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THE RIOTER.

‘For this witterly was his ful entente—
To slen hem bothe and never to repente.’

Thus these two ruffians made their compact to murder the third, as I have described.

This yongest, which that wente to the toun,who
Full fast in hert he rollith up and dounclose
The beaute of these florins, newe and brighte.
O Lord, quoth he, if so were that I mighte
Have all this gold unto myself alloone,
Ther is no man that lyveth under the troonethrone
Of God, that schulde lyve so mery as I.
And atte last the feend, oure enemy,
Put in his thought that he schulde poysoun beye,buy
With which he mighte sle his felawes tweye.slay
For why? the feend fond him in such lyvynge
That he hadde leve to sorwe him to brynge:sorrow
For this was outrely[190] his ful entente
To slen hem bothe, and never to repente.slay
And forth he goth, no lenger wold he tarye,delay
Into the toun unto a potecarye,apothecary
And prayde him that he him wolde selle
Som poysoun, that he might his rattis quelle;rats
And eek ther was a polkat in his hawefarmyard
That, as he sayde, his capouns had i-slawe,
And said he wold him wreke, if that he mighte,avenge
Of vermyn, that destroyed hem by nighte.
Thapotecary answerd,[191]Thou schalt havethe apothecary
A thing that, also God my soule save,
In al this world ther nys no creature
That ete or dronk hath of this confecture—mixture
Nought but the mountaunce of a corn of whete—amount
That he ne schuld his lif anoon for-lete;quit
Ye, sterve he schal, and that in lasse whiledie
Than thou wilt goon a paas not but a myle,step
This poysoun is so strong and violent.
This cursed man hath in his hond i-hentcaught or taken
This poysoun in a box, and sins he ranthen
Into the nexte stret unto a man
And borwed of him large boteles thre,
And in the two his poysoun poured he:
The thrid he kepede clene for his drynke,third, clean
For al the night he schop him for to swynkeprepared, labour
In carying of the gold out of that place.
And whan this riotour, with sorry grace,rioter
Hath fillid with wyn his grete botels thre,
To his felaws ayein repaireth he.again
What nedith it therof to sermoun more?sermonize
For right as they hadde cast[192] his deth bifore,arranged
Right so thay han him slayn, and that anoon.have
And whan this was i-doon, thus spak that oon:spake, one
Now let us drynke and sitte, and make us mery,
And afterwards[193] we wil his body bery.will
And with that word[193] it happed him par casby chance
To take the botel ther the poysoun was,wherein
And drank, and yaf his felaw drink also,gave
For which anon thay stervede bothe two.soon, died
But certes I suppose that Avycen[194]certainly
Wrot never in canoun, ne in non fen,wrote
Mo wonder sorwes of empoisonyngwondrous pangs
Than hadde these wrecches tuo or here endyng.
Thus endid been these homicides tuo,be
And eek the fals empoysoner also.also
The youngest, who had gone into the town,
Deep in his mind he turneth up and down
The beauty of these florins, new and bright.
“O Lord,” quoth he, “if any-wise I might
Have all this treasure to myself alone,
There is no man that dwelleth under the throne
Of God, who then should live so merry as I.”
And at the last the fiend, our enemy,
Put in his thought that he should poison buy,
With which to cause his comrades both to die.
For why? the fiend found this man’s life so foul
That he had power now upon his soul:
For this was utterly his fix’d intent
To slay them both and never to repent
And forth he goes, no longer would he tarry,
Into the town to an apothecary,
And begged him plausibly that he would sell
Him poison strong enough the rats to quell;
Also, there was a polecat in his yard
Which had destroy’d his capons, he averr’d,
And he would gladly rid him if he might
Of vermin, which destroy’d them in the night.
The apothecary answered, “Thou shalt have
Something so strong, as God my soul shall save,
That in this world nothing that living is
Who in his food doth eat or drink of this—
Nay, but the greatness of a grain of wheat—
Shall fail to die, his life shall be forfeit;
Yea, he shall die, and that in lesser while
Than thou shalt walk a step beyond a mile,
This poison is so strong and violent.”
This curséd man hath taken it and pent
The poison in a box, and forthwith ran
Hastily to the next street, to a man
And borrow’d of him some large bottles three,
And into two the poison pouréd he:
The third he kept untainted for himself,
Meaning to toil at carrying his pelf
From out that cursed place the whole night long.
And when this villain, bent on doing wrong,
Had filled his three great bottles up with wine,
Back to his mates he went, as if to dine.
What need is there of saying any more?
For as they had devised his death before,
E’en so they slew him, and with brief delay.
And when the deed was done, the first did say,
“Now let us sit and drink, and make us merry,
And afterwards we will his body bury.”
And speaking thus, he chanced, upon the minute,
To take a bottle which had poison in it,
And drank, and gave his fellow drink beside,
Whereby within a little space they died.
But truly I suppose that Avicen
Did ne’er describe in canon or in fen
More frightful pains of deadly poisoning,
Than these two wretches felt in perishing.
Thus ended both the wicked homicides,
And that false-hearted poisoner besides.

Notes by the Way.

During the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries the passion for gambling had spread from the highest to the very lowest class of the population. The practice of men drinking and playing themselves bare in the taverns, where both vices were encouraged by the taverners, was common enough to provoke numberless censures and caricatures, so much so that it is a mercy Sir Wilfrid Lawson was spared the spectacle. The Pardoner’s Tale is one of the list.

The taverns were the resort of all the refuse of the people: the taverners found it suited them to act as pawnbrokers, advancing money on the clothes and property of the ne’er-do-wells who lacked cash to stake or to pay; and provided other attractions whereby men were tempted to various vices, and robbed during their drunken sleep. The language of these young rascals of both sexes is graphically condemned by the Pardoner; and gluttony is pointed out as the root of all evil, for which Adam fell.

Hazard was the game with which our rioters strove to ‘drive away the day.’ Mr. Wright, speaking of the use of dice, tells us, “In its simpler form, that of the game of hazard, in which the chance of each player rested on the mere throw of the dice, it was the common game of the low frequenters of the taverns—that class which lived upon the vices of society, and which was hardly looked upon as belonging to society itself.” Men staked all they possessed, to the very clothes on their backs, on one cast.