late: after some few more speeches, about their parents and friends in
the countrey, she seeing him laid in bed, and all such thinges by him
as she deemed needfull, with a low courtesie I warrant ye, commits him
to his quiet, and so went to bed to her fellowes the maidseruants.
Well did this hypocrite perceive the keyes of the doores carried into
the goodmans chamber, wherof he being not a litle glad, thoght now
they would imagine all things sure, and therfore doutlesse sleep the
sounder: as for the keyes, he needed no helpe of them, because such as
hee go neuer vnprouided of instruments fitting their trade, & so at
this time was this notable trecher. In the dead time of the night when
sound sleepe makes the eare vnapt to heare the verie least noyse, he
forsaketh his bed, & hauing gotten al the plate bound up togither in
his cloke, goeth down into the shop, where well remembring both the
plate & parcels, maketh vp his pack with some twenty pounds worth of
goods more. Then setling to his engin, he getteth the doore off the
hinges, and being foorth, lifteth close to againe, and so departs,
meeting with in a doozen paces, three or foure of his companions that
lurked therabouts for the purpose. Their word for knowing each other,
as is said, was Quest, and this villains comfortable newes to them,
was Twag, signifiyng hee had sped: ech takes a fleece for easier
carriage, and so away to Belbrow, which as I haue heard is as they
interpret it, the house of a theefe receiuer, without which they can
do nothing, and this house with an apt porter to it, standes ready for
them al houres of the night: too many such are there in London, the
maisters whereof beare countenance of honest substantiall men, but all
their living is gotten in this order, the end of such (though they
scape awhile) will be sailing westward in a Cart to Eiborn. Imagine
these villanies there in their iollitie, the one porting point by
point his cunning deceipt, and the other (fitting his humour)
extolling the deede with no meane commendations. But returning to the