LIFE OF V ALTO JT. XV 



duckes, cotes, and many other foteles, wyth theyr brodes; whyche me 

 semyth better than ulle the noyse of houndys, the blastes of hornys, and 

 the scrye of foulis, that hunters fawktners, and f outers can make. And 

 if the Angler take fysshe ; surely, thenne, is there noo man merier than 

 he is in his spyryte. 



At the beginning of the directions, How the angler is to make his 

 harnays, or tackle, he is thus instructed to provide a Rod : And how 

 ye shall make your rodde craftly, here I shall teche you. Ye shall kytte 

 betweene Myghelmas and Candylmas, a fayr staffe, of a f adorn and an 

 halfe longe and arme-grete, of hasyll t wyllowe, or aspe; and bethe hym 

 in an hole ouyn, and sette hym euyn ; thenne, lete hym cole and drye a 

 moneth, Take thenne andfrette ' hym, faste, wyth a coekeshote corde ; 

 and bynde hym to afournte, or an euyn square grete tree. Take, thenne, 

 a plummets wire, that is eusn and streyte, and sharpe. at the one ende; 

 and hete the sharpe ende in a charcolefyre till it be vohyte, and brenne the 

 stajfe therwyth thorugh, eusr streyte in thepythe at bothe endes, tyllthey 

 mete : and after that brenne hym in the nether end myth a byrdt broche* 

 and wyth other broches, eche gretttr than other, and euer the grettest 

 the lastc ; so that ye make your hole, aye, tapre were. Thenne lete hym 

 lye styll, and kele two dayes ; unfrette 3 hym thenne, and lete hym drye 

 in an hous roof, in the smoke lyll he be thrugh drye. In the same sea- 

 son, take afayr yerde ofgrene ftasyll, andbethe him euen andslreyghte, 

 and lete it d>ye with the stajfe ; and whan they ben drye* make the yerde 

 mete unto the hole in the stujfe, unto halfe the length of the staffe ; and 

 to perfvurme that other half of the croppe, take a fayr shote of 

 btackc t/wrnn, crabbe tree, mrdeler, or of jenypre, kytte in the same 

 season, and well bethyd and streyghte, and frette theym togyder fetely, 

 too that the croppe maye juitly entre all into the sayd hole ^ thenne 

 shauf- your staffe, and make hym tapre were ; thtn vyrell the stnffe at 

 bothe tndeswith long hopis of yren, or laton, in the clennest wise, wyth 

 a Pyke at the nether ende, faxlnyd with a rennynge vyce, to take in and 

 out your croppe; thtnne set your cruppc an hand full within the ouer 

 ende of your staff?, in suche wise that it be as bigge there as in ony other 

 place about : thtnne urine, your croppe at thouer ende, downe to the 

 frette, wyth a lynr ofvj heeres, and dubbc the lyne, andfrette it faste in 

 the toppe wyth a buwe to fasten on your It/n: ; and thus shall ye make 

 you a rodde soo prevy, that ye may walke therwyth ; and there shall 

 noo man wyle where abowtc y goo. 



Speaking of the Barbel, she says : The Barbyll is a swete fysshe; 

 but it is a quay mecte, and a peryllnu^for ni.iiinys body. For, comynly, 

 he yeuyth an introduxion to thefebres : and yf h< be tten rawe, 4 he may 

 be cause of mannys delhe, whyche hath oft be seen. And of the Carp, 



(1) i. e. tycit about: the substantive plural, frett of a lute, is formed of 

 this verb. 



(-2) A bird spit. 



(3) Untie it. 



(4) The usage of the fourteenth century, at which this caution is levelled, 

 cannot at this day but fill us with astonishment. What i- it to mandurale 

 and take into our stomachs the flesh of any animal without any kind of 

 culinary prepai ation, but to Iced like cannibals I The reflection on this 

 practice operated o strongly on the mind of the Hon. Robert B\ !<, that 

 he speaks in terms of abhorrence of the eating of raw oysters, in a book 

 entitled, Reflections, &c. which hereafter will be mentioned. 



The neait-st approach, excepting the instance above, which in this age of 



