t speake Hebrew.
_Me._ Haue thay nat a Bishope? _Ogy._ No. _Me._ What is
ye cause? _Ogy._ For oure lady is nat as yet so ryche,
that she is able to bye a crosse, & a mytre, whiche be
so deare, _Me._ Yet at least haue thay nat a
presedente? _Ogy._ No veryly. What lettythe thaym?
_Ogy._ That is a name || of dygnyte and nat of relygyo.
And also for that cause suche abbayes of Chanones, doo
nat receyue the name of an abbate, thay doo call thaym
maysters? _Me._ Ye, but I neuer hard tell of pryor
posterior before. _Ogy._ Dyd you neuer learne youre
gramere before. _Me._ Yis I know prior posterior amogst
the fygures. _Ogy._ That same is it. It is he that is
nexte to the prioure, for there priour is posterior.
_Me._ You speake apon the supprioure. _Ogy._ That same
dyd entertayne me very gently, he told me what greate
labure had be abowt ye readynge of thos verses, & how
many dyd rubbe thayr spectakles abowt thaym. As oft as
any old ancyent doctor other of deuynyte or of the
lawe, resorted thyder, by and by he was broght to that
table, some sayd that thay were lettres of Arabia, some
sayd thay were faynyd lettres. Well || at the last came
one that redde the tytle, it was wryten in laten with
greate Romayne lettres, ye Greke was wryten with
capytale lettres of Greke, whiche at the fyrst syght do
apere to be capytale late lettres, at thayr desyer I
dyd expownde ye verses in laten, traslatynge thaym word
for word. But wha thay wold haue gyuyn me for my
labour, I refusyd it, seynge that ther was nothynge so
hard that I wold not doo for our blessyd ladyes sake,
ye thogh she wold commaud me to bere this table to
Hierusale. _Me._ What nede you to be her caryoure,
seynge that she hathe so many angelles bothe at her
hedde and at her fette. _Ogy._ Than he pullid owt of
hys purse a pece of wodde, that was cutt owte of the
blokke that our ladye lenyd apon. I perceyuyd by and by
thorow the smell of it, that it was a holy thynge. Than
whan I sawe so || greate a relyque, putt of my cappe,
and fel down flatte, & very deuoutly kyssyd it .iij. or
.iiii tymes, poppyd it in my pursse. _Me._ I pray you
may a man see it? _Ogy._ I gyue you good leue. But if
you be nat fastynge, or if you accompanyed with yowre
wyffe the nyght before, I conceyle you nat to loke apon
it. _Me._ O blessed arte thou that euer thou gotte this
relyque. _Ogy._ I may tell you in cowncell, I wold nat
gyue thys litle pece for all ye gold that Tagus hathe,
I wyll sett it