the curious ballad "These Knights will
hack," printed by Mr. Halliwell from Addit. MS. 5832, in one of the
Shakespeare Society's publications (_Marriage of Wit and Wisdom_, &c.,
p. 144), was directed against the mushroom-knights of James I.:--

"Come all you farmers out of the countrey, Carters, plowmen, hedgers,
and all, Tom, Dick, and Will, Ralph, Roger, and Humphrey, Leave of your
gestures rusticall. Bidde all your home-sponne russets adue, And sute
yourselves in fashions new: Honour invits you to delights; Come all to
court, and be made knights. He that hath fortie pounds per annum Shal be
promoted from the plow: His wife shall take the wall of her grannam,
Honour is sould so dog-cheap now," &c.

+ _Of the gentyll man and his shrewde wyfe._ lxxi.

+ There was a certayne gentyll man, that had a cursed chydynge wyfe,
that wente euery day, and complayned on hym to a religious man, the
whiche religious man toke vpon hym by weye of confession to reconcile
and accorde them to gether: and the gentyll man was very well contente,
that he so shulde do, and came to him therfore. Whan the gentyll man was
come, the religious man badde hym shewe his offences and trespaces. No,
quod the gentyll man, that nedeth nat: for I knowe verye well my wyfe
hath shewed vnto you all the offences that euer I dyd, and moche more.

+ _Of the two yonge men that rode to Walsyngham._[258] lxxii.

+ One John Roynoldes[259] rode oute of London vpon a tyme towarde
Walsyngham, in company of a yonge man of the same cite, that hadde nat
moche ben accustomed to ryde. So they came to an Inne, where a[260]
great companye was lodged. And in the mornynge whan euery man made hym
redy to ryde, and some were on horsebacke setting forwarde, John
Roynoldes founde his companion, syttynge in a browne study at the Inne
gate, to whom he sayd: for shame, man, how syttest thou? Why doste thou
nat make the redy to horsebacke, that we myght sette forwarde with
companye? I tary (quod he) for a good cause. For what cause, quod
Roynoldes? Marye (quod he), here be so many horses, that I can nat telle
whiche is myne owne amonge the other, and I knowe well, whan euery man
is riden and gone, the horse that remaineth behynde must nedes be myn.

FOOTNOTES:

[258] Consult the new edition of Nares' Glossary, voce _Walsingham_.
"This is an Image of oure Ladye. Ergo it is oure Ladye, and here she
wyll worke wounders more than in an other place, as she dyd at
Wal