iudge not indyfferently, whe­ [...]her of them departed this lyfe more lyke [Page] a christian. Thou Mercolphus, whiche arte not parcyall, shalte more recte­tely, dyscerne.

So I wyll do, but at a conuenient season.