I bought him a little handkerchief to wipe his little nose, And a pair of little garters to tie up his Ei! huyd er! Lij t 'el hus ban! Ei! put hem in er pyn-pot Aen teer! Ei! bidt hem d'rom! Ei! booght hem er lij-t'el heyend keur kijf toe wy 'p'es licht-el noose; End op eer af lij-t'el charters toe 't ei op 'es lij-t'el hose. Eh then hoard away! Proclaim yourself the curse of every family! Go on there, driving for your tithes, you greedy hog! Plunder the forfeit-fund for your expenses! Beg about to supply all your wants! Boast of your harrassing, accursed lawsuits, instituted for the purposes of this manifest nuisance; and pride yourself upon the accursed charters that endow your convent, and serve as the nest-egg for this nuisance to every man's pocket. Hoeden, huyden', to hoard up, to keep together. Huyd, is the imperative, and sounds had. Pyn-pot was the fine-fund, or money accruing from penalties imposed by the confessors upon their dupes for sins of their own hatching, and which was properly destined in aid of charity. P and b represent interchanging sounds. Lij t el, all men's curse, seems to have been in that day a popular sobriquet for the priest. Charter is the contraction of geeharter from charteren, to reduce to writing; and grounded in the Latin charta. The word was formerly spelt saerter. Sij heilt in haer hand enen groeten zaerter, daer vele in geschreven stond, en was outbonden end al ghereet om te lezene. PELG. DER MENSCH-NAT. It is evident this sour diatribe is meant for the monk, who was often employed as the family confessor, and in that capacity computed the sin and allotted the penalty, Aen teer, for a maintenance, and sounds and there, the th of this period having no other representative with us than the t or the d. And it is the t which supplies the sound of the d to and in the travesty, as was of the th in there. Op eer, on the glory, sounds a pair. Heyend keur kijf, vexatious law strife, sounds handkerchief. Pyn-pot, the pot or box in which chance forfeits were put; and the savings of servants and children were formerly deposited in what was termed the spare-pot. 20.-Over the water, over the lee, Hoev 'heer de waerder! hoev 'heer de lij! Farmer the Farmer the bailiff (storekeeper)! slave! Farmer the bailiff to Schaer-ley [the lazy gang; the monks]. Schaer-ley may thank the gospel and the being made a priest for all this; Schaer-ley may thank the Bible, burial-fees, and such as you for all this; Schaer-ley may thank the empty-headed clown (for that is the title he would call you by if he saw through you as thoroughly as I do). Schaer-ley, literally, the lazy gang, crew, assemblage; here as a token for the friarhood. Schaer, a multitude, a troop, a band, and the same word with the German schaer, and the Italian schiera. But this sobriquet was probably suggested by its close resemblance with the terms schaerlant, a sturdy vagabond, and schaerluyn, a scrub, scurra. Licht-heel, literally, completely wrong-headed, over-easy, sounds little. Als hu hiet (als hij u hiet), as he would name you, sounds as sweet. Als sij hij u gar kend je, if it should be that he was thoroughly acquainted with what you are, sounds as sugar-candy. 'S, 'es, des, for this, on this account. Wyne or wyine, is a contraction of wying, an admitting into holy orders, an ordaining, and sounds wine. Evidently a jeer upon the rusticks for being suconvenient tools in the hands of the then priesthood. God is here, as the word of God, the Bible, and thus metaphorically for the tithes which are laid to the account of that book; and as that which, with pious donations and officia! fees, make up the revenue of the priest. God, sounds good. Waerder, overseer, sounds as we pronounce water. 21.-Ding dong bell, The cat's in the well. What a naughty boy was that To drown poor pussy-cat, Who never did any harm, But kill'd the mice in his father's barn. Ding d' honig-beld, Die kaetst in de weld. Wie? hoe put heer in? Lij't 'el Je haen, Je Grijn. Wat! er nauwt je boei wo aes dat? Bat ghild hem eys in 'es vaders baen. It is the honey-bearing image that brings this revenue, it is this that affords all this wealth. How? in what way is it taken out? That curse to us all, the sneering bully (the monk). What hav'nt you always a pair of handcuffs ready for such a carrionrogue as that? At once make an example of the thorough-paced villain. While industry and hard work can alone avail the vassal-peasant, the idle pick-pocket-career of the monk affords him abun dance. D' honig-beld, the honey (money) making image refers to one of those once well known miracle-working figures, to which devotees flocked to deposit their en voto presents in its sanctuary, of which the priests were the pilferers. Je haen, Je Grijn, (Johnny Green) literally, ever a swaggerer, ever with a sneer on his face; and here, is meant as a nick-name for the monk, the sturdy impudent beggar who laughed in his sleeve at the folly of his dupes, while he bullied them by his threats if they were backward to give. Puur boose guit, a proper rascal, sounds poor pussy cat. Ghild, yield, sounds kill'd. |