[Sidenote: The stork bewrayeth not adultery but wreaketh the adultery of his owne mate.] Fo: 246. pa: 1. speaking of the storke, you saye that Chaucers woordes “wreaker of adulterye” shoulde rather bee “bewrayer of Adulterye;” w{hi}che in truth accordinge to one propryetye of his nature may be as you saye, but according to another propryetye of his nature, yt sholde be “the wreaker of Adulterye,” as Chaucer hathe; for he ys a greater wreaker of the adulterye of his owne kynde and female than the bewrayer of the adulterye of one other kynde, and of his hostesse one the toppe of whose howse he harborethe. for Aristotle sayeth Bartholomeus de proprietatibus reru{m} li: 12. cap. 8. with many other auctors, that yf the storke by any meanes perceve that his female hath brooked spousehedde, he will no more dwell with her, but stryketh and so cruelly beateth her, that he will not surcease vntill he hathe killed her yf he maye, to wreake and revenge that adulterye. These and suche lyke in my conceyte are worthye to be touched in your Annotac{i}ons, besides other matters whiche you haue not handled; whereof (because tyme requirethe after all this tedious treatyce to drawe to one ende) I will not now treate; but onlye speake a little moore of fyve especiall thinges, woorthye the animadvers{i}one, of which the fyrste ys, [Sidenote: The plowman’s tale is wrong placed.] that yo{u} make the Plowmans tale to go next before the persons tale, suffering the persons corrupted prologue to passe with this begynnynge, “By that the plowmanne had his tale ended,” when all written copies, (whiche I coulde yet see,) and my fathers editione, haue yt, “By that the mancyple had his tale ended.” And because my father colde not see by any Prologues of thee other tales, (whiche for the most parte shewe the dependancye of one Tale vppone one other,) where to place the plowmans tale, he putt yt after the persons tale, whiche, by Chaucers owne woordes, was the laste tale; as apperethe by the persons prologue, where the hooste sayethe, that “euery manne had tolde his Tale before.” So that the plowmans tale must be sett in some other place before the manciple and persons tale, and not as yt ys in the last edit{i}one. [Sidenote: Chaucer’s proper works should be distinguished from those adulterat and not his.] One other thinge ys, that yt would be good that Chaucers proper woorkes were distinguyshed from the adulterat and suche as were not his, as the Testamente of Cressyde, the Letter of Cupide, and the ballade begynnynge “I have a ladye where so she bee,” &c. whiche Chaucer never composed, as may sufficientlye be proved by the things themselves.