introduction to Dr. Johnson's Dictionary. Another poem, also transcribed from Hickes's extract, by Dr. Johnson, is a life of St. Margaret, which, as Mr. Warton tells us, forms part of a voluminous MS. in the Bodleian library, containing various lives of the saints, translated, perhaps, from some earlier Latin or French original.

But the most entertaining and curious specimen preserved in Hickes's Thesaurus, is one which that learned editor has characterised as a most malevolent satire on the religious orders. It, however, by no means deserves this disgraceful appellation, because it does not contain one of those opprobrious expressions which are so liberally employed, as a substitute for wit, by theearly satirists. The author, whoever he was, takes advantage of a popular tradition respecting the existence of an imaginary terrestrial paradise, in some unknown quarter of the globe, which he calls the Land of Cokaine; in which his Houris are nuns, and their happy companions white and grey monks; and his object is to insinuate, that the ease and luxury enjoyed in the monasteries, had scarcely less effect in peopling the monastic orders, than the inducements more usually assigned by the proselytes of zeal and devotion. In the Harleian MSS. there is an ancient French poem, quoted by Mr. Warton, on a nearly

similar plan, called "Le Ordre de bel Eyse." The same idea is also pursued by Rabelais, and seems to have been a great favourite with the early French satirists. The word cokaine seems to be Frenchified Latin; and our poem bears the strongest mark of being a translation; because the elegance of the sketch, and the refined irony of the general composition, are strongly contrasted with the rudeness of the language. As the poem is not excessively long, it is here printed entire, with such notes as appeared necessary to render it tolerably intelligible. There are, however, some passages, corrupted perhaps by the negligence of transcribers, the obscurity of which I have not been able to

remove.

Far in the sea, by West Spain,

Is a land ihote1 Cokaigne,"

1 Called. (Saxon.)

From-coquina; whence cucina, cuisine, &c. and the old English word cockney. In P. Ploughman's Vision, p. 35, (quoted hereafter) P. P. says,

I have no salt bacon,

Ne no cokeney, by Christ! collops for to make. Perhaps the intelligence which the inhabitants of the metropolis displayed in the culinary art, may have procured them the appellation of cockneys from the uplandish or country-men.

There n'is land under heaven-reich,"
Of wel of goodness it y-like.

Though Paradise be merry and bright,
Cokayn is of fairer sight.

What is there in Paradise

But grass, and flower, and green-rise ?3
Though there be joy and great dute,*
There n'is meat but fruit.

There n'is hall, bure5, no bench;
But water, man-is thirst to quench.
Beth' there no men but two;
Hely and Enoch also,

ΤΟ

Clinglich may hi to go

Where there wonith" men no mo.12

1

Heaven, the kingdom of heaven. Sax.

2 Wealth, abundance of goodness. Sax.

3 Branches. Sax.

Pleasure, deduit. Old Fr.

Bower, (Sax.) synonimous with chamber. F.

6 No, and sometimes nether, are used for nor. 7 There are.

8 Elias.

9 The sense seems to be, "It is easy for them to be clean "and of pure heart, because they are only two, and cannot "be corrupted by bad example."Why Paradise should contain only two inhabitants is not very intelligible, but, it was thus represented in the pageants, as appears from a passage in the Fabian, quoted by Strutt, (View of Manners, &c, Vol. II. p. 53.) "In the border of this delicious place,

In Cokayn is meat and drink,

Without care, how1 and swinka

The meat is trie,3 the drink so clear,
To noon, russin,+ and suppér

I sigges (for sooth boot were"}
There n'is land on earth is? peer.
Under heaven n'is land I wiss3ïa
Of so muckle joy and bliss. A won

There is many a sweet sight:

All is day, n'is there no night;

*T

“which was named Paradise, stođe two forgrowen faders, "resemblynge Enoch, and Hely, the which had thys sayenge "to the kynge," &c.

10

They. The words they and them, instead of hi and hem, seem to have been introduced, as Mr. Tyrwhitt observes, about the time of Chaucer.

* Rushing is still used, in the northern counties, for what the French call a gouter, or meal between dinner and supper. Vide Grose's Prov. Glossary, Noon was the usual time of dinner.

5 I say, or affirm.

16 This kind of phrase is now obsolete; and yet we might "for falsehood boot-less were."

say

There n'is baret' nother strife,
N'is there no death, ac? ever life.
There n'is lack of meat, no cloth,
There n'is man no woman wrath;
There n'is serpent, wolf, no fox;
Horse, no capyt,3 cow, no ox:
There n'is sheep, no swine, no goat,
No none horwyla,4 God it wot.
Nother harate, nother stud:
The land is full of other good.
N'is there fly, flea, no louse,
In cloth, in town, bed, no house.
There n'is dunner, sleet, no hail,

6

No none vile worm, no snail:
No none storm, rain, no wind:
There n'is man no woman blind;
Ok all is game, joy, and glee.
Well is him that there may be !

There beth rivers, great and fine,
Of oil, milk, honey, and wine.

3 Steed, from caballus. It is used by Chaucer, &c.

Probably a groom, as harate and stud are mentioned immediately afterwards: the Saxon word is hors-wealh. 5 Huras. Fr. A place where horses are bred.