Po. When they had had laughing enough at the Matter, one of the Judges invites Maccus to Supper, and paid the Shoemaker his Money.  Just such another Thing happen’d at Daventerv, when I was a Boy.  It was at a Time when ’tis the Fishmonger’s Fair, and the Butchers Time to be starv’d.  A certain Man stood at a Fruiterer’s Stall, or Oporopolist’s, if you’d have it in Greek.  The Woman was a very fat Woman, and he star’d very hard upon the Ware she had to sell.  She, according as the Custom is, invites him to have what he had a Mind to; and perceiving he set his Eyes upon some Figs, Would you please to have Figs, says she? they are very fine ones.  He gives her a Nod.  She asks him how many Pound, Would you have five Pound says she?  He nods again; she turns him five Pound into his Apron.  While she is laying by her Scales, he walks off, not in any great haste, but very gravely.  When she comes out to take her Money, her Chap was gone; she follows him, making more Noise than Haste after him.  He, taking no Notice, goes on; at last a great many getting together at the Woman’s Out-cry, he stands still, pleads his Cause in the midst of the Multitude:  there was very good Sport, he denies that he bought any Figs of her, but that she gave ’em him freely; if she had a Mind to have a Trial for it, he would put in an Appearance.

Ge. Well, I’ll tell you a Story not much unlike yours, nor perhaps not much inferior to it, saving it has not so celebrated an Author as Maccus. Pythagoras divided the Market into three Sorts of Persons, those that went thither to sell, those that went thither to buy; both these Sorts were a careful Sort of People, and therefore unhappy:  others came to see what was there to be sold, and what was done; these only were the happy People, because being free from Care, they took their Pleasure freely.  And this he said was the Manner that a Philosopher convers’d in this World, as they do in a Market.  But there is a fourth Kind of Persons that walk about in our Markets, who neither buy nor sell, nor are idle Spectators of what others do, but lie upon the Catch to steal what they can.  And of this last Sort there are some that are wonderful dextrous.  You would swear they were born under a lucky Planet.  Our Entertainer gave us a Tale with an Epilogue, I’ll give you one with a Prologue to it.  Now you shall hear what happen’d lately at Antwerp.  An old Priest had receiv’d there a pretty handsome Sum of Money, but it was in Silver.  A Sharper has his Eye upon him; he goes to the Priest, who had put his Money in a large Bag in his Cassock, where it boug’d out; he salutes him very civilly, and tells him that he had Orders to buy a Surplice, which is the chief Vestment us’d in performing Divine Service, for the Priest of his Parish; he intreats him to lend him a little Assistance in this Matter, and to go with him to those that sell such Attire, that he might fit one according to his Size, because