At mete was she wel ytaught withalle;
She lette no morsel from hire lippes falle,
Ne wette hire fingres in hire sauce deep.
Wel coude she carie a morsel, and wel kepe,
Thatte no drope ne fell upon hire brest.

In curtesie was sette ful moche hire lest.*
Hire over lippe wiped she so clene,

That in hire cuppe was ne ferthing † sene
Of grese, whan she dronken hadde hire draught.
Ful semely after hire mete she raught.
And sikerly § she was of grete disport,
And ful plesant, and amiable of port,
And peined hire to contrefeten chere
Of court, and ben || estatelich ¶ of manere,
And to ben holden digne of reverence.

But for to speken of hire conscience,

She was so charitable and so pitous,
She wolde wepe if that she saw a mous
Caughte in a trappe, if it were ded or bledde.
Of smale houndes hadde she, that she fedde
With rosted flesh, and milk, and wastel brede.**
But sore wept she if on of hem were dede,
Or if men smote it with a yerde †† smert:
And all was conscience and tendre herte.

Ful semely hire wimple ‡‡ ypinched was ;
Hire nose tretis §§; hire eyen grey as glas;
Hire mouth ful smale, and thereto soft and red;
But sikerly she hadde a fayre forehed.

It was almost a spanne brode I trowe;

For hardily she was not undergrowe.

Ful fetise was hire cloke, as I was ware.

Of smale corall aboute hire arm she bare

Pleasure.

A farthing: any very small thing. "Ne ferthing-of grese," not the smallest spot of grease.

|| To be.

** Bread made from the finest flour.

++ A rod or staff.

§§ Long and well-proportioned.

¶ Stately.

A covering for the neck.
Well made, neat.

A pair of bedes,* gauded all with grene;
And theron heng a broche of gold ful shene,†
On whiche was first ywritten a crouned A,
And after, Amor vincit omnia."

Thus interesting was this lovely, and secluded, "Nonne." And here I cannot but condemn that erroneous religious system, which, save in this her pilgrimage, separated her from the social intercourse of her fellow-creatures. Religious Houses, as they are denominated, are irrational, and, therefore, indefensible. The Almighty sent us into the world for active, and useful, lives, and to perform the relative duties of society-not to shut ourselves up, and, whilst we think, that we are endeavouring to discharge our duties to God, really neglect those, which are due to man. Their united fulfilment can alone be pleasing to the Divine Being. Madame Eglentine may have been one of the best of her kind-she would have been yet far superior as a good wife, and affectionate mother. The more you insulate man, the more vicious you will make him; and this is proved (with some few exceptions) by the monastic life in all ages, and in all countries. The unrestrained, and social, intercourse of man with man engages the mind, and opens the field for the exercise of every amiable virtue. If we mean to engage in nothing, but what may be, by ourselves, or by others, converted into evil, we may then e'en go out of the world-we may shut our eyes, and fold our arms, and cry for aid:

* A string of beads, a rosary.

Bright, shining.

"Nihil prodest, quod non lædere posset idem: Igne quid utilius?"

Ovrd.

To absent ourselves from every festive meeting, as some religionists enjoin, greatly tends to engender a gloomy mind, and misanthropic feelings, utterly adverse to a state of real religion.

Let us now return to the history of the fork. I have proved, that, in the middle-ages, it was not in use, and-are there not those in Nature's lowest clan, who still disdain it? and who exemplify the saying of Horace, that

"Naturam expellas furcá, tamen usque recurret."

That is, "Although, contrary to nature, you make men adopt the use of the fork, yet they will again-eat with their fingers." Let us, however, pause . and-reconsider this

passage. Had the Romans the use of the-tablefork?-I doubt it. I do not think Horace meant thus. I must have misapprehended, and-misconstrued, the passage. No! he clearly meant by the word furcâ to allude to that rustic instrument, which is in our vernacular language denominated-the pitch-fork; whose length of handle offers a powerful lever for exertion. This well-turned sentiment of Horace is, I perceive, merely, but strongly, metaphorical. He plainly intends to say, However you may powerfully endeavour to restrain nature-bad habits will return."'

6.

I have thus given ample testimony to the non-use of the fork; and it is now incumbent on

me to say something of its introduction; and this was in the reign of James, the First. Thomas Coryate, of Odcombe, Somerset, began a pedestrian tour on the Continent in the year 1608, and published his Travels in the year 1611. To his dedication he signs himself "The Peregrine of Odcombe." He was complimented in playful commendatory verses by all the wits of his day, whose amusing productions are prefixed to his work, and amongst them are those of Michael Drayton, Dr. Donne, Bishop Corbet, and Inigo Jones. His book is very interesting, as it closely acquaints us with the then state of the Continent; and it would be both an useful, and entertaining, Vade-mecum with any modern traveller. He is denominated by Dibdin, in his "Bibliomania," a " facetious traveller, who was as quaint and original a writer as old Tom Fuller." He met with the fork in use in Italy; and, subsequently to his return, it was generally adopted in this country. Listen, gentle reader, to his own words: "Here I wil mention a thing that might haue been spoken of before in discourse of the first Italian towne. I obserued a custome in all those Italian Cities and Townes through the which I passed, that is not vsed in any other country that I saw in my trauels, neither doe I thinke that any other nation of Christendome doth vse it, but only Italy. The Italian and also most strangers that are commorant in Italy, doe alwaies at their meales vse a little forke when they cut their meate. For while with their knife which they hold in one hand they cut the meate out of the dish, they

fasten their forke which they hold in their other hand vpon the same dish, so that whatsoeuer he be that sitting in the company of any others at meale, should vnaduisedly touch the dish of meate with his fingers from which all at the table doe cut, he will giue occasion of offence vnto the company, as hauing transgressed the lawes of good manners, in so much that for his error he shall be at the least brow-beaten, if not reprehended in wordes. This forme of feeding I vnderstand is generally vsed in all places of Italy, their forkes being for the most parte made of yron or steele, and some of siluer, but these are vsed only by Gentlemen. The reason of this their curiosity is, because the Italian cannot by any meanes indure to haue his dish touched with fingers, seing all mens fingers are not alike cleane. Hereupon I my selfe thought good to imitate the Italian fashion by this forked cutting of meate, not only while I was in Italy, but also in Germany, and oftentimes in England, since I came home: being once quipped for that frequent vsing of my forke by a certaine learned Gentleman, a familiar friend of mine, one M. Laurence Whitaker, who in his merry humour doubted not to call me at table furcifer (19), only for vsing a forke at feeding, but for no other cause. ""*

Butler, as appears by the lines already quoted from his "Hudibras," (p. 215,) was well aware of the use of the anelace, whittle, or dagger, as the knife and fork. He wrote in the reign of Charles, the Second; and, as the fork Coryate's Crudities, 1611, p. 90.

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