18 THE HISTORY OF THE ' to wait on ſome lady Mary, quoth the cob- ' ler if it be ſo, perhaps I may do you a piece of ' ſervice, for at ſimple as I fit here: though I ſay ' it myſelf, I'm well nequainted with the king: ' and as you ſeem to have both good honeſt faces, ' I do proteſt I will do you all the good I can, that ' I will; and there's my hard on the ſame.' ' Thou ' ſayeſt well, quoth the king, and if thou do me ' any kindneſs, I do not matter if I give thee that ' leather as a reward of thy goodneſs, and ſo here's ' to thee.' 'I thank thee quoth the cobler, and by the time he had drunk three or four carouſes, his heart grew light, and he told the king he would ſing him a ſong of his own making. At wich the queen, when flue heard it, laughed hearthly; for he had many jokes, and pleasant ſongs; he delighted the queen more than any thing ſhe had ſeen or seu with in her life. At length it grew towards noon, the cobler was for going with them towards the court; but he muſt dreſſ himſelf, for he would not appear before the king in his cobler's clothes, for all the Shoes in his ſhop. CHAP. V. How the King invited the Cobler and his wife re- dinner, and the diſcourſe that paſſed thereupon.
THE cobler being gone, the king turned himſelf to the queen, laying, How like you the converſation of this comical Criſpin? The queen ſaid, right well, beſides I fee ſomething of prin- ' ciple in him, which in my judgment, ſeems to put ' ſhine his poverty, for, my beige when you offered ' the leather to him at a low price he let you know ' it was worth much more, and therefore was loth ' to meddle with it, fearing you came not honeſtly ' by it, and what I obſerved in him is that he had ' a light heart, briſk and merry; and for ought I ' know, enjoys more happineſs in his courſe and
