158 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



ben Arabyenes or Men of Greece : and alle thei ben as Herrenytes ; and 

 thei drynken no "VVyn, but zif it be on principalle Festcs ; and thei ben fuUe 

 devoute Men, and lyven porely and sympely with Joutes and Dates ; and 

 they don gret Abstynence and Penau'nce. There is the Chirche of Seynte 

 Kateryne, in the whiche ben manye Lampes brennynge. For thei ban of 

 Oyle of Olyves y now, bothe for to brenne in here lamps and to ete also. 

 And that plentee have thei be the IVIyracle of God. For the Ravenes and the 

 Crowes and the Choughes and othere Foules of the Contree assemble hem 

 there every Zeer ones, and fleen thidere as in pilgrimage ; and everyche of 

 hem bryngethe a Braunche of the Bayes or of Olyve in here Bekes in 

 stede of OfFryng and leven hem there ; of the whyche the Monkes maken 

 gret plentee of Oyle, and this is a gret Marvaylle. And sithe that Foules 

 that have no kyndely Wytt ne Resoun gon thidre to seche that gloriouse 

 Virgyne, wel more oughten Men than to seche hire and to worschipen hire. 

 Also behynde the Awtier of that Chirche is the place where Moyses saughe 

 oure Lord God in a brennynge Bussche ; and whanne the Monkes entren 

 into that place thei don of' bothe Hosen and Schoon or Botes alweys, be- 

 cause that oure Lord seyde to Moyses, Do of thin Hosen and thi Schoon, for 

 the place that thou stondest on is Lond holy and blessed'^ 



Having descanted largely on the merveylles and maneres of Pales- 

 tine, Syria, and the adjacent countries — as the deserte betwene the 

 chirche of Seynt Kateryne and Jerusalem, the dri Tre and how roses 

 came first in the worlde ; the pilgrimages in Jerusalem and the holy 

 places thereaboute ; the temple of oure Lord, the crueltee of Heroud, 

 the Mount Syon, the Probatica Piscina, and the Natatorium Siloe ; 

 the dede See and the flom Jordan ; the bed of Seynt John and the 

 usages of the Samaritanes ; the province of Galilee, and where anti- 

 christ schalle be borne ; the cytee of Nazarethe, the age of our La- 

 die, the day of doom, and the customes of the Jacobites, Surryenes, 

 and Georgyenes ; the cytee of Damasce and the thre weyes to Jeru- 

 salem — Sir John endeavours to depict the usages of the Sarasines ; 

 tells how the Soudan arresond the auctor of this book ; and then re- 

 lates the '' begynnynge of Machomete, who was first a pore knave 

 that kept cameles, and wenten with marchantes for merchandize." 

 The " Londes of Albanye and Libye" are next brought under obser- 

 vation, and the topographer diversifies his picture with a tale of the 

 '' Wisshinges for Wacchinge of the Sperhauk," and a tradition re- 

 specting " Noes Schippe," as an element in the system of popish mys- 

 tification. Thus, you are told that 



*' Fro the cytee of Artyzoun go men to an hille that is clept Sabissocolle, 

 and there besyde is another hille that men clepen Ararat, but the Jews cle- 

 pen it Taneez, where Noes Schippe rested and zit is upon that montayne, and 

 men may seen it a ferr in cleer wedre. And that montayne is wel a 7 myle 

 highe. And sum men seyn that thei have seen and touched the Schippe, 

 and put here fyngi^es in the parties where the feend went out, when that Noe 

 seyde Benedicite. But thei, that seyne such wordes, seyn here wille, for a 

 man may not gon up the montayne for gret plentee of snow that is alle weyes 

 on that montayne, nouther somer ne wynter ; so that no man may gon up 

 there, ne nevere man dide sithe the tyme of Noe, saf a monk that, by tho 

 grace of God, brought on of the plankes down, that zit is in the Mynstre at 

 the foote of the montayne. Upon that montayne to gon up, this monk had 

 gret desir, and so upon a day he wente up, and whan he was upward the 3 



