One dialogue, or Colloquye of Erasmus Part 2

William.

-- What if theer be any ouerplus there?

Bertulphe.

-- Peraduenture he woulde giue it them againe, and some whiles they doeso, if it strike in their braines.

William.

-- And is there none that speaketh againste this vnegall reckening?

Bertulphe.

-- No, none that hathe any witte in his head, for by and by they woulde saye thus vnto hym. What kinde of man arte thou? I tell thee thou shalt paye no more for thy Supper heere, then other men do.

William.

-- Marye this kinde of people is franke and free I see wel.

Bertulphe.

-- But if one (beeinge werye with trauaile) should desire to go to bed as soone as Supper is done, they will him tarye, till all the other go to bed to.

William.

-- Me thinkes I se Platoes common welth heere.

Bertulphe.

-- Then euerye mannes Cabin is shewed him, & in deede, nothinge elles but a bare chaumber for all that is there, is but beddes, and the Deuill a whit there is else beside there, eyther to occupye or els to steale.

William.

-- There is neatnesse or clenlinesse I warraunt you.

Bertulphe.

-- Yea by roode, euen suche as was at the Supper. The Sheetes peraduenture were washed halfe a yeere before.

William.

-- And how fayres your horses all this while.

Bertulphe.

-- They are vsed after the same rate that the m[~e] bee.

William.

-- But is this maner of entertainement in eueryplace there?

Bertulphe.

-- In some place it is more curteous, in some place againe, it is more currishe then I haue made rehersall, howbeit generallye it is euen after this order.

William.

-- What would you say if I should now tell you how strangers are entreated in that part of Italy which they call Lbardy, and again in spaine howe they be vsed, and how in Englande and in Wales for Englishe men in conditions are halfe Frenche, halfe Dutche as men indifferente betweene both. Of theise two contries, Welche men say that they are the right Brittaines first inhabiting the land.

Bertulphe.

-- Mary I pray thee hartely tell me, for it was neuer my fortune to trauaile into them.

William.

-- Nay, I haue no laysure nowe at this time, for the Mariner bad me bee with him at three of the clock, except I would be left behinde, and he hath a Packette of mine. Another time wee shall haue laysure enough to tell of these thinges our bellies full.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Notes by Project Gutenberg Transcriber

_Explanations of some obsolete words, and in some cases the transcriber's justification for over-riding the proofreaders'

readings._

[1] _et pa.s.sim_ "d.u.c.h.e lande": i.e. Deutschland = Germany.

[2] _et pa.s.sim_ "Stove:" _A sitting-room or bedroom heated with a furnace.

Chiefly with reference to Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, or Russia_. (OED). This is an older sense than the heating apparatus itself.

[3] "after a niuer facion": if this is correctly read, the "niuer" does not seem to appear in the OED, unless it be a form of "never" used as an adjective. The Latin is _aegre et parce_ "reluctantly and sparingly".

[4] "startops": Latin _perones_, thick leather boots.

[5] "fistinge, or fisseling". "Fist": _To break wind_ (OED). The Latin is _flatum ventris_. "Fisseling" may be a.s.sumed to have a similar meaning, perhaps from Latin _fesiculatio_.

[6] "iump" (i.e. "jump"): _exactly, precisely_ (OED). The Latin is _Sic_.

[7] "linne": _To cease, leave off; desist from_ (OED).

[8] "sod(de)": Past participle of _seethe_ to boil.

[9] "Grimson": the Latin is merely _barbatus_ "bearded one". Perhaps connected with "grimsire": _austere, stern, morose or overbearing person_ (OED).

[10] "Siuic.o.xe": I cannot place this English word. Again the Latin is _barbatus_.