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'Bot, jueler gente, if thou schal lose
Thy joy for a gemme that the was lef,
Me thynk the put in a mad porpose,
And busyes the aboute a raysoun bref;
For that thou lestes was bot a rose
That flowred and fayled as kynde hit gef.
Now thurgh kynde of the kyste that hyt con close
To a perle of prys hit is put in pref.
And thou has called thy wyrde a thef,
That oght of noght has mad the cler.
Thou blames the bote of thy meschef;
Thou art no kynde juelere.'

A juel to me then was thys geste,
And jueles wenl hyr gentyl sawes.
'Iwyse,' quod I, 'my blysfol beste,
My grete dystresse thou al todrawes.
To be excused I make requeste;
I trawed my perle don out of dawes.
Now haf I fonde hyt, I schal ma feste,
And wony wyth hyt in schyr wod-schawes,
And love my Lorde and al his lawes
That has me broght thys blys ner.
Now were I at yow byyonde thise wawes,
I were a joyful jueler.'

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'But, jeweller kind, if you must lose
Your joy in a gem to you so dear,
I think you do yourself confuse,
Your thought short-lived, your view unclear.
She was a rose which could not choose
But bloom and fade by laws austere.
The casket naturally endues
The pearl it holds with worth most clear.
And yet you call your fate severe
When much from naught was offered there;
The cure you curse lay always near,
You most unnatural jeweller.'

A jewel was this maid to me
And jewels were her noble speech.
'Indeed,' I said, 'most happily
In my distress you make a breach;
May my great fault forgiven be !
I thought my pearl far out of reach
Now I have found it, great my glee;
I'Il dwell in woods of oak and beech,
And love the laws my Lord doth teach
That have provided joys sincere.
And if yon bank I now could reaeh,
I'd be a joyful jeweller.'


'But, noble jeweller, if you [believe you have lost] your joy in a jewel which has left you, I think you are greatly deceived and eoncern yourself without sufficient cause. For what you lost was but a rose, which flowered and died as nature allowed, Now by the nature of the casket which encloses it it is shown to be a pearl of great value. And [yet) you have called your fate a thief that has made for you something out of nothing. You blame the remedy for your misfortune. You are not a natural jeweller.'

A jewel to me then was this visitor, and jewels were her noble words. 'Indeed,' I said, my happy one, my great distress you have quite dispelled. To be forgiven I beg; I believed that my pearl had quite gone. Now that I have found it, I rejoice, and [wil1] live with it in bright woodlands, and love my Lord and all his laws, that have brought this joy to me. Now could I be beside you beyond this water, I would be a joyful jeweller.'

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