'POTHECARY. By the mass, I hold us nought all three.
[Enter Pedlar.
PEDLAR. By our lady, then have I gone wrong;
And yet to be here I thought it long.
'POTHECARY. Ye have gone wrong no whit,
I praise your fortune and your wit,
That can direct you so discreetly
To plant you in this company.
Thou a Palmer, and thou a Pardoner,
I a 'Pothecary.
PEDLAR. And I a Pedlar.
'POTHECARY. Now, on my faith, well watched;
Where the devil were we four hatched?
PEDLAR. That maketh no matter, since we be matched,
I could be merry if that I had catched
Some money for part of the ware in my pack.
'POTHECARY. What the devil hast thou there at thy back?
PEDLAR. What! dost thou not know that every pedlar
In all kind of trifles[400] must be a meddler?
Specially in women's triflings;
Those use we chiefly[401] above all things,
Which things to see, if ye be disposed,
Behold what ware here is disclosed!
This gear showeth itself in such beauty,
That each man thinketh[402] it saith, Come, buy me!
Look where yourself can like to be chooser,
Yourself shall make price, though I be loser.
Is here[403] nothing for my father Palmer?
Have ye not a wanton in a corner,
For all your walking to holy places?
By Christ, I have heard of as strange cases.
Who liveth in love, and love would win,
Even at this pack he must begin.
Wherein[404] is right many a proper token,
Of which by name part shall be spoken:
Gloves, pins, combs, glasses unspotted,
Pomades, hooks, and laces knotted;[405]
Brooches, rings, and all manner of beads;
Laces,[406] round and flat, for women's heads;
Needles, thread, thimble, shears, and all such knacks,[407]
Where lovers be, no such things lacks:
Sipers[408], swathbands,[409] ribbons, and sleeve laces,
Girdles, knives, purses, and pincases.
'POTHECARY. Do women buy their pincases of you?