On which the Canon sets spurs to his horse and gallops off, leaving his character behind him, and the Yeoman settles down to tell the story of the foolish priest and the charlatan. The false Canon borrows a mark from the priest, promising to return it within three days:—
And at the thridde day broghte his moneye,
And to the preest he took his gold agayn,
Whereof this preest was wonder glad and fayn.
The Canon protests that under no circumstances would he ever dream of breaking his word:—
“ther was never man yet yvel apayd
For gold ne silver that he to me lente ...
and in token of friendship he offers, if the priest will send for some quicksilver, to show him a marvel.
“Sir,” quod the preest, “it shal be doon y-wis.”
He bad his servant fecchen him this thing....
The Canon then orders a fire to be prepared, and with much parade makes ready a crucible. He carefully shuts the door and pretends to be most anxious lest any one should see what they are doing. Not till the servant has gone out, and he and the priest are alone, does he solemnly cast various powders on to the blazing coals, “To blynde with the preest.” Finally, while his unfortunate victim is busy blowing the fire and making himself generally useful, the false Canon so manipulates things that an ingot of silver appears in the crucible. He repeats the trick three times, and so impresses “this sotted preest” that the poor dupe
the somnee of fourty pound anon
Of nobles fette,[206] and took hem everichon
To this chanoun, for this ilke receit....
After which, needless to say, the Canon disappears.
The whole story teems with technical terms, with descensories, and sublimatories, and cucurbites, with bole armoniak and orpiment, and the like. It shows an intimate knowledge of the laboratory work of the day, of vessels and retorts, of chemicals and minerals and their various properties. At the same time, it proves that Chaucer was well aware of the ease with which a very little knowledge combined with a great deal of assurance would enable a quack to impose on the absolute ignorance of the uninitiated. The charlatan who tried to impose upon the author of the Chanouns Yemannes Tale would soon have found out his mistake.