+ _A certayne skoler of Oxenford_ which had studied the iudicials of astronomy, _upon a tyme as he_ was rydyng by the way, came[126] by a herdman; and _he asked thys herdm_an how far it was to the next town. Syr, quod the herd_man, it is rather_ past a mile and an half; but, sir, quod he, ye nede to ryde _apace: for ye shal h_aue a shower of rayn, or ye com thider. What, quod the skoler, _maketh ye say so_? There ys no token of rayn: for the cloudes be both fayr and clere. _By my troth_, quod the herdman, but ye shall fynd it so. The skoler then rode forth, _and it chanced_ or he had ryden half a myle forther, there fell a good showre of rayn _and[127] thys_ skoler was well washyd and wett to the skyn. The skoler then tornyd _hym backe, and_ rode to the herdman, and desyryd hym to tech him that connyng. _Nay_, quod the herdman, I wyll not tech you my connynge for nought. Then _the skoler_ profferyde hym xl shyllyngs to teche hym that connynge. The herd_man, after_ he had reseyuyd hys money, sayd thus: syr, se you not yonder _blacke_ ewe with the whyte face? Yes, quod the skoler. Suerly, quod the herdman, when she daunsith and holdeth up her tayle, ye shall haue a showre of rayn within half an howre after.[128] By this ye may se, that the connyng of herdmen and shepardes, as touchinge alteracyons of weders, is more sure than the iudicials of astronomy. FOOTNOTES: [126] Orig. reads _which came_. [127] Singer's conjectural reading is _that_; but _and_ seems to me to be the word required. + _Of hym that sayde: I shall haue nener a peny._ lxxxiii. + In a certayne towne, there was a rych man that lay on his deth bed at poynte of deth, whyche chargyd hys executours to dele[129] for hys soule a certayne some of money in pence, and on thys condicion chargyd them as they would answere afore God, that euery pore man that cam to them and told a trew tale shulde haue a peny, and they that said a fals thing shuld haue none; and in the dole-tyme there cam one whych sayd that God was a good man. Quod the executours: thou shalt haue a peny, for thou saist trouth. Anone came a nother and said, the deuil was a good man. Quod the executours: there thou lyest; therefore thou shalt haue nere a peny. At laste came on[e] to the executors and said thus: ye shall gyue me nere a peny: which wordes made the executors amasyd, and toke aduysment whyther they shuld * * * * _The end of this tale is wanting._ FOOTNOTES: [128] See _Scoggin's Jests_(reprint 1795), p. 47. [129] Count out. + _Of the husbande that sayde hys wyfe and he agreed well._ lxxxiv. _Too imperfect to decypher._ + _Of the prest that sayde Comede episcope._ lxxxv.