LIBRARY OF OLD AUTHORS. 369 



an English nobleman spoke of " my people," he meant 

 simply his domestics? 



Encountering the familiar phrase No do! (Vol. IV. 

 p. 64), Mr. Hazlitt changes it to Not do ! He informs 

 us that Goddes are (Vol. I. p. 197) means " God's heir" ! 

 He says (Vol II. p. 146) : " To borrow, in the sense of 

 to take, to guard, or to protect, is so common in early 

 English that it is unnecessary to bring forward any illus- 

 tration of its use in this way." But he relents, and 

 presently gives us two from Ralph Roister Doister, each 

 containing the phrase " Saint George to borrow ! " That 

 borrow means take no owner of books need be told, and 

 Mr. Hazlitt has shown great skill in borrowing other peo- 

 ple's illustrations for his notes, but the phrase he quotes 

 has no such meaning as he gives it. Mr. Dyce in a note 

 on Skelton explains it rightly, " St. George being my 

 pledge or surety." 



We gather a few more of these flowers of exposition 

 and etymology : 



" The while thou sittest in chirche, thi bedys schalt thou bidde." 



(Vol. I. p. 181.) 



i. e. thou shalt offer thy prayers. Mr. Hazlitt's note 

 on bidde is, " i. e. bead. So in The, Kyng and the Hermit, 

 line 111: 



* That herd an hermyte there within 

 Unto the gate he gan to wyn 

 Bedying his prayer.' " 



Precisely what Mr. Hazlitt understands by beading (or 

 indeed by anything else) we shall not presume to divine, 

 but we should like to hear him translate " if any man 

 bidde the worshyp," which comes a few lines further on. 

 Now let us turn to page 191 of the same volume. 

 " Maydenys ben loneliche and no thing sekir." Mr. 

 Hazlitt tells us in a note that " sekir or sicker " is a 

 very common form of secure, and quotes in illustration 

 16* x 



