Wann—The Influence of French Farce 
361 
13. Incipit Alia eorundem. Three shepherds enter separately, 
each complaining: the 1st of the cold weather and the 
poverty of shepherds, the 2nd of the weather and the 
hardships of wedded life, the 3rd, of the world’s bitter¬ 
ness, the floods, etc. The 1st and 2nd meet and are en¬ 
countered by the 3rd; they all converse, then they sing, 
taking tenor, treble, and mean; Mak (the sheep-stealer) 
enters and is accused of being out to steal sheep; after 
Mak’s comment on wedded life, the shepherds lie down 
to sleep, placing Mak between them; Mak rises, says a 
mock night-spell, and goes home with a stolen sheep'; he 
and his wife Gyll put the sheep in the cradle, and Mak 
returns to the shepherds, who awake, waken Mak, and 
go off to count their sheep, promising to meet ‘‘at the 
crooked thorn.” Mak goes home, Gyll grumbles, but 
they plot to escape detection; Gyll is to be ill in child¬ 
bed, the sheep in the cradle is the new-born child, and 
Mak is to induce the shepherds to go away; the shep¬ 
herds meet, realize their loss, and go to Mak’s home to 
find the stolen sheep; after some search, they are about 
to leave, believing they were mistaken; but one shepherd, 
desiring to offer the baby a gift, discovers the trick; they 
toss Mak in a blanket; they lie down to rest; an angel 
bids them arise and announces Christ’s birth; they 
discuss the angel’s music and hasten to Bethlehem; they 
offer Christ a lot of cherries, a bird, and a ball; Mary 
promises to pray her Son to protect them, and they leave 
singing. 
In like manner the main outlines of the farce of Pathelin are 
as follows: Pathelin (a poor lawyer) and Guillemette (his 
wife) lament their poverty and rags. Pathelin declares to 
Guillemette that he will secure cloth for them both with which 
to clothe themselves. He goes to the draper’s shop and through 
flattery and a false promise to pay later succeeds in carrying 
off a bolt of fine cloth. Arrived home, Pathelin delights Guille¬ 
mette with the cloth, and they plot to evade payment to the 
draper when he calls for the money. Pathelin gets in bed, 
with the cloth under his pillow, and is to feign serious illness. 
Guillemette receives the draper when he calls for the money, 
pretends Pathelin has been ill for six weeks, and begs the draper 
