For sometimes hee sayd that I should win glory enough:  sometimes he sayd I should write a great Historie:  sometimes againe hee sayd that I should devise an incredible tale:  and sometimes that I should make Bookes.  Whereat Milo laughed againe, and enquired of me, of what stature this man of Assyria was, and what he was named.  In faith (quoth I) he is a tall man and somewhat blacke, and hee is called Diophanes.  Then sayd Milo, the same is he and no other, who semblably hath declared many things here unto us, whereby hee got and obtained great substance and Treasure.

But the poore miser fell at length into the hands of unpittifull and cruell fortune:  For beeing on a day amongst a great assembly of people, to tell the simple sort their fortune, a certaine Cobler came unto him, and desired him to tel when it should be best for him to take his voyage, the which hee promised to do:  the Cobler opened his purse and told a hundred pence to him for his paines.  Whereupon came a certaine young gentleman and took Diophanes by the Garment.  Then he turning himselfe, embraced and kissed him, and desired the Gentleman, who was one of his acquaintance, to sit downe by him:  and Diophanes being astonied with this sudden change, forgot what he was doing, and sayd, O deare friend you are heartily welcome, I pray you when arrived you into these parts?  Then answered he, I will tell you soone, but brother I pray you tell mee of your comming from the isle of Euboea, and how you sped by the way?  Whereunto Diophanes this notable Assyrian (not yet come unto his minde, but halfe amased) soone answered and sayd, I would to god that all our enemies and evil willers might fall into the like dangerous peregrination and trouble.  For the ship where we were in, after it was by the waves of the seas and by the great tempests tossed hither and thither, in great peril, and after that the mast and stern brake likewise in pieces, could in no wise be brought to shore, but sunk into the water, and so we did swim, and hardly escaped to land.  And after that, whatsoever was given unto us in recompense of our losses, either by the pitty of strangers, or by the benevolence of our friends, was taken away from us by theeves, whose violence when my brother Arisuatus did assay to resist, hee was cruelly murthered by them before my face.  These things when he had sadly declared, the Cobler tooke up his money againe which he had told out to pay for the telling of his fortune, and ran away.  The Diophanes comming to himselfe perceived what he had done, and we all that stood by laughed greatly.  But that (quoth Milo) which Diophanes did tell unto you Lucius, that you should be happy and have a prosperous journey, was only true.  Thus Milo reasoned with me.  But I was not a little sorry that I had traind him into such a vaine of talke, that I lost a good part of the night, and the sweete pleasure thereof:  but at length I boldly said to Milo, Let Diophanes fare well with his evil fortune, and get againe that