example, and they feparated in parties, according to their different tastes. The monk, the parson, and the friar, went to visit fome clerical acquaintance, and indulged in spiced wine. The ladies remained at home :-
She toke the priores by the honde, "Madam, wol ye stalk
Pryvely into the garden to se the herbis growe?
And after with our hostis wife in her parlour rowe (talk)?
I wol gyve youve the wyne, and ye shul me also;
For tyl we go to foper we have naught ellis to do."
The prioress assents to this proposal-
Passing forth fofftly into the herbery;
For many a herb grew for fewe (pottage) and furgery;
And all the aleys fair and parid, and raylid, and ymakid;
The Jauge and the ifope yfrethid and iftakid;
And othir beddis by and by freſh ydight,
For comers to the hoofte right a ſportful fight.
When the gueſts reaffembled, they agreed that the knight fhould be their "marshall" of the table, and he ordered them all to wafh, and then appointed them to their feats, that they might be properly feated together, for this was part of his duty. They thus fat two and two, each couple, no doubt, at one dish-
And begonne to talk of sportis and of chere
That they had the aftir-mete whiles they wer out;
For othir occupacioune, tyll they wer servid about,
They had not at that tyme, but eny man kitt (cut) a loff.
Thus it would appear that nothing eatable was as yet placed on the table but bread. Prefently, the fupper was ferved round to them, of which there was only one "fervice," out of courtefy on the part of the rich members of the company towards thoſe who were poor, as there was to be an equal divifion of the expenfes of the fupper. In return, the higheſt places of the table were yielded to the perfons of beſt eſtate, and thefe, as an acknowledgment, gave a cup of wine round at their own expenſe, and
