The apothecary answered, “Thou shalt have Something so strong, as God my soul shall save, That in this world nothing that living is Who in his food doth eat or drink of this-- Nay, but the greatness of a grain of wheat-- Shall fail to die, his life shall be forfeit; Yea, he shall die, and that in lesser while Than thou shalt walk a step beyond a mile, This poison is so strong and violent.” This curséd man hath taken it and pent The poison in a box, and forthwith ran Hastily to the next street, to a man And borrow’d of him some large bottles three, And into two the poison pouréd he: The third he kept untainted for himself, Meaning to toil at carrying his pelf From out that cursed place the whole night long. And when this villain, bent on doing wrong, Had filled his three great bottles up with wine, Back to his mates he went, as if to dine. What need is there of saying any more? For as they had devised his death before, E’en so they slew him, and with brief delay. And when the deed was done, the first did say, “Now let us sit and drink, and make us merry, And afterwards we will his body bury.” And speaking thus, he chanced, upon the minute, To take a bottle which had poison in it, And drank, and gave his fellow drink beside, Whereby within a little space they died. But truly I suppose that Avicen Did ne’er describe in _canon_ or in _fen_ More frightful pains of deadly poisoning, Than these two wretches felt in perishing. Thus ended both the wicked homicides, And that false-hearted poisoner besides. Notes by the Way. During the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries the passion for gambling had spread from the highest to the very lowest class of the population. The practice of men drinking and playing themselves bare in the taverns, where both vices were encouraged by the taverners, was common enough to provoke numberless censures and caricatures, so much so that it is a mercy Sir Wilfrid Lawson was spared the spectacle. The Pardoner’s Tale is one of the list. The taverns were the resort of all the refuse of the people: the taverners found it suited them to act as pawnbrokers, advancing money on the clothes and property of the ne’er-do-wells who lacked cash to stake or to pay; and provided other attractions whereby men were tempted to various vices, and robbed during their drunken sleep. The language of these young rascals of both sexes is graphically condemned by the Pardoner; and gluttony is pointed out as the root of all evil, for which Adam fell.