A byke of waspes bredde in his nose
Hyved vp in his hedde he hadde hem of thoght
And Vaspasiane is called by cause of his waspes.”
MS. Cott. Calig. A. ii. fol. 109.
Page 274. v. 1529. agayne] i. e. against.
Page 275. v. 1531. crake] i. e. vaunt, talk bigly.
v. 1532. I shall frounce them on the foretop] To frounce is—to wrinkle, ruffle up, &c. In our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe, v. 1340. vol. i. 92, Charon is described as having a “frownsid fore top;” and in his Colyn Cloute, v. 533. vol. i. 331, “foretop” means simply—head, pate.
—— gar] i. e. make, cause.
v. 1538. auaunce] i. e. advance.
v. 1539. take it in degre] Seems equivalent here to—“take it in gre” (which occurs in v. 2005), i. e. take it kindly: see note, p. 95. v. 68.