[42] Noddy, a simpleton; see Imperial Dictionary.—Ed.
[43] Fraudulent bankruptcy is a sore and prevailing evil. It is thieving under the protection of the law. How many live in state, until their creditors get a few shillings in the pound, and the bankrupt gets the curse of God upon his soul!—Ed.
[44] Quean, a slut, a strumpet; see Imperial Dictionary.—Ed.
[45] Witness the shepherd boy's song in the Pilgrim:—
He that is down need fear no fall,
He that is low, no pride;
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide.
This poor boy, in his very mean clothes, carried more heart's ease in his bosom, than he that was clad in silk and velvet.—Ed.
[46] For this use of the word lap, see Proverbs 16:33.—Ed.
[47] In the reign of Edward II, the price of provisions was regulated by Act of Parliament. Twenty-four eggs were ordered to be sold for one penny, but the penny of that period contained as much silver as the threepenny piece of Bunyan's, and of our time. I have bought, within the last forty years, the finest eggs at four a penny in Normandy.—Ed.
[48] 'Slither,' slippery, deceitful; obsolete, except in Lincolnshire.—Ed.
[49] Purses were worn, in Bunyan's time, hanging to the girdle, or slung over the shoulder, as they now are in some parts of Germany. A pickpocket was then called 'a cut-purse.'—Ed.