of men. Me. You say well. For I suppose
that ther be many that kysse it, whiche be nother
clene mouthyd, nor yet be pure virgynes. Ogy.
Whan ye sexten sawe vs, he dyd runne to the aultre,
& put apon hym his surplese, & his stole about his
nekke, knelyd downe relygyously, and worshipyd it,
and streghtforthe dyd offre the mylke to vs to kysse.
And at the ende of the aultre we knelyd downe deuoutly,
& the fyrste of all we salutyd Christe, & than after
we callyd apon our lady with thys prayer, whiche we
had mayd redy for the same purpose. O mother
& mayde, whiche dyd gyue sukke with thy virgynes teates
the lorde of heuen and yerthe, thy sone Iesus Christe,
we beynge puryfyed || thorowe hys precyous blode, do
desyre that we may attayne, and come to that blessyd
infancye of thy colombynes meknes, whiche is immaculate
without malice, frawde, or diseyte, and with all affectyon
of harte dothe couett and stody for the heuenly mylke
of the euangelicall doctryne, to go forthe and encrease
with it into a perfaycte man, into the mesure of the
plentefulnes of Christe, of whose copany thou haste
the fruycyon, togyther with the father, & the holy
ghost for euermore, so be it. Me. Uerely thys
is a holy prayer. But what dyd she? Ogygy.
Thay bothe bekkyd at vs, excepte my eyes waggyd, and
me thoght that the mylke daunsyd. In the meanseson
the sexten came to vs, withowt any wordes, but he
held out a table suche as the Germanes vse to gather
tolle apon bridges. Me. By my trothe I haue
cursyd veryofte suche || crauynge boxes, whan I dyd
ryde thorowe Germany. Ogy. We dyd gyue hym certayne
monay whiche he offeryd to our lady. Tha I axyd
by a certayne yonge man, yt was well learnyd, whiche
dyd expownde and tell vs the saynge of ye Sexte, hys
name (as fere as I remembre) was Robert alderisse,
by what tokenes or argumetes he dyd know that it was
the mylke of owr lady. And that I very fayne,
& for a good purpose desyred to knowe, that I myght
stope the mowthes of certayne newfanglyd felowes,
that be wotyd to haue suche holy relyques in derysyon
and mokage. Fyrst of all the Sexten with a froward
cowntenace wold nat tell, but I desyryd the yong man
to moue hym more instantly, but somwhat more gently
he so courtesly behauyd hymselffe, that and he had
prayd owr lady herselffe || after that fashion, she
wold nat haue be dysplesyd therwith. And tha
this mystycall chapleyn, as and if he had be inspyryd
with ye holy ghoste, castynge at vs a frounynge loke,
as & if he wold haue shote at vs ye horryble thonderbolte
of the greate curse, what nede you (saythe he) to
moue suche questyones, whan yow see before your eyes
so autentycall & old a table. And we were afrayd
lest that he wold haue cast vs out of the churche
for heretykes, but that oure monay dyd tempte hys
greate furye. Mene. What dyd you in the meaneseason?
Ogygyus. What suppose you? We were amasyd
as and if a man had stryke vs with a clube, or we
had be slayne with a thonderclape, and we very lowly