Eyre. Tarry, my fine Hodge, my brisk foreman! Stay, Firk! Peace, pudding-broth! By the Lord of Ludgate, I love my men as my life. Peace, you gallimafry[31] Hodge, if he want work, I’ll hire him. One of you to him; stay,—he comes to us.
Lacy. Goeden dach, meester, ende u vro oak.[32]
Firk. Nails, if I should speak after him without drinking, I should choke. And you, friend Oake, are you of the gentle craft?
Lacy. Yaw, yaw, ik bin den skomawker.[33]
Firk. Den skomaker, quoth a! And hark you, skomaker, have you all your tools, a good rubbing-pin, a good stopper, a good dresser, your four sorts of awls, and your two balls of wax, your paring knife, your hand- and thumb-leathers, and good St. Hugh’s bones to smooth up your work?
Lacy. Yaw, yaw; be niet vorveard. Ik hab all de dingen voour mack skooes groot and cleane.[34]
Firk. Ha, ha! Good master, hire him; he’ll make me laugh so that I shall work more in mirth than I can in earnest.
Eyre. Hear ye, friend, have ye any skill in the mystery of cordwainers?
Lacy. Ik weet niet wat yow seg; ich verstaw you niet.[35]
Firk. Why, thus, man: (Imitating by gesture a shoemaker at work) Ick verste u niet, quoth a.