154 LEAVES THEY HAVE TOUCHED. 



sections or paragraphs are numerous, and each begins with a con- 

 spicuous rubricated letter. The first letter of each Gospel is of extra 

 size and length. Space is economized and labour saved to the greatest 

 possible extent by abbreviations throughout, as in the early printed 

 black letter books, which closely imitated the manuscripts. Slight 

 marks over the words, which I do not attempt to reproduce, are 

 made to denote contractions. Jesus is ihc, Deus is ds, est is e, 

 ceneratio is gnacio, etc. The Latin is that of the Vulgate, but the 

 orthography is mediaeval and non-classic. A siTperfluous h is pre- 

 fixed to some words. Thus we have habiit mcerens, he went away 

 sorrowful, for abiit mcerens ; while, on the other hand, a customary 

 h is removed, making habuit to be abuit, &c. Mihi is michi. 

 Habundanti for abundanti recalls Abbot Wheathampstead's frequent 

 allusion to his own name at St. Albans — Yalles habundabunt 

 frumento. Dies hulcionis for dies ultionis, day of vengeance, has a 

 curioiis look. An h appears unexpectedly in the middle of a word, 

 as in introhibunt for introibunt, reminding one of the " abhominable" 

 of Shakspeare's Holofernes. For admirabantur I observe ammira- 

 bantur. Prefixed to each Gospel is a short account of the author. 

 Some marginal notes appear in a later hand, written in minute and 

 neat characters. These consist of slight corrections and omissions. 

 For convenience, another hand has noted the chapters ; and a recent 

 hand has numbered the folios on t\m right hand side (ccxi.) In the 

 tenth chapter of St. Mark we have an example of homoioteleuton — 

 as it is called — a common error or source of error in manuscripts. 

 The monkish scribe has given iis "da nobis ut unus ad dexterarn 

 tuam, et alius ad sinistram tuam sedeamiis in gloria tua. Jesus 

 autem ad eis : calicem -quidem quem ego bibo, bibetis," &c. The 

 corrector has here properly written in the mai'gin, to bo inserted 

 between eis and calicem, the following words, which were omitted : 

 " Nescitis quid petatis : potestis bibere calicem quem ego bibo, aut 

 baptismo quo ego baptizor, baptizari : et illi dixerunt ei Possumus : 

 Jesus autejn ait eis." The last " Jesus autem ait eis" caught the eye 

 of the copyist, instead of the. preceding identical expression, and 

 caused the omission. In like careless fashion in St. Matthew, eh. 1 3, 

 where the text runs : " alia autem ceciderunt in petrosa, ubi non 

 habebant terram multam, et continuo exorta sunt, quia non habebant 

 altituduiem terrse, sole autem orto sestuaverunt ; et quia non habebant 

 radicem, aruerunt," the copyist has left out, and the corrector has 



