d him all the skin,
and his ears also; insomuch that never creature beheld a fouler or more
deformed beast. For the blood covering all his face, and his hands
leaving the claws and skin behind them, nothing remained but ugliness.
It was an ill market the bear came to, for he lost both motion and
sight--that is, feet and eyes. But notwithstanding this torment,
_Lanfert_, the priest, and the whole parish came upon him, and so
becudgeled him about his body part, that it might well be a warning to
all his misery, to know that ever the weakest shall still go most to the
wall. This the bear found by experience, for every one exercised the
height of their fury upon him. Even _Houghlin_ with the crooked leg, and
_Ludolf_ with the long broad nose, the one with a leaden mall, and the
other with an iron whip, all belashed poor sir _Bruin_; not so much but
sir _Bertolf_ with the long fingers, _Lanfert_ and _Ortam_ did him more
annoyance than all the rest, the one having a sharp Welsh hook, the
other a crooked staff well leaded at the end, which he used to play at
stab ball withal. There was _Birkin_ and _Armes Ablequack_, _Bane_ the
priest with his staff, and Dame _Jullock_ his wife; all these so
belabored the bear, that his life was in great danger. The poor bear in
this massacre sat and sighed extremely, groaning under the burden of
their strokes, of which _Lanfert's_ were the greatest and thundered most
dreadfully; for Dame _Podge_ of _Casport_ was his mother, and his father
was _Marob_ the steeple-maker, a passing stout man when he was alone.
_Bruin_ received of him many showers of stones till _Lanfert's_ brother,
rushing before the rest with a staff, struck the bear in the head such a
blow that he could neither hear nor see, so that awaking from his
astonishment the bear leaped into the river adjoining, through a cluster
of wives there standing together, of which he threw divers into the
water, which was large and deep, amongst whom the parson's wife was one;
which the parson seeing how she floated like a sea-mew, he left striking
the bear, and cried to the rest of the company, "Help! oh, help! Dame
_Jullock_ is in the water; help, both men and women, for whosoever saves
her, I give free pardon of all their sins and transgressions, and remit
all penance imposed whatsoever." This heard, every one left the bear to
help Dame _Jullock_, which as soon as the bear saw, he cut the stream
and swam away as fast as he could, but the pries