 | [A paire of spy-knaves] |  |
[Such Oast, such ghest, the Prouerbe sayes]
Such Oast, such ghest, the Prouerbe sayes,
Ill Seruants chuse bad Masters wayes.
Ill Seruants chuse bad Masters wayes.
A Master that delight in lyes did take,
Did keepe a man, would sooth vp all he spake,
Who being one time with Gentlemen of worth
At dinner set, this lye he vented forth:
It was my hap of late to make a shoote,
And strike a Deere quite thorow eare and foote.
This may seeme strange, vnto all you that heare it,
But aske my man, he saw it, and will sweare it.
Quoth they, This is incredible: and we
Intreat some reason, how the same could be.
Why, quoth his Man, euen as the Deere did lye,
My Master tooke his ayme, and letting flye,
The Deere with hinder foote did scratch an eare,
And he shot thorow both at once, I'le sweare.
Indeed (quoth they) thou do'st some reason show,
There's possibilitie it may be so,
And laughing past it merrily away,
At last his man in secret thus did say,
Sir, I intreat, that if your Worship please,
To let your friends haue any more of these,
That are so grose they lye vpon your hand,
And I vnto the proofe of them must stand,
To giue your Tales more scope into the weather,
For I could hardly bring this lye together:
The distance 'twixt the Foote and Eare was such,
That I had much adoe to make them tuch.
Therefore in selling bargaines to your buyers,
Take heed we be not (as we are) found lyers.
Did keepe a man, would sooth vp all he spake,
Who being one time with Gentlemen of worth
At dinner set, this lye he vented forth:
It was my hap of late to make a shoote,
And strike a Deere quite thorow eare and foote.
This may seeme strange, vnto all you that heare it,
But aske my man, he saw it, and will sweare it.
Quoth they, This is incredible: and we
Intreat some reason, how the same could be.
My Master tooke his ayme, and letting flye,
The Deere with hinder foote did scratch an eare,
And he shot thorow both at once, I'le sweare.
Indeed (quoth they) thou do'st some reason show,
There's possibilitie it may be so,
And laughing past it merrily away,
At last his man in secret thus did say,
Sir, I intreat, that if your Worship please,
To let your friends haue any more of these,
That are so grose they lye vpon your hand,
And I vnto the proofe of them must stand,
To giue your Tales more scope into the weather,
For I could hardly bring this lye together:
The distance 'twixt the Foote and Eare was such,
That I had much adoe to make them tuch.
Therefore in selling bargaines to your buyers,
Take heed we be not (as we are) found lyers.
| [A paire of spy-knaves] | |