1830. ‘And all other business having been left’: cp. ii. 791.
1890. With topseilcole: cp. v. 3119,
‘Bot evene topseilcole it blew.’
The word ‘topseilcole’ (written as one word in the best copies of each recension) does not seem to occur except in these two passages. It is evidently a technical term of the sea, and in both these passages it is used in connexion with a favourable wind. Morley quotes from Godefroy a use of the word ‘cole’ in French in a nautical sense, ‘Se mistrent en barges et alerent aux salandres, et en prisrent les xvii, et l’une eschapa, qui estoit a la cole.’ Unfortunately, however, it is uncertain what this means. The vessels in question were in port when they were attacked, and therefore ‘a la cole’ might reasonably mean with sails (or topsails) set, and so ready to start. A topsail breeze would be one which was fairly strong, but not too strong to allow of sailing under topsails, and this is rather the idea suggested by the two passages in Gower.
It should be noted that in F and in some other MSS. there is a stop after the word ‘topseilcole.’
1948. forto honge and drawe: the verbs are transitive, ‘that men should hang and draw them’ (i. e. pluck out their bowels).
1983. This must mean apparently ‘They had no need to take in a reef.’ The use of ‘slake’ with this meaning does not seem quite appropriate, but a sail or part of a sail is slackened in a certain sense when it is taken in, seeing that it is no longer subject to the pressure of the wind.
2055. leng the lasse: cp. iii. 71, ‘the leng the ferre.’ This form of the comparative is usual in such phrases, as Chaucer, Cant. Tales, A 3872, ‘That ilke fruit is ever leng the wers,’ and perhaps also E 687, F 404, Compl. unto Pite, 95, where the MSS. gives ‘lenger.’ The form ‘leng’ is the original comparative adverb of ‘long.’
2077. toward Venus: cp. v. 6757. Here it means ‘on the side of Venus.’
2095. sett, imperative, like ‘set case,’ i. e. ‘suppose that.’ The reading ‘sith’ is certainly wrong.