A curate thus instituted could only hear the confessions of parishioners in the church or chapel where he said Mass according to the leave and permission he had received; he was bound to be present in the choir of the parish church, vested in a surplice, at Matins, High Mass, Vespers, and other Divine service at the appointed hours on Sundays and festivals, together with the other ministers of the church, who were legally bound to assist at and increase the numbers of those present at these services, and not to remain in the nave or walk about in the cemetery, etc. On Sundays and Feast-days, when a funeral Mass had to be said, the curate, unless with leave of his rector, was not allowed to begin this Mass until after the Gospel of the High Mass. In their private lives curates were warned always to act as priests, and not to frequent taverns, plays, or illicit spectacles. In dress and carriage they were ever to uphold the credit of the ecclesiastical state, and not to bring scandal upon their rectors or upon themselves. Sometimes the need of extra assistance in the parish was felt by the people, and very frequently they contributed the sum necessary for a curate’s sufficient stipend. At times the people even appealed to the bishop to force the parson to seek additional help. Thus in the diocese of London, in the fourteenth century, there is recorded the complaints of the inhabitants of a parish that their vicar would not allow the services of a priest for whom they had paid, and that thus “they were deprived of daily Mass, and other divine service, with the sacraments and sacramentals.” At times, indeed, the need of an assistant in a parish was so obvious that the bishop felt bound to interfere in order to secure the appointment. Thus Bishop Rigaud de Asserio, of Winchester, in 1323, appointed a curate to the Vicar of Twyford, “who was suffering from an incurable disease” and unable to do the work of his parish. In the same way, in 1313-14, Bishop Stapledon, of Exeter, appointed a curate coadjutor to the Vicar of St. Neots, who was found to be suffering from leprosy. The vicar was to have a certain stipend; was to keep the best room in the parsonage, with the adjoining parts of the house, except the hall. The door between this room and the vicar’s chamber was to be built up, and the newly appointed curate was to have the whole administration of the vicarage.