Of that fortune hath you refused.’
Thus was this wise king excused,
And thei lefte of here evele speche
And mercy of here king beseche. 2390
[Tale of the Beggars and the Pasties.]
Somdiel to this matiere lik
I finde a tale, hou Frederik,
Nota hic de diuiciarum Accidencia: vbi narrat qualiter Fredericus Romanorum Imperator duos pauperes audiuit litigantes, quorum vnus dixit, ‘Bene potest ditari, quem Rex vult ditare.’ Et alius dixit, ‘Quem deus vult ditare, diues erit.’ Que res cum ad experimentum postea probata fuisset, ille qui deum inuocabat pastellum auro plenum sortitus est, alius vero caponis pastellum sorte[36] preelegit.
Of Rome that time Emperour,
Herde, as he wente, a gret clamour