272 Charles Davidson — English Mystery Plays. 



Youre liff all haly in his hande, Y, 4. 



Your helthe alle holy in hys hande, i W. Alliteration, « 



I am hys hay re as age wylle has, W. 



I am hys hajTe as elde will asse, Y, 7. Elde, asse. 



I wold my myghte were knowne, W. 



I will my myght be knawen, Y, 11. Tense. 



And of youre wordes looke that ye seasse, W. 



And of youre sawes I rede you sees, Y, 17. Alliteration. 



And at my liste lose liff and lyre, Y, 20, 



And to my list bowe lyCe and lyre, W. Unstressed alliteration. 



My Lord, if any here were, W. 



My lorde, yf any were, Y, 21, Verse movement. 



If we myghte com thaym nere, W, 



And we wist whilke thay Avere, Y, 23. Alliteration. 



With these comparisons we place the following additions and 

 omissions. W adds — 



After stanza 1. Full low he shalle be thrawne 

 That harkyns not my sawe, 

 Hanged hy and drawne, 

 Therf or no boste ye blawe. 



After stanza 9. Do of thy shoyes in fere, 



Wyth mowth as I the melle. 

 The place thou standes in there 

 Forsoth, is halowd welle. 



After stanza 10. Bot I wylle not so do. 



In me if thay wylle trast 

 Bondage to brynge thaym fro. 

 Therfor thou go in hast. 



In stanza 22, In no mans time that ever was borne. 

 Phai-ao. Telle on, belyfe, and make an end. 



In stanza 28. Yit were it better that thai yede. 



W omits— 

 In stanza 22. Sir kyng, we banne hat we wer borne, 



Oure blisse is all with bales blende. 

 In stanza 25. Als wele on myddyng als on more. 



In stanza 28. Lorde, war they weote han walde it sese. 

 So shuld we save vs and our seede. 

 also, Late hym do fourth ! he devill hym spede ! 



Y stanza 31 is paralleled by W. The stanza illustrates the methods 

 by which W often reduces a 4-stress verse to a 3-stress line. The 

 rime series, ' pay,' ' betray,' * garray,' ' slay,' makes it probable that 

 this stanza is an excerpt from some other play.'^ 



Y, stanza 31. For at oure will now sail we wende, 

 In lande of lykyng for to lende. 

 i. puer,— Kyng Pharo, that felowns fende. 



Will haue grete care fro this be kende. 

 Than will he schappe hym vs to shende, 

 And sone his Ooste af tir vs sende. 



1 But 'helthe' is a favorite word, op. Y XXXVII. W uses 'helth' for 'heele,' lines 

 38, 106. 2 See p. 267. 



