Part 88 (2/2)

-- Wha{n}ne chese ys brouht{e}, A Trenchoure ha ye clene On which{e} with{e} clene knyf [ye] yo{ur} chese mowe kerve; 184 In your fedynge luke goodly yee be sene.

And from Iangelyng yo{ur} tunge al-wey conserve, For so ywys yee shall{e} a name deserve Off gentylnesse and of goode governau{n}ce, 188 And in vertue al-wey youre silf avau{n}ce.

[Sidenote: Have a clean trencher and knife for your cheese, and eat properly. Don't chatter either, and you shall get a good repute for gentleness.]

-- Wha{n}ne that so ys that ende shall{e} kome of mete, Youre knyffes clene, where they ouht{e} to be, Luke yee putte vp{pe}; and holde eke yee yo{ur} seete 192 Whils yee haue wa.s.she, for so wole honeste.

Whe{n}ne yee haue done, looke tha{n}ne goodly that yee With{e}-oute lauht{e}r{e}, Iapynge, or boystous worde, Ryse vp{pe}, and goo vnto youre lordis borde, 196

[Sidenote: When the meal is over, clean your knives, and put them in their places; keep your seats till you've washed; then rise up without laughing or joking, and go to your lord's table.]

-- And stonde yee there, and pa.s.se yee him nat fro Whils grace ys sayde and brouht{e} vnto an ende, Tha{n}ne so{m}me of yow for water owe to goo, So{m}me holde the clothe, so{m}me poure vpn his hende. 200

[Sidenote: [Fol. 90.]]

Other service tha{n}ne this I myht{e} comende To yow to done, but, for the tyme is shorte, I putte theym nouht{e} in this lytyl Reporte,

[Sidenote: Stand there till grace is said. Then some of you go for water, some hold the towel, some pour water over his hands. Other things I shall not put in this little Report,]

-- But ou{er}e I pa.s.se, prayyng with{e} spyrit gladde 204 Of this labour that no wiht{e} me detray, But where to lytyl ys, latte him more adde, And whe{n}ne to myche ys, latte him take away; For thouh{e} I wolde, tyme wole that I no more say; 208 I leve therfore, And this Book I directe To eu{er}y wiht{e} that lyste yt to correcte.

[Sidenote: but skip over, praying that no one will abuse me for this work. Let readers add or take away: I address it to every one who likes to correct it.]

-- And, swete children, for whos love now I write, I yow beseche with{e} verrey lovande herte, 212 To knowe this book that yee sette yo{ur} delyte; And myht{e}full{e} G.o.d, that suffred peynes smerte, In curtesye he make yow so experte, That thurh{e} yo{ur} nurture and youre governau{n}ce 216 In lastynge blysse yee mowe yo{ur} self auau{n}ce!

[Sidenote: Sweet children, I beseech you know this book, and may G.o.d make you so expert therein that you may attain endless bliss.]

[Footnote 1: _helde_, pour out; A.S. _hyldan_, to incline, bend.]

-- Lerne or be Lewde.

[Sidenote: [Fol. 90b.]]

To Amerous, to Au{n}terous, ne Angre the nat to muche; To Bolde, ne to Besy, ne Bourde nat to large; To Curteys, to Cruell{e}, ne Care nat to sore; To Dulle, ne to Dredefull{e}, ne Drynke nat to offte; 4 To Elenge, to Excellent, ne to Carefulle neythur; To Fers, ne to Famuler, but Frendely of Chere; To gladde, ne to Glorious, and Gelousy thow hate; To Hasty, to Hardy, ne to Hevy in thyn Herte; 8 To Iettyng, ne to Iangelyng, and Iape nat to ofte; To Kynde, ne to Kepyng, and warr{e} Knavis tacches; To Loth{e}, ne to Lovyng, ne to Lyberall{e} of goode; To Medlous, to Mury, but as goode Maner askith{e}; 12 To noyous, ne to Nyce, ne to Newfangyll{e}; To Orped, to Overtwert, and Othes, s{ir}, thow hate; To Preysyng, to Preve with{e} Prynces and Dukes; To Queynt, to Querelous, and Queme well{e} thy maistre; 16 To Riotous, to Revelyng, ne Rage nat to muche; To Strau{n}ge, ne to Steryng, ne Stare nat abroode; To Toyllous, to Talevys, for Temp{er}au{n}ce it hat.i.th{e}; To Vengable, to Envious, and waste nat to muche; 20 To Wylde, to Wrathefull{e}, and Wade nat to depe; A Mesurable Mene way ys beste for vs alle;

-- Yitte. Lerne. or. Be. Lewde.

[Sidenotes: Don't be too loving or angry, bold or busy, courteous or cruel or cowardly, and don't drink too often, [E] or be too lofty or anxious, but friendly of cheer. [G] Hate jealousy, be not too hasty or daring; joke not too oft; ware knaves' tricks. Don't be too grudging or too liberal, too meddling, [N] too particular, new-fangled, or too daring. Hate oaths and [P] flattery.

[Q] Please well thy master. Don't be too rackety, [S] or go out too much. [V] Don't be too revengeful or wrathful, and wade not too deep.

The middle path is the best for us all.]

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