Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/443

 aftd Sentiments. 423 Or (before) thou haft tafted a morfell or tivayne, Thy di(h out of fight is taken foon agayne. Slotve be the fer-vers in fermng in ahvay. But ftvifte he they after taking thy meate aivay. Afpeciall cuflome is ujed them among. No good difh to fuffer on horde to be longe. If the dip be pic a jaunt, eyther feftje or fjhe. Ten handes at once Jtvarme in the diftoe ; And if it be flepe, ten kni'ves flialt thou fee Mangling the flejh and in the platter fiee ; To put there thy handes is pcrill ivithout fayle, Without a gauntlet or els a glove of mayle. It would thus leem that the lervers left the guelis, except thole at the high table, to help themielves. It appears that iu the earlier part of the lixteenth century, the Englilli had gained the charafter of keeping the moft profufe tables, and being the greateft eaters, in Europe. A fcrap preferved in a manulcript of the reign of Henry VIII., and printed in the " Reliquiae Antiquae" (vol. i. p. 2>'^6)i olliirs rather a curious excufe for this charafter. There was a merchant of England, we are told, who adventured into far countries, and when he had been there a month or more, a great lord invited this Englilli merchant to dinner. And when they were at dinner, the lord wondered that he eat not more of his meat, for, laid he, " Englillimen are called the greateft feeders in the world, and it is reported that one man will eat as much as ^Ay^ of another nation, and more viftuals are confumed there than in any other region." " It is true," the merchant replied, " it is lo, and for three reafonable caufes fo much victual is ferved on the table 5 one of which is, for love, another, for phylic, and the third, for dread. Sir, as concerns the firft, we are accuftomed to have many divers meats for our friends and kinsfolk, becaufe fome love one manner of meat, and fome another, and we willi every man to be fatished. Secondly, in regard of phyfic, becaufe for divers maladies which people have, fome men will eat one meat, and fome another, it is delirable that ever}'body fliould be fuited. The third caufe is for dread j for we have fo great abundance and plenty in our realm, of beafts and fowls, that if we lliould not kill and deftroy them, they would deftroy and devour us." It may be remarked that, during this