That comen bat a while agon,
And thei avanced were anon.
These olde men upon this thing,
So as thei dorste, ayein the king
Among hemself compleignen ofte:
Bot ther is nothing seid so softe,
P. ii. 204
That it ne comth out ate laste;
The king it wiste, and als so faste,[29]
As he which was of hih Prudence,