It grieved all the companie His crueltie to see, For neither friend nor foe could helpe But he must spoyled bee.
The bloudie Jew now ready is 25 With whetted blade in hand, To spoyle the bloud of innocent, By forfeit of his bond.
And as he was about to strike In him the deadly blow, 30 "Stay," quoth the judge, "thy crueltie; I charge thee to do so.
"Sith needs thou wilt thy forfeit have, Which is of flesh a pound, See that thou shed no drop of bloud, 35 Nor yet the man confound.
"For if thou doe, like murderer Thou here shalt hanged be: Likewise of flesh see that thou cut No more than longes to thee. 40
"For if thou take either more or lesse, To the value of a mite, Thou shalt be hanged presently, As is both law and right."
Gernutus now waxt franticke mad, 45 And wotes not what to say; Quoth he at last, "Ten thousand crownes I will that he shall pay;
"And so I graunt to set him free." The judge doth answere make; 50 "You shall not have a penny given; Your forfeyture now take."
At the last he doth demaund But for to have his owne: "No," quoth the judge, "doe as you list, 55 Thy judgement shall be showne.
"Either take your pound of flesh," quoth he, "Or cancell me your bond:" "O cruell judge," then quoth the Jew, "That doth against me stand!" 60
And so with griping grieved mind[L61] He biddeth them fare-well: Then all the people prays'd the Lord, That ever this heard tell.
Good people, that doe heare this song, 65 For trueth I dare well say, That many a wretch as ill as hee Doth live now at this day;
That seeketh nothing but the spoyle Of many a wealthy man, 70 And for to trap the innocent Deviseth what they can.
From whome the Lord deliver me, And every Christian too, And send to them like sentence eke 75 That meaneth so to do.
THE FROLICKSOME DUKE; OR THE TINKER'S GOOD FORTUNE.
The story of this ballad, like that of the preceding, was probably derived from the east. It is the same as the tale of _The Sleeper Awakened_ in the _Arabian Nights_, and a like incident is found also in the tale of _Xailoun_ in the _Continuation of the Arabian Nights_. Interpolations from European sources are said to have been made by the translators both of the _Arabian Nights_ and of the _Continuation_, and it has been suggested that _The Sleeper Awakened_ is one of these. (_Gent. Mag._ 64, I. 527.) It is even true that this story does not occur in the manuscript used by Galland. It _is_ found, however, in one manuscript, and is accordingly admitted into the recent version.--Marco Polo relates that Ala-eddin, "the Old Man of the Mountain," was accustomed to employ a device resembling that of the ballad, to persuade his youthful votaries of his power to transport them to Paradise. (Chap. xxi. of Marsden's translation.) A similar anecdote is told as historically true by the Arabic writer El-Is-hakee, who printed his work in the early part of the 17th century (Lane's _Thousand and One Nights_, ii. 376), while in Europe the story is related of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, by Heuterus, _Rerum Burgund._ lib. iv.; of the Emperor Charles the Fifth, by Sir Richard Barckley, in _A Discourse on the Felicitie of Man_, 1598; and of the Marquess of Worcester, in _The Apothegms of King James, King Charles, the Marquess of Worcester, &c._ 1658. Warton had seen among Collins's books a collection of prose tales in black-letter, dated 1570, among which was this story. It was until lately, and no doubt is still, found in the stalls, under the title of _The Frolicksome Courtier and the Jovial Tinker_. (See Douce's _Illustrations_, and Malone's _Shakespeare_.)