❧ The manner of the world now a days. SO many pointed caps lase with double And so gay felted hats Saw I never. So many good lessons So many good sermons And so few devotions Saw I never. So many guards worn jagged and all to torn And so many falsely forsworn Saw I never. So few good policies In towns and cities For keeping of blind hostries Saw I never. So many good work So few well learned clerks And so few that goodness marks Saw I never. Such pranked coats & sleeves So few young men that preves And such increase of thieves Saw I never. So many guarded hose such corned shoes And so many envious foes Saw I never. So many quests sit With men of small wit And so many falsely quit saw I never. So many gay sword So many altered words And so few covered boards Saw I never. ¶ So many empti purses so few good horses And so many curses Saw I never. such boasters and bragger's so new fashioned daggers And so many beggars Saw I never. So many proper knives So well appareled wives And so ill of their lives Saw I never. So many cockolde makers So many crackers And so many peace breakers Saw I never. So much vain clothing With cutting and iagging And so much bragging Saw I never. ¶ So many news and knacks So many naughty packs And so many that money lacks Saw I never. ¶ So many maidens with child And wilfully beguiled And so many places untilled Saw I never. so many women blamed And righteously defaimed And so little ashamed saw I never. ¶ Widows so soon wed After their husbands be dead Having such haste to bed saw I never ¶ so much striving. For goods and for wiving And so little thriving saw I never. ¶ so many capacities Offices and pluralites And changing of dignities saw I never. ✚ so many laws to use The truth to refuse Such falsehood to excuse saw I never. ¶ executors having the ware Taking so little care How the soul doth far ¶ saw I never. ¶ Among them that are rich No friendship is to keep touch And such fair glozing speech Saw I never. So many poor In every bordoure And so small succour Saw I never. So proud and so gay so rich in array And so sknat of money Saw I never. So many bowyers so many fletchers And so few good arches saw I never. so many chepers so few buyers And so many borowers saw I never. So many all sellers. In bawdy holes and sellers Of young folks ill counsellors saw I never. so many pinkers so many thinkers And so many good all drinkers saw I never so many wrongs so few merry songs And so many ill tongues. saw I never. so many a vacabounde Through all this land And so many in prison bond I saw never. ¶ so many citations. so few oblations And so many new fashions saw I never. so many fleeing tales Pickers of purses and males And so many sales saw I never. so much preaching speaking fair and teaching And so ill believing saw I never. so much wrath and envy Covetous and gluttony and so little charity saw I never. so many carders Revellers and dicers and so many ill ticers saw I never. so many lollers so few true tollers so many bawds and pollers saw I never. such treachery simony and usury Poverty and lechery saw I never. so many avails so many geales And so many false bailies saw I never. By falls and subtle ways All England decays For more envy and liars saw I never. so new fashioned jacks With broad flaps in the necks And so gay and new partlettes saw I never. so many slutteshe cooks so few fashioned tucking hooks And so few buyers of books saw I never. sometime we song of mirth & play But now our joy is gone away For so many fall in decay saw I never. whither is the wealth of england gone the spiritual saith they have none And so many wrongfully undone saw I never. It is great pity that every day so many brybors go by the way And so many extortioners in each country saw I never. To the lord I make my moan For thou mayst help us every one Alas the people is so woebegone worse was it never Amendment Were convenient But it may not be We have exiled verity God is neither dead nor sick He may amend all yet And trow ye so in deed As ye believe ye shall have meed After better I hope ever For worse was it never. Finis.