Catterwall

Good succes of things make men ioyous

Saturn is a colde olde planet.



There is great cunning in due applyinng of medicins


The cause of hearing



The difference between voices and noyses.


The hermony of heaven excelleth all other.




The hermony of elemental mixtures.








Chaucers house of fame.

At every hundred mile the aire reflecteth by me ane of the roundnes of the worlde.






Heer the poeticall furie came upon him






Many noises in the night which all men hear not.



Over much noyse maketh one deaf.


Heat shrilleth all moist Instruments.





All sudden things astonish us.








Fertilitas sibi ipsi nocula.


Danger maketh men deuout.



How evill perhaps run together.



A man may dye onely by imagination of harm.






We hate for ever whatsoever hath harmed us

But that he might not spue to much by Imagination: I took a losenge in my mouth, and kept in under my tung, shewing therby that it was not evil. While this pastime endured : me thought I heard one cry with a loud voice, what Isegrim, and therfore I asked whose name was Isegrim, saying that one did call him, but they said that they knew none of that name, nor heard any that did cal. No quoth I (for it called stil) hear you no body? who is that called so lowd ? we hear nothing but a cat (quod they) which mewes aboove in the Leads. When I saw it was so indeed, and that I understood what the cat said glad was I as any man alive, and taking my leave of them as though I would to bed straight, I went into my chamber, for it was past nine of the clock, and because the houre of Saturnus colde dominion approched : I put on my gown & got me prively to the place in the which I had vewed the Cats the night before. And when I had setled my self where I might couveniently heer and see all things doon in the Leads where this Cat cryed stil for Isegrim. I put in to my two nosethrils two trosisques, & in to my mouth two losenges, one aboove my tung the other under, and put of my left shoo because of Jupiters appropinquation & layd the Fox taile under my foot. And to hear the better: I took of my pillowes whiche stopped mine eares and then listned and vewed as attentively as I could, but I warrant you the pelicle or filmy rime that lyeth within the bottome of mine eare hole, from whence little vainescary the sounds to the sences, was with this medicine in my pillowes so purged and parched, or at least dryed : that the least mooving of the ayre, whether stroke with breth of isving creatures which we call voyces, or with the mooving of dead, as windes, waters, trees, carts, falling of stones &c which are named noyses, sounded so shril in my head by reverberacion of my fined filmes, that the sound of them altogither was so disordered and monstrous: that I could discern no one from other, save only the Hermony of the mooving of the Spheres, which noyse excelled all other asmuch bothe in pleasantnes & shril highnes of sound : as the Zodiack it self surmounteth all other creatures in altitude of place. For in comparison of the basest of this noyse which is the mooving of Saturn by meanes of his large compas, the highest voyces of birds, and the straitest whistling of the winde, or any other organ pipes (whose sounds I heard confused togither) appeered but a lowe bace, and yet was those an high treble to the voice of beasts, to which as a mean, the running of rivers was a tenor: and the boyling of the Sea and the caterakts or gulfes therof a goodly base, and the rashing, brising and falling of the clowdes, a deep diapason. While I harkned to this broil, laboring to discern bothe voices and noyces a sunder, I heard such a mixture as I think was never in Chaucers house of fame, for there was nothing within an hundred mile of me doon on any side, (for from so far but no farther the ayre may come because of obliquation) but I herd it as wel as if I had been by it, and could discern all voyces, but by means of noyses understand none. Lord what a doo women made in their beds? some scolding, some laughing, some weeping, some singing to their sucking children which made a woful noyse with their continuall crying. and one shrewd wife a great way of (I think at S. Albons) called her husband Cuckolde so lowd and shrilly: that I heard that plain, and would fain have I heard the rest, but could not by means of barking of dogges, grunting of hoggs wauling of cats, rumbling of ratts, gagling of geese, humming of bees, rousing of Bucks, gagling of ducks, singing of Swannes, ringing of pannes, crowing of Cocks, sowing of socks, kacling of hens, scrabling of pennes, peeping of mice, trulling of dice, corling of froges, and todes in the bogges, chirping of crickets, shuting of wickets, skriking of owles, flitring of fowles, rowting of knaves, snorting of slaves, farting of churls, fisling of girles, with many things else, as ringing of belles, counting of coines, mounting of groines, whispering of loovers, springling of ploovers, groning and spuing, baking and bruing, scratching & rubbing, watching and shrugging, with such a sorte of commixed noyses as would deaf any body to have heard, much more me, seeing that the pannicles of mine eares were with my medisine made so fine and stif, and that by the temperate heat of the things therin, that like a taber dryed before the fire, or els a lute string by heat shrunk neerer, they were incomparably amended in receiving and yeelding the shrilnes of any touching sounds.While I was ernestly harkning as I said to hear the woman (minding nothing els) the greatest bell in Saint Botulphes steeple, which is hard by, was tolled for some rich body that then lay in passing, the sound wherof came with such a rumble into mine eare : that I thought all the devils in hel had broken lose, and were come about me, and was so a fraid ther with that when I felt the Foxe taile under my foot (which through feare I had forgotten) I deemed it had bee n the devil indeed. And therfore I cried out as lowd as ever I could : the devil, the devil, the devil. But when some of the folke raised with my noise had sought me in my chamber and found me not there: they went seeking about calling one to a nother, where is he? where is he? I cannot finde Maister Streamer, which noise & stir of them was so great in mine eares, & passing mans common sound : that I thought they had been devils indeed which sought and asked for me. Wherfore I crept close in to a corner in the chimney and hid me, saying many good praiers, to save me from them. And because their noise was so terrible that I could not abide it : I thought best to stop mine ears, thinking therby I should be the lesse affraid. And as I was there about: a crowe which belike was by nodding a sleep on the chimny top, fel down into the chimney over my head, whose flittering in the fall made such a noice, that when I felt his feet upon my head : I thought that the devil had been come indeed and seised upon me. And when I cast up my hand to save me and therwith touched him: he called me knave in his languege after such a sorte that I swouned for feare. And by that I was come to my self again he was flowen from me into the chamber roof & there he sat all night, Then took I my pillowes and stopped mine eares, for the rumble that the servaunts made I took for the devils it was so great and shril, and I had no sooner put them on: but by and by I heard it was the servants which sought for me and that I was deceived through my cleernes in hearing. For the bel which put me in all this feare (for which I never looved belles since) tolled stil, and I perceived wel inough what it was. And seeing that the servants would not leave calling and seeking til they had found me: I went down unto them, and fained that a Cat had been in my chamber, and frayed mee. wheruppon they went to bed again, and I too mine olde place.