“Oh! thy reverence!” she made answer. “The instrument hath fallen in the swamp and I cannot recover it. A sad pity, for ‘tis a precious instrument and cost three or four hundred francs.”
“Let us both seek,” quoth the vicar. “I will aid thee.”
He tucked up his gown, and both fell to seeking in the swamp, which was somewhat deep. Anon the girl turned her head, and perceiving the vicar with his garments tucked up above his hips, cried out:—
“Ah! thy reverence! No need for further search! ‘Tis thou who hast the instrument ‘twixt thy legs!”
EXCURSUS to THE INSTRUMENT
A variant of the foregoing story, (The Instrument), is to be found in Le Moyen de Parvenir (Béroalde de Verville). The editors of Kruptadia draw attention to it, quoting the following extract:—
The simpleton husband Hauteroue, while futtering his wife, remarked:—
“What a labour it is, my love!”
“I am not surprised,” quoth she. “Thou dost work with a bad implement.”