4379. T. has _And til_, but his note says that _And_ was inserted by himself. Wright reads, 'And tyl he hadde'; but _And_ is not in the Harleian MS. Observe that Wright insists very much on the fact that he reproduces this MS. 'with literal accuracy,' though he allows himself, according to his own account, to make silent alterations due to collation with the Lansdowne MS. But the word _And_ is not to be found in any of the seven MSS., and this is only _one_ example of the numerous cases in which he has _silently_ altered his text without any [130] MS. authority at all. His text, in fact, is full of treacherous pitfalls; and Bell's edition is quite as bad, though that likewise pretends to be accurate. The easiest way of scanning the line is to ignore the elision of the final _e_ in _had-de_, which is preserved, as often, by the cæsural pause. 4383. _sette steven_, made an appointment; see A. 1524. 4394. 'Though he (the master) may have,' &c. 4396. 'Though he (the apprentice) may know how to play,' &c. Opposed to l. 4394. The sense is--'The master pays for the revelling of the apprentice, though he takes no part in such revel; and conversely, the apprentice may gain skill in minstrelsy, but takes no part in paying for it; for, in his case, his rioting is convertible with theft.' The master pays, but plays not; the other pays not, but plays. 4397. 'Revelling and honesty, in the case of one of low degree (who has no money), are continually wrath with (i. e. opposed to) each other.' 4402. 'And sometimes carried off to Newgate, with revel (such as he might be supposed to approve of).' The point of the allusion lies in the fact that, when disorderly persons were carried to prison, they were preceded _by minstrels_, in order to call public attention to their disgrace. This is clearly shewn in the Liber Albus, pp. 459, 460, (p. 396 of the E. translation). E. g. 'Item, if any person shall be impeached of adultery, and be thereof lawfully attainted, let him be _taken unto Newgate_, and from thence, _with minstrelsy_, through Chepe, to the Tun on Cornhulle [Cornhill], there to remain at the will of the mayor and alderman.' 4404. _paper._ The allusion is not clear; perhaps it means that he was referring to his account-book, and found it unsatisfactory. 4406. In Hazlitt's Proverbs we find; 'The rotten apple injures its neighbour.' Cf. G. 964. In the Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 205, we are bidden to avoid bad company, because a rotten apple rots the sound ones, if left among them. In Ida von Düringsfeld's Sprichwörter, 1872-5, no. 354, is:--'Ein fauler Apfel steckt den andern an. Pomum compunctum cito corrumpit sibi iunctum.' 4413. _his leve_, his leave to go, his dismissal, his _congé_. 4414. _or leve_, or leave it, i. e. or desist from it.