Was proved a valiant man.”
Probably the Tom Thumb alluded to by Dr. Covel is the one who, in 1588, fought a duel on Salisbury Plain with a noted giant.
[325] Sir Bevis, who conquered the giant Ascapart, and kept him as his slave, was the hero of one of the most favourite old legends.
“Of Hampton all the baronage
Came and did Sir Bevis homage.”
Mr. Pepys alludes to the figure of him over the gate: “At Southampton ... Bevis’s picture is on one of the gates.”
[326] Cop = lump.
[327] I.e., watermen.
[328] Rebi is Turkish for spring. Rebi-u-l-evvel = the first (evvel) of spring, i.e., the 3rd month. Rebi-u-l-akhir = the last (akhir) of spring, i.e., the 4th month.
[329] Hunched = pushed. “Then Jack’s friends began to hunch and push one another.” (Arbuthnot, Hist. of John Bull, ch. xiii.)