After a long preamble he addresses himself to preach, when the Pardoner enters with these words: _God and St Leonarde send ye all his grace, As many as ben assembled in this place_, &c. and makes a long speech, showing his bulls and his reliques, in order to sell his pardons, for the raising some money towards the rebuilding _Of the holy chappell of sweet saynt Leonarde, Which late by fyre was destroyed and marde._ Both these speaking together with continual interruption, at last they fall together by the ears. Here the curate enters (for you must know the scene lies in the church): _Hold your hands; a vengeance on ye both two, That ever ye came hyther to make this ado, To polute my chyrche_, &c. Friar. _Mayster Parson, I marvayll ye will give lycence To this false knave in this audience To publish his ragman rolles with lyes. I desyred hym ywys more than ones or twyse To hold his peas tyll that I had done, But he would here no more than the man in the mone._ Pard. _Why sholde I suffre the, more than thou me? Mayster Parson gave me lycence before the. And I wolde thou knowest it I have relykes here, Other maner stuffe than thou dost bere: I wyll edefy more with the syght of it, Than with all thy pratynge of holy wryt; For that except that the precher himselfe lyve well, His predycacyon wyll helpe never a dell_, &c. Par. _No more of this wranglyng in my chyrch: I shrewe yowr hertys bothe for this lurche. Is there any blood shed here between these knaves? Thanked be God they had no stavys, Nor egotoles, for then it had ben wronge, Well, ye shall synge another songe._ Here he calls his neighbour Prat, the constable, with design to apprehend 'em, and set 'em in the stocks. But the Friar and Pardoner prove sturdy, and will not be stocked, but fall upon the poor Parson and Constable, and bang them both so well-favouredly, that at last they are glad to let 'em go at liberty: and so the farce ends with a drawn battle. Such as this were the plays of that age, acted in gentlemen's halls at Christmas or such like festival times by the servants of the family or strollers who went about, and made it a trade. It is not unlikely that the[91] lords in those days and persons of eminent quality had their several gangs of players, as some have now of fiddlers, to whom they give cloaks and badges. The first comedy that I have seen, that looks like regular, is "Gammer Gurton's Needle," writ,[92] I think, in the reign of King Edward VI. This is composed of five acts, the scenes unbroken, and the unities of time and place duly observed. It was acted at Christ's College in Cambridge, there not being as yet any settled and public theatres.