Page:The booke of thenseygnementes and techynge that the Knyght of the Towre made to his doughters - 1902.pdf/79

 grehoundes and black dogges, whome them semed they vncoupled and dide set them on hem, and made them all to drawe hem and byte them by the eres, armes, and thyes, and blewe their homes, halowed and cryed. And this chace or hūtyng endured on them so longe, that them semed that they were taken & slayn, & ther with all they awoke, beyng sore agast & effrayed, & this aduysion happed and cam to them two tymes. Now it happed that the preest cam vnto the place where this knyght & lady were, and they tolde to hym their vysyon. And in lyke wyse the preest told to them his, whereof they were sore admerueyled and abasshed by cause they were lyke. Thenne the preest aduysed hym, and sayde to the knyght, "Syre, there is an hooly hermyte here by in suche a foreste, whiche shalle make vs wyse and vnderstonde of this thynge." Thenne they wente to this hooly man, and recounted to hym theyr aduysyon fro poynt to poynt. And thys hooly man, which was wyse and of a blessid lyf, declared to them all their fait, and said to the knyght & his wyf, "Ye be the black swyne, whiche kepe the pathe and the entre of the pasture, that the sheepe may not fede them, ne may not ete of the good pasture, that is to saye, that ye be lord of the parysshe in whiche ye dwelle, and ye haue distourbled and lette the good peple and parisshens for to here the seruyse of god, which is good pasture & refresshyng of the spyrituel lyf of the sowle, by cause of youre latchesse and youre long reste. And the homes that ye haue ben the braunches of youre synnes, whiche ben moche grete, and in especiall of the grete synnes that ye haue done in lettyng other fro the benefete and the seruyce of god, whiche ye may not amende but by greete penaūce and tormente. And therfore the vengeaūce of the wrong that ye haue done is shewed to yow that ye shall be tormentyd and hunted of the fendes of helle, and at the last ye shall be taken and slayn by the very huntyng of deuyls, lyke as it was shewed to you by youre aduysyon. And I say you certaynly, that it hadde ben lasse synne an honderd ageynst one, that ye had herde 69