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By Root 20551 0

How manie adulteries and abhominations were com mitted amongst them ] How manie murthers 1 Absalon did not he cause his brother to be murthered 1 Did he not per secute his father? Is it not for their iniquitie that God hath dispersed them, without leaving them one onlie foot of ground 1 If then, when they had newlie received their law from God, when they saw his wonderous works with their eies, and had yet their Judges amongst them, they were so wicked, what may one hope of them now, when they have neither faith nor law, but their rapines and usuries 1 And that they be- leeve they do a charitable work, when they do some great wrong unto anie that is not a Jew 1 It may please you then, most righteous Judge, to consider all these circumstances, having pittie of him who doth wholy submit himselfe unto your just clemencie: hoping thereby to be delivered from this monsters crueltie.

THE STORY OF THE CHOICE OF THREE CASKETS. FROM THE GESTA ROMANORUM.

Translated by Robert Robinson

THE THIRTY-SECOND HISTORIE.

Sometime in Rome dwelt a mightie Emperour, named Anselme, which had wedded the kings daughter of Jerusalem> a faire lady and a gracious, in the sight of every man, but she was long time with the emperour or shee bare him any child, wherefore the nobles of the empire were right sorrowfull, be cause their lord had none heire of his owne body begotten. Till at last it befell, that this Anselme walked after supper in an evening in his garden, and bethought himselfe how hee had none heire, and how the king of Ampluy warred on him con tinually, for so much as he had no sonne to make defiance in his absence, wherefore he was right sorrowfull and went to his chamber and slept. Then he thought he saw a vision in his sleepe, that the morning was much more cleerer than it was wont to be, and that the moone was more paler on the one side then on the other. And after he saw a bird of two colours, and by that bird stood two beasts, which fed that little bird with their heate: and after that came many moe beasts, and bowed their breasts toward the bird, and went their way. Then came there divers birds, that sung so sweetly and pleasantly that the emperour awaked. In the morning earely this Anselme remembered his vision and won dered much what it might signifie, wherefore he called to him his philosophers, and also the states of his empire, and told them his dreame, charging them to tell him the signification thereof, upon paine of death: and if they told him the inter pretation thereof he promised them great reward.

Then said they, Deere Lord, tell us your dreame, and we shall declare unto you what it betokeneth. Then the emperour told them from the beginning to the ending, as it is aforesaid. When the philosophers heard this, with glad cheere, they answered and said. My lord, the dreame that you saw betokeneth good, for the empire shal be more clearer then it is. The moone that is more pale on the one side then on the other, betokeneth the empres, that hath lost part of her coulour through the conception of a son, that she hath conceived. The little bird betokeneth the sonne that she shall beare. The two beasts that feede this bird betokeneth all the wise men and rich men of this empire, which shall obey thy sonne. These other beasts that bowed their breasts to the bird, betokeneth that many other nations shall doe him homage. The bird that sung so sweetly to this little bird, betokeneth the Romanes, which shall rejoyce and sing, be cause of his birth. Lo, this is the very interpretation of your dreame.

When the emperour heard this, he was right joyfull. Now, soone after that the empresse travailed in child-birth, and was delivered of a faire sonne, of whose birth was great and wonderfull joy made.

When the king of Ampluy heard this, hee thought in him selfe thus: Lo, I have warred against the emperour all the dayes of my life, and now hee hath a sonne the which will revenge all the wrongs that I have done and wrought against his father, when hee commeth to a full age, therefore it is better that I send to the emperour