fastynge, or if you accompanyed with yowre wyffe the nyght before, I conceyle you nat to loke apon it.

Me. O blessed arte thou that euer thou gotte this relyque.

Ogy. I may tell you in cowncell, I wold nat gyue thys litle pece for all y^e gold that Tagus hathe, I wyll sett it in gold, but so y^t it shall apere thorow a crystall stone. And than the Supprioure whã he sawe that I dyd take the relyque so honorably, he thoght it shuld nat be lost, in case he shuld shew me greater mysteries, he dyd aske me whether I hadde euer sene our ladyes secretes, but at that word I was astonyed, yet I durst nat be so so bold as to demande what thos secretes were. For in so holy thynges to speake a mysse is no small danger. I sayd that I dyd neuer se thaym but I sayd that I wold be very glade to see thaym. But now I was broght in, and as I had be inspired with the holy ghost, than thay lyghted a couple of taperes, & set forthe a litle ymage, nat couryously wroght, nor yet very gorgeous, but of a meruelous v^irtue.

Me. That litle body hathe smale powre to worke myrakles. I saw saynt Christopher at Parise, nat a carte lode, but as moche as a greate hylle, yet he neuer dyd myrakles as farre as euer I herd telle.

Ogy. At our ladyes fette there is a precyous stone, whos name as it is nother in Greke nor Laten. The Frenchemã gaue it the name of a tode, bycause it is so like, that no man (althoghe he be conynge) can set it forthe more lyuely. But so moche greater is the myrakle, that the stone is litle, the fourme of the tode dothe nat apere, but it shynythe as it were enclosyd within that precyous stone.

Me. Perauenture they ymagyne y^e symylytude of a tode to be there, euyn as we suppose whan we cutte y^e fearne stalke there to be an egle, and euyn as chyldren (whiche they see nat indede) in y^e clowdes, thynke they see dragones spyttynge fyre, & hylles flammynge with fyre, & armyd mê encownterynge.

Ogy. No, I wold you shuld know it, there is no lyuynge tode that more euydêtly dothe expresse hymselffe than it dyd there playnly apere.

Me. Hetherto I haue sufferyd thy lyes, but now get the another that wyll beleue the, thy tale of a tode.

Ogy. No maruayle Menedemus thogh you be so disposyd, for all the world cannot make me to beleue yt, not & all doctoures of dyuynyte wold swere it were trewe. But that I sawe it with myne eyes, ye with thes same eyes, dyd I proue it. But in y^e meanseson me thynke you regard naturall phylosophye but litle.

Me. why so, because I wyll nat beleue y^e asses flye?

Ogy. An do you nat se, how nature the worker of all thynges, dothe so excell in expressynge y^e fourme bewty, & coloure of thaym maruylously in other thynges, but pryncypaly in precyous stones? moreouer she hathe gyuen to y^e same stones wonderouse vertu and strêkthe that is almost incredyble, but that experience dothe otherwyse testyfye. Tell me, do you beleue that a Adamand stone wold drawe vnto him stele w^towt any towchynge therof, and also to be sepate frome him ayen of hys owne accorde, excepte that yow had sene it with yowre eyes.

Me. No verely, nat and if .x. Arystoteles wold perswade me to the contrarye.

Ogy. Therfore bycause you shuld nat say thys were a lye, in case you here any thynge, whiche you haue not sene prouyd. In a stone callyd Ceraunia we see y^e fashon of lightnynge, in the stone Pyropo wyldfyre, Chelazia dothe expresse bothe the coldnes and the fourme of hayle, and thoghe thou cast in to the hote fyre, an Emrode, wyll expresse the clere water of the seye. Carcinas dothe counterfayte ye shape of a crabfishe. Echites of the serpente vyper. But to what purpose shuld I entreat, or inuestygate the nature of suche thynges whiche be innumerable, whã there is no parte of nature nor in the elementes, nother in any lyuynge creature, other in planetes, or herbes y^e nature euyn as it were all of pleasure hathe not expressyd in precyous stones? Doo yow maruayle thã y^t in thys stone at owre ladies fote, is the fourme and fashon of a tode.

Me. I maruayle that nature shuld haue so moche lesure, so to counterfayt the nature of althynges.

Ogy. It was but to exercyse, or occupye the curyosytye of mannes wytte, and so at the lest wyse to kepe vs frome ydlenes, and yet as thoghe we had nothynge to passe y^e tyme with all, we be in a maner made apon foles, apon dyesse, and crafty iogeleres.

Me. You saye very truthe.

Ogy. There be many men of no smale grauytye, that wyll say thys kynd of stones, if that you put it in vynagre, it wyll swyme, thoge you wold thruste it downe with violence.

Me. Wherfore do thay sette a tode byfore our lady?

Ogy. Bycause she hathe ouercome, trode vnderfote, abolyshyd all maner of vnclennes, poysõ, pryde, couytousnes, and all wordly affectyones that raygne in man.

Me. Woo be to vs, that hathe so many todes in owre hartes.

Ogygy. We shal be purgyd frome thaym all, if we dylygêtly worshipe owre lady.

Me. How wold she be worshipyd.

Ogy. The most acceptable honor, that thou canste doo to her is to folowe her lyuynge.

Me. You haue told all at ones. But this is hard to brynge to pass.

Ogy. You saye truthe, but it is an excellente thynge.

Me. But go to, and tell on as you begane.

Ogy. After thys to come to owre purpose, the Supprioure shewyed to me ymages of gold and syluer, and sayd, thes be pure gold, and thes be syluer and gyltyd, he told the pryce of euery one of thaym, and the patrone. Whan I wonderyd, reioycynge of so maruelous ryches, as was abowt our lady, than saythe the Sextê bycause I percayue, that you be so vertuously affecte, I suppose it greate wronge, to hyde any thynge frome you, but now you shall see the pryuytyes of our lady, and than he pullyd owt of the aultre a whole world of maruayles, if I shuld tell you of all, a whole daye wold nat suffyse, & so thys pylgremage chansyd to me most happy. I was fyllyd euyn full withe goodly syghts, and I brynge also with me this wonderous relyque, whiche was a tokê gyuen to me frõe our lady.

Me. Haue you nat it prouyd, what valewre your woden relyque is on?

Ogy. Yis, y^t I haue, in a certayne Inne within thys thre dayes, ther I fownde a certayne man y^t was bestraght of hys wytte, whiche shuld haue be bownde, but thys woden relyque was put vnder hys nekke pryuyly, wherapon he gad a sadde and sownd sleape, but in the mornynge he was hole and sownde as euer he was before.

Me. It was nat the phrenysy, but the dronkê dropsye, sleape ys wontyd to be a good medicyne for y^e dysease.

Ogy. Whã you be dysposyd to skoffe Menedemus, yt ys best y^t you gette a nother maner of gestynge stokke than thys, for I tell you it is nother good nor holsome, to bowrde so w^t sayntes. For thys same mã dyd say, that a woman dyd apere to hym, in hys sleape, after a maruelouse fashion, which shold gyue hym a cuppe to drynke apon.

Mene. I suppose it was Elleborum wyll restore a man