AT a lone houſe neer Wetherby in York-ſhire, there dwelt a rich Gull (by name Tailour) whoſe wealth was ſo abundant, that he is knowne all about thoſe Coaſts by the name of Rich Tailour, but it ſeemes by the ſtory, that he was as it were wedded to his riches, and thought it more Religion to adore his Gold than his God, inſomuch that his parſimony was ſuch, that he had even choaked his cheſts, with his ſtore; but God will not thus be cheated of his honour, but he will ſhew himſelfe to be a God, and a jealous God, not failing to puniſh the offenders, to ſome purpoſe: it thus therefore hapned, Our moſt gracious Soveraigne which now is (I beſeech the Heavens to bleſſe him, and ſend him long to reigne) ſtood in great need of money to pay his Souldiers which he had levied againſt the Scots, and was fain to borrow money of ſome good meaning men, amongſt the reſt, an hundred pounds were required from this fatned Bore, which took ſuch delight to wallow in his ſilver dirt, but he would part with his eyes as ſoon as with his mony, as ſoon the one as the other, and at laſt gave a flat deniall, ſaying, that he neither could nor would ſpare it, and ſo diſmiſſed the meſſenger. O Cur! that any man ſhould adore dirt and droſſe ſo much, that he would not ſpare a doit to ſo good a purpoſe; ſurely, like a greedy raſcall as he is, he doth thinke he ſhall never have enough, juſt like to the Rich man in the Goſpell, he was forced to pull down his old Barnes and build new, becauſe the old was too little to contain his ſtore, and yet never contented: or like the Horſeleech, he ſtill cries, Give, give, and yet his gutts are ready to break. I hope the devill loves him ſo well, that ere it be long he will give him his guts full of no goodneſſe: but my pious rogue hath cauſed me to digreſſe, for he was not long without a match.

The Souldiers hearing what a maſſe of money this ſcraping wretch had gleaned up together, and how il-natured he was, that he was unwilling to ſpare an hundred pounds, which was (as it were) but a mite, in compariſon of his ſtore, thus plotted it, that they might be revenged of this griping, beaſtlike man.

A company of Troopers about eight or nine agreed together to go to this Tailour, and to ſearch and ſee what money he had ſo wickedly gathered together; well, they all agreed, and each man taking his Horſe, to the houſe of this rich Tailour they ride, and all things were very fit and convenient for them, for it was about twelve of the clock at night when they came thither; when they came thither, they found onely a man and a maid beſides rich Tailour himſelfe, theſe three they took and bound, each man drawing his ſword and putting it to his breaſt, vowing to kill him, if he told them not where his Gold was, he ſtraightwayes deſired them that they would ſpare his life, and then he began to bid them look in the till of ſuch a cheſt, and there they might ſatisfie themſelves: the cheſt by relation was at the leaſt three yards long, and when they had opened it, they ſound it as full cramb'd with ſilver as one piece could lie to another, which made them almoſt amazed, then they opened the till of the cheſt, where they found two thouſand pounds in Gold, that they took in the firſt place, and ſo much of the Silver that it amounted in all to the value of ſourteen thouſand pounds. Now you muſt here underſtand, that the ring-leader in this act was one Knowles, who was heretofore a dancer on the ropes, and alſo a jeſter to Maſter John Punteus the French Mountebanke, which travelled throughout this Kingdom; who (when they had gotten the money) began to ſhew his feats of activity, upon the table, relling Maſter Tailour, that he would not take his money for nothing, he ſhould have ſome ſport for it, and after that done, they each man to his Horſe again, got as faſt as they could, and away they went to ſhift for themſelves. They had not been long gone, but Tailour got himſelf looſe, and unbound his man and his maid, and with all ſpeed ſent his man to make hue and cry after theſe Troopers which had robbed him, but they were not ſo fooliſh as to be taken, for every man ſought to ſhift for himſelfe, and they did it moſt compleatly; but this by the way.

It ſeemes by the ſequell, that their eyes were more than their bellies, and that they had taken more than they could well tell what to do with, therefore they caſt a bag with two hundred pounds in it into a buſh, and ſo hied away. Now it chanced that two men were at plough together, and he that held the plough going that way where the buſh ſtood, and eſpied the bag with the two hundred pounds in it, he had no ſooner caſt his eyes upon the money, but he called to his man to ſhoot off, for he would worke no more that day, his man began to grumble and grutch 〈◊〉 , ſaying, I ſe not ſhoot off, nor Iſe not leefe my dayes worke not I: his maſter anſwered, I ſay, thou ſhalt not, for I will pay thee thy wages, as alſo to give thee thy ſupper; Marry, Gods bleſſing on your heart maſter, ſaid the man, and ſo they ganged along together to the next Alehouſe, which was not far from them, and there they began to call for their liquour about them, and in a while they beſpoke meat for their ſuppers; which incontinently they had, and to it they fell and fed heartily, but the old proverbe ſaith, That ſweet meat muſt have ſower ſauce, and ſo it had indeed, too ſower for the poor harmeleſſe men who were as innocent in the knowledge of the robbers, as the childe which was but even then borne. And thus it came to paſſe.

Old Tailour having ſent Hue and Cry after the Troopers which had taken his fourteen thouſand pounds from him, had this accident by the way,

The Hue and Cry chanced to come into the ſame houſe where theſe two poor plough men were which had found the two hundred pounds, where they poor innocent men were taken for ſuſpected perſons, to he of the Robbers, and alſo the money which they had, old Tailour knew very well to be his, for there were nothing but halfe Crownes in the bag, and they had diminiſhed but twelve ſhillings of it in beer, and their ſupper, the reſt was all told, and found to be right; well, theſe men were ſuſpected fellows, old Tail thought, and he ſwore he would hang them if it coſt him halfe his eſtate. Accurſed rogue, that will ſpend more to caſt away an innocent man, than he will lend to his King; well, to the Goal they were conveyed, whilſt the offenders revelled abroad in ſecurity, for ſome ſlipt over into France, ſome into Ireland, ſome to this place, and ſome to that place, where they all knew themſelves to be in ſecurity; but God will never ſuffer the poor and innocent to periſh, for after they had been a while away, they with unanimity wrote to the King for a pardon, ſhewing the cauſe that they did this deed, becauſe they had not their Pay, and that iron-bound rogue would not give a Souldier a cup of drinke, if he ſhould come and crave it at his gate: when our King had underſtood how the cauſe ſtood, and that it was (as it were) but equity to do as they had done, deſired the Parliaments conſent, and ſo pardoned them all; now they came powdring back again, when they heard how graciouſly our King had dealt with them, and this Knowles with old Tailours money hath bought a place at Court, and lives moſt gentilely; but thoſe two poor plough-men they were enforced to ſtay in Priſon till Goal-delivery, and indeed I thinke that they had done well to have alloted the two hundred pounds to thoſe two poor men which found them, whereby they have ſuffered all this wrong.

Thus have you heard the true relation of old Tailour, of his riches, how he was robbed by Knowles and his company, how they fled, and how they were pardoned, how two poor plough men were taken and apprehended for finding what they had caſt away, and (the more is pity) they lie in durance for it at this time, and ſhall till a Goal-delivery, and in my fooliſh conceit, old Tailour was ſerved well enough, I pray God it may be a warning to all ſuch griping villanies. The Troopers they ſped well, but I would not wiſh men to attempt the like, leaſt they fall ſhort of their fortunes.