[Fol. 4.] Eek in this lond--I dar afferme a thyng-- Ther is a prince Ful myhty of puyssau{n}ce, A kynges sone, vncle to the kynge Henry the sexte which is now i{n} frau{n}ce, And is lieftenant, & hath the gouernau{n}ce Off our breteyne; thoruh was discrecion He hath conserued in this regiou{n} Duryng his tyme off ful hih{e}[A] prudence Pes and quiete, and sustened riht{e}.[A] Ȝit natwithstandyng his noble prouyde{n}ce He is in deede prouyd a good knyht, Eied as argus with reson and forsiht; Off hih{e} lectrure I dar eek off hym telle, And treuli deeme that he doth{e} excelle In vndirstondyng all othir of his age, And hath gret Ioie with clerkis to co{m}mune; And no man is mor expert off language. Stable in studie alwei he doth contune, Settyng a side alle chau{n}ges[B] of fortune; And wher he loueth{e}, ȝiff I schal nat tarie, With{e}oute cause ful loth{e} he is to varie. Duc off Gloucestre men this prince calle; And natwithstandyng his staat & dignyte, His corage neuer doth appalle To studie in bookis off antiquite; Therin he hath{e} so gret felicite Vertuousli hym silff to ocupie, Off vicious slouth to haue the maistrie.[25] And with his prudence & wit his manheed Trouthe to susteyne he fauour set a side; And hooli chirche meyntenyng in dede, That in this land no lollard dar abide. As verrai support, vpholdere, & eek guyde, Spareth non, but maketh{e} hym silff strong To punysshe alle tho that do the chirch{e} wrong. Thus is he both manly & eek wise, Chose of god to be his owne knyht{e}; And off o thynge he hath a synguler[C] price, That heretik dar non comen in his siht{e}. In cristes feith{e} he stant so hol vpriht, Off hooli chirche defence and [c]hampion To chastise alle that do therto treson. And to do plesance to oure lord ih{es}u He studieht[D] eu{er}e to haue intelligence. Reedinge off bookis bringth{e} in vertu,-- Vices excludyng, slouthe & necligence,-- Maketh{e} a prince to haue experience To know hym silff i{n} many sundry wise, Wher he trespaseth, his errour to chastise. [Text Notes: A: These _e_-s represent the strokes through the _h_-s. B: MS. thau{n}ges. C: The _l_ is rubbed. D: So in MS.] After mentioning that the duke had considered the book of ‘Boccasio, on the Fall of Princes,’ he adds, ‘and he gave me commandment, that I should, after my conning, this book translate him to do plesance.’ MS. 18 D 4.--Sharon Turner’s _History of England_, vol. vi. pp. 55--7. P.S. When printing the 1513 edition of Wynkyn de Worde’s _Boke of Keruynge_, I was not aware of the existence of a copy of the earlier edition in the Cambridge University Library. Seeing this copy afterwards named in Mr Hazlitt’s new catalogue, I asked a friend to compare the present reprint with the first edition, and the result follows. NOTE ON THE 1508 EDITION OF _The Boke of Keruynge_, By The Rev. Walter Skeat, M.A.