Page:The booke of thenseygnementes and techynge that the Knyght of the Towre made to his doughters - 1902.pdf/30



HERE was a knyght that badde two doughters, one that was by his first wyf, and that other by his second. And she that he had by his first wyf was meruaylously deuoute, ne neuer wold ete till that she had said all her houres and herd all the masses that she myght here. And that other dougter was holden so tendyrly and so moche louyd, that she was suffred to have alle her wylle. For as soone as she had herd a lytill masse and hadde saide twoo or thre pater nostres, she wente in to the garderobe and there ete a soupe or some lycorous thyng, & sayd that her hede oke for fastyng, but all this was but an euylle customme. And also when her fader and moder were a bedde, thenne muste she goo ete somme good morsell or somme good mete. And this lyf ledde she tyl she was maryed vnto a knyst whiche was wyse and subtyle. Thenne it happed that her lord knewe her manere, which was euyll bothe for the body & the soule, and told and shewed this to her moche honestly and swetely many tymes, and said she dyd euyll to vse suche a lyf, but neuer she wold leue it, for faire spekyng ne for thyng that he couthe say or doo. Thenne it happed that on a nyght he had slepte his firste slepe, and tasted beside hym and found her not, wherof he was moch angry, and aroos from his bed and cast aboute hym a furryd mantell, and entred in to his garderobe, where as his wyf was with his clerk and two of his seruantes, and ete and played so that there was a grete noyse and the men and wymmen iaped to geder eche with other. And the lord that sawe all this arraye was moche wrothe and felle, and helde a staf in his honde for to smyte one of his seruautes whiche had embracid one of the wymmen of the chambre, and smote so sore that seruaut that a splynt sprange out of the staf in to the one eye of his wyf, whiche was by hym, in suche manere that by mysauenture her eye was smeton oute