| |
| | Aus meinen grossen Schmerzen |
| Mach’ ich die kleinen Lieder. |
THE GOOD Bellaires | |
| Do not understand the conduct of this world’s affairs. | |
| In fact they understood them so badly | |
| That they have had to cross the channel. | |
| |
| Nine lawyers, four counsels, five judges and three proctors of the King, | 5 |
| Together with the respective wives, husbands, sisters and heterogeneous connections of the good Bellaires, | |
| Met to discuss their affairs; | |
| But the good Bellaires have so little understood their affairs | |
| That now there is no one at all | |
| Who can understand any affair of theirs. Yet | 10 |
| Fourteen hunters still eat in the stables of | |
| The good Squire Bellaire; | |
| But these may not suffer attainder, | |
| For they may not belong to the good Squire Bellaire | |
| But to his wife. | 15 |
| On the contrary, if they do not belong to his wife, | |
| He will plead | |
| A “freedom from attainder” | |
| For twelve horses and also for twelve boarhounds | |
| From Charles the Fourth; | 20 |
| And a further freedom for the remainder | |
| Of horses, from Henry the Fourth. | |
| But the judges, | |
| Being free of mediaeval scholarship, | |
| Will pay no attention to this, | 25 |
| And there will be only the more confusion, | |
| Replevin, estoppel, espavin and what not. | |
| |
| Nine lawyers, four counsels, etc., | |
| Met to discuss their affairs, | |
| But the sole result was bills | 30 |
| From lawyers to whom no one was indebted, | |
| And even the lawyers | |
| Were uncertain who was supposed to be indebted to them. | |
| |
| Wherefore the good Squire Bellaire | |
| Resides now at Agde and Biaucaire. | 35 |
| To Carcassonne, Pui, and Alais | |
| He fareth from day to day, | |
| Or takes the sea air | |
| Between Marseilles | |
| And Beziers. | 40 |
| |
| And for all this I have considerable regret, | |
| For the good Bellaires | |
| Are very charming people. | |
| |
