ing him by the arm, and I know is not likely to let my man come
back, and therefore let us be joyful. We have the whole day, till night,
to ourselves. I have prepared a chicken, and a good piece of mutton,
and we will enjoy ourselves;" and without another word they entered
the house, but left the door ajar in order that the neighbours should
suspect nothing.

Let us now return to the husband, who had found a couple of boon
companions besides the one I have mentioned, and now brought them to his
house to devour the chicken, and drink some good Beaune wine--or better,
if they could get it.

When he came to the house, he entered first, and immediately saw our two
lovers, who were taking a sample of the good work they had to do. And
when he saw his wife with her legs in the air, he told her that she need
not have troubled to bother the cobbler about her shoes, since she was
going to make the pilgrimage in that way.

He called his companions, and said;

"Good sirs, just see how my wife looks after my interests. For fear
that she should wear out her new shoes, she is making the journey on her
back:--no other woman would have done that."

He picked up the remainder of the fowl, and told her that she might
finish her pilgrimage; then closed the door and left her with her clerk,
without saying another word, and went off to the tavern. He was not
scolded when he came back, nor on the other occasions either that
he went there, because he had said little or nothing concerning the
pilgrimage which his wife had made at home with her lover, the parish
clerk.

*****

STORY THE NINETY-FOURTH -- DIFFICULT TO PLEASE.

(*) There is no author's name to this story in any of the
editions.

_Of a cure who wore a short gown, like a gallant about to be married,
for which cause he was summoned before the Ordinary, and of the sentence
which was passed, and the defence he made, and the other tricks he
played afterwards--as you will plainly hear._

In Picardy, in the diocese of Therouenne, there lived about a year and
a half ago, in one of the large towns, a cure who aped the fashionable
youth of the time. He wore a short gown, and high boots, as was the
fashion at Court, and, in short, was as great a gallant as you would
see,--which gave no small offence to all good Churchmen.

The Ordinary of Therouenne--who is generally known as the "big devil"
--was informed of the behaviour of this cure, and cited him to appear