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⟨could⟩ not find the tanner, I have brought him to ⟨you⟩. At which words he fell on his knees and cried,
Long live our gracious ſovereign king and queen,
Who did their royal perſons ſo demean,
As in familiar ſort to joke with us,
And I rejoice to find it is no worſe
'Ariſe, honeſt cobbler,' quoth the King, 'and merry be thy heart; I have tried thy patience, and will prove thy friend, and thy forty merks per annum which I formerly gave thee, ſhall be much more by my bounty.'
Thou ſhalt have fifty pounds a year in land,
Which lies upon the ſouth ſide of the Strand;
I am the royal giver, thou the taker,
And I will have it call'd the cobbler's-acre.
Poor Criſpin and his wife were tranſported with joy at this glorious coming off, and the more at the queen's gift, which was purſe of gold They then preſented the court with a comical farce, called, The Forked Friends, or the Fiddler and His Wife, wherewith they finiſhed the day, to the great joy of all the beholders Being diſmiſſed with great applauſe, the cobbler and Joan returned home, where in a ſhort time he built a row of houſes, calling the place, The Cobbler's Acre, according to the king's requeſt, which name continued after the cobbler's death, but at this time it is turned a more magnificent building, and has loſt its former name.
Yet during life the cobbler at the court,
Was well belov'd and freely entertain'd
Where he afforded much delightful ſport,
So long as Harry Tudor lived and reign'd.
The king died firſt, the cobbler followed after,
But not till he had often fill'd the court with laughter.
FINIS.
