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Whan he is comen to the ende of his weye, he letteth falle an other corde that he hath, that is long, and draweth uppe what him list, wode and clothes and purveyaunce, of the whiche he frameth a sete lyk as a nest, theron he sytteth and abydeth for the space of the before seyde dayes, And manye comynge putten gold or silver or peraunter brasse, that thei usen for here moneyes, in to a vesselle that lyeth there neer, seyinge everychon his name. Thann oon that stondeth there beside calleth it uppe; and whan that other resceyveth the name of eech, he preyeth for him, and in preyinge schaketh a thyng of brasse that souneth gret and schrille whan it is stered.Very likely the bronze sistrum; fragments of these have been found in Phoenicia (Cook 45). The object was to scare away evil spirits, which as Lucian says elsewhere (vol. iii, p. 343), take flight if they hear a chink of bronze or iron. And he ne slepeth never. For if that ever he falle on slepe, a scorpioun goynge up awaketh him and doth him pitous harm; and that is the peyne that is leyde on him for slepynge.There is probably special significance in the scorpion. Not only does it occur frequently on Babylonian seals, and later become the sign of the Zodiac, but in the Gilgamesh Epic (Frazer, Folklore,i, 112), the mountain, where the sun goes down (i.e. Antilian on; Schrader-Zimmern, p. 573), is guarded by a scorpion man and woman. Now this tale that is told of the scorpioun is a holy tale and wel semyng, but wher it be trewe or non, I wot neer. Natheles, me semeth that drede of fallynge avayleth moch to wakfulnesse.
29
Now thanne, of yerde-climberes have I seyd y now.
