302 Notes and Illustrations. 
for a cloth used for sifting meal in mills. See Peacock’s Glossary, 
s.v. There was a term “boultings ” or ‘‘ boltings,” used of private 
arguings of cases in some of the Inns of Court. ‘ Boulter, a 
sifter.”—Coles’ Dict. 1676. 
67. 3. ‘Could the way to thriue.” Could is here used in its old 
sense of knew, or understood. A.S. cunnan, to know; 7 can, I 
know ; zc cuv%e, I knew. 
“To stay himselfe in some good plot,” etc. ; compare ro. 8. 
64. 5: ‘Of this and that ;* “cf. 62./m0, 
67. 6. “The blacke oxe neare trod on thy fut:” a proverbial 
expression, meaning, you have experienced misfortune close at 
home. 
In Peacock’s Glossary of Manley, etc. (E. D. Soc. 1877), we 
have: “The Black Bull’s trodden on him;” that is, he is in a 
very bad temper. And the following passage from Bernard’s 
Terence is quoted: ‘‘Prosperitie hangs on his sleeue; the black oxe 
cannot tread on his foot.” 
‘‘Venus waxeth old; and then she was a pretie wench, when 
Juno was a young wife ; now crowes foote is on her eye, and the 
black oxe hath trod on her foot. ”—Lyly’s Sapho and Phao, 1584, 
ed. 1858, 1. 199. 
Mr. George Vere Irving (Notes and Queries, 3rd Ser. xii. 488) 
remarks that this expression is at this day frequently used in 
Scotland in reference to a person who has experienced misfortune. 
See Hazlitt’s Eng. Proverbs, p. 359. 
67. 8. “It is too much we dailie heare,” etc. This proverbial 
expression occurs in the Zownley Mysteries, p. 86, as— 
‘A man may not wive, 
And also thrive, 
And all in one year.” 
67. 11. ‘As mo have bin ;”” compare note on 63. 18. 
67. 8. “The good wiues husband weares no breech.;’ So ina song 
in the MS. of the 15th cent. quoted above, the heading of which is 
«Nova, Nova, sawe yow ever such, 
The moste mayster of the hows weryth no brych.” 
The burden of the song being 
‘«« Lest the most mayster wer no brych.” 
67. 20. The same reply is attributed to Thales. See his life in 
Diogenes Laertius, Bk. i. 26. 
67. 22. ‘<Vyng men, I red that ye be v war, 
That ye cum not in the snar ; 
For he is browt in meche car, 
That have a shrow onto his wyfe. 
In a panter I am caute, 
My fot his pennyd, I may not owt; 
In sorow and car he his put, 
That have, etc. 
