here was two or thre skyttysh horses whych, when they se this gentylman ronnyng, start[ed] asyde and threwe downe the cart wyth colys, and drew _backe_ and brake the carte rope, wherby the colys fell out, some in one place and _some in_ another; and after the horses brake theyr tracys and ranne, some towarde Smythfelde and som toward Newgate. The colyar[53] ran after them, and was an houre and more, or[54] euer he coulde gette his horses to gyder agayne; by which tyme the people of the strete were rysen and cam to the _place_, and saw yt strawyn with colys. Euery one for hys parte gaderyd vp _the colys, tyll the_ most parte of the colys were gone, or the colyar had got his horses _agayne_. _Duryng thys_ whyle the gentylman went thrugh Seynt Andrews _Chyrch Yarde towarde_ Dauys Inne, and there met with the sexten commynge to attend to _ring the bell for_ morow mas: whych, whan he saw the gentylman in the _Chyrche Yarde in hys_ shyrt wyth the draught borde[55] about his neck, had wend[56] _it had ben a spryt, and_ cried: alas, alas, a spryt! and ran back again to his house almost atte b * * for fere was almoste out of his wytte that he was the worse _a long time after_. This gentilman, than, because dauys inne gatys were not open, _ranne to the ba_cksyde and lept ouer the garden wal; but, in lepyng, the draught-bord so troubled hym, that he fell downe into the gardyn and had almoste broken his necke: and ther he lay styll, tyll that the pryncypall cam into the garden; which, wan he saw hym lye there, had wente some man had ben slayne and there caste ouer the wall, and durst not come nye him, tyll he had callyd vp hys companye which, when many of the gentylmen[57] wer com to gether loked well vppon hym, and knewe hym, and after releuyd hym; but the borde that was about hys necke caused his hed so to swell, that they coulde not gette it of, tyll they were mynded to cutte it of with hatchettys. Thus was the wenche well iaped,[58] and for fere she ranne from her fader; her faders arme was hurte; the colyar lost his coles; the sexton was almost out of hys wyt; and the gentylman had almost broke his necke. FOOTNOTES: [50] Perhaps this story, of which we have here a fragment only, was similar to the one narrated a little farther on. See Tale 57. [51] Thavies Inn, near St. Andrew's Church, in Holborn. [52] wooed. [53] Orig. reads _that the colyar_. [54] before. [55] the seat of the commode. [56] weened. + _Of the merchantes wyfe that sayd she wolde take a nap at sermon._ xxv.