Now have I done that lyeth in me To procure this solempnitie That these playes contynued may be And well sett fourth alway. Jhu [Jesu] Crist that syttys on hee _And his blessed mother Marie_ [_erased_] Save all this goodely company And kepe you nyght and day. [33] Played in 1488. With regard to the Banes we must notice first that it is in the same metre and rhyming stanza as the Plays themselves, and may have been written with them. Secondly, it sheds light on some very important points. Here is one:-- “The worshipfull wyves of this towne Ffyne of our lady thassumpcon It to bryng forth they be bowne And meyntene with all theyre might.”[34] [34] It is worth noting, that in 1483, at York, four men came before the Mayor, “& by the assent of all the Innholders of this said Citie tuke upon them to bring furth yerely during the term of VIII. yere, then next folluying the pagent of the Coronacion of our Lady perteyning to the said Innholders, etc.” It seems likely, then, that the “worshipful wyves” were the ale-wives of Chester, and it is by no means improbable that Chester again followed the lead of York. As Mrs. Green says, “Cooks and brewers and hostellers were naturally deeply interested in the preservation of the good old customs, and it was, in some cases, certainly this class (the most powerful in a mediæval borough), who raised the protest against the indifference and neglect of the townspeople for public processions and merry-making, because ‘thereby the victuallers lose their money’; and who insisted on the revival of these festivals for the encouragement of trade.”--_Town Life XV. Century_, i. p. 153. Here we have _The Assumption_ definitely classed as one of the Chester series (a point hitherto unknown), and also, we see that it was provided by women; this is unique, I think. In none of the other cycle centres do the women manage a play by themselves.[35] [35] Canon Morris says: “It is omitted from Bellin’s transcript in 1600, and was, in all probability, discontinued in Edward VI.’s reign, in deference to the religious feeling of the time.” Again, “Also maister maire of this Citie Withall his bretheryn accordingly A solempne procession ordent hath he To be done to the best Appon the day of Corpus Christi The blessed sacrament caried shalbe And a play sett forth by the clergye, In honor of the fest. Many torches there may you see Marchaunts and craftys of this citie By order passing in their degree A goadly sight that day. They come from Saynt Maries on the Hill The Church of Saynt Johns untill And there the sacrament leve they will The sauth as I you say.” It will be seen that the Mayor and Corporation had ordered a procession at Corpus Christi, and that the clergy were to provide a play. What this play was we have, unfortunately, no means of knowing.