50 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 91. 



3. At p. 352. a rebuke is adiuiiiistered to the 

 gourmet in tlie following terms: 



'• J'at of'cr gostli ydropicy 

 Is called on En^lisch trlotenv, 

 )'' mekil is vsi.'d wij* these burgese, 

 J-' lyue mekil at lilr owne ese. 

 I'ei gar (i. e. cause to) seke }'• ciintre tliorvr, 

 Bi)}' oploiid and ill borw, 

 Riclie metis for to bye, 

 Sunim;; to bake and siimmc to frye : 

 A\ sclial bjn brouht on to bis ham 

 Beste and foul bot" wylde ii tanic. 

 And yet all Ms way not lille 

 His yernyng & bis herte wille. 

 On J>e pore men ]nnki^ be nought 

 Ne on i>t lord i>' liini der l)on.iht. 

 Many a me? be forn him stondiJ> 

 And of ilkon sum Mng he fandi^, 

 Of venyson, of gos and gryse, 

 Tarte, b/awmanger, and of ryse. 

 Of cuerilkon sumwhat he tastij' 

 And so forso)'" bis kynde he wastij>. 

 For ser deyntes & many mes 

 Make men falle in many sickncs. 

 But if !•• riel)e man wolde Hnke 

 Among al bis mete & drynke, 

 )>' his flesch schol rote in molde, 

 He wold nut bin j>erto so bolde." 



4. The following passage is curious in more 

 respects than one : 



" Tills day witsonday is cald, 

 For wisdom & wit scuene fald 

 AVas youen to V' apostles as )'is day 

 For wise in alle )>ingis wer th.iv, 

 To spek w' outcn mannes lore 

 Al maner langage eueri whore. 

 j'ei spak laiyii, frejisch Si grew, 

 Sarescnay, dcuenisch & el/rew, 

 Gascoyne, Pikurrl, Englisch & Walscli 

 And o)>er specbe spak J'ei als." 



5. At p. 372. we have an interesting jiicture of 

 a nun persecuted by the rest of the sisterhood on 

 account of her stricter livin" : 



" Hir cher was ay semand sori 

 Hir felawis held bir wod for]'', 

 And made of bir ful grct skornyng 

 And callid hir oule & outcasting: 

 For alle j " nonnes ))' were thore 

 ^Vend wel J'' sche fonncd wore. 

 And summe on hir foul water keste. 

 And sumtyme draf I't somofyme yeste, 

 And summe rubbid hir wij> oute 

 WiJ> ground mustard al a boute ; 

 But sche made no grucching 

 For al hir euyl skornyng, 

 Bui al sche suffrid ful mekeli 

 And to hir seruise was ay redi, 

 For ofte tymes sche grecid hir schos. 

 And wisch bir vessel as a guystroun dos, 

 And what so euer )>ei put liir to 

 AV a good wil al dide scbo. 

 . Hir bed was wounden al a bjute 

 Wi}' a foul lynen cloute, 



And for sthe was so onlikli 

 Alle J'ei letin of hir skornl'uir. 

 But yet solie was ful derworthi 

 Beforn our lord god almyghti." 



6. I will add, in conclusion, a sample from one 

 of the prose treatises contained in tlie same volume 

 (p. 464.) : 



" O here spices I'er ben of pride whiclie men & women 

 ben founden inne, & it encresi J' fro day to day, of dyuers 

 atire about J-« bodi : as ofte streyte clothes & schorte 

 daggid hodis, chaunsenilees (i.e. shoes) disgised & teyde 

 op strayt in v. or vi. stedis : women with schorte 

 clotliis unnej" to J>° hipes, booses & lohetles about J-* 

 heed, & vile stynkend homes longe &t, brode, & oj'er 

 dyuers atire, J'' I can nought wilen ne discryen of 

 surcbe Jnnges. Eueri man & woman be his owne juge 

 & loke weel if it be nought tus." 



C. H. 



St. Catharine's Hall, Cambridge. 



NOTES AND QUERIES MSS. 



The commencement of a new volume appears 

 to be the sifinal ibr new suiracstions. May I fire 

 one oll'ns well as others? 



In ]). 282. of the Third, and in p. 19. of your pre- 

 sent volume, you have printed two MSS. relating 

 to Cromwell, which I sent you. No doubt tliere 

 are many MSS. equally, or indeed more curious 

 and interesti)ig, scattered throughout the country, 

 which would be worthy of preservation in type in 

 your valuable columns, and which may possibly be 

 so preserved. But what shall become of the ori- 

 ginals ? Would not the possessors of twos or 

 threes of such documents be glad to place them in 

 a safe and useful repository, where they might be 

 preserved and be made available to all who take 

 an interest in our history, whether social or poli- 

 tical ? And how could this be better effected than 

 by opening a book for their reception and safe 

 custody at your olhce ; such book to be open to 

 the inspection of all applicants, under proper 

 regulations; and, when full, to be deposited in the 

 British Museum as Vol. I. of the " Notes and 

 Queries MSS. ?" 



With regard to the two which you have thought 

 worth printing, I would by far ]irefer such a mode 

 of disposing of them, to consigning them, as trifles, 

 to what might prove the bottomless pit of the 

 Museum, or to returning them to the snug dormi- 

 tory in which I found them, between the leaves of 

 Bishop Kennett's History of England. 



Shoidd this bint find favour in the eyes of your- 

 self and your learned correspondents, not only are 

 these at your service, but I might find another or 

 two to add to them. I think, however, that none 

 should be admitted into the collection but such as 

 were considered worthy of being also preserved in 

 print in " Notes and Queries." S. H. H. 



St. John's Wood. 



