'His roving eyes rolde to and fro,
He fiskyng fine, did mincyng go.'
—Kendalls's Flower of Epigrammes, 1577 (Nares).
'Tom Tankard's cow....
Flinging about his halfe aker, fisking with her tail.'
—Gammer Gurton's Needle, i. 2.
'Fieska, to fisk the tail about; to fisk up and down.'—Swedish Dictionary, by J. Serenius. 'Fjeska, v.n. to fidge, to fidget, to fisk.'—Swed. Dict. (Tauchnitz)."
[E475] In the Rolls of Parliament, at the opening of the Parliament of 2 Rich. II. in the year 1378, we find—"Qui sont appellez Bacbyters sont auxi come chiens qi mangeont les chars crues," etc. In the Ancren Riwle (Camden Soc. ed. Morton), p. 86, are described two kinds of backbiters, who are defined generally as "Bacbitares, þe biteð oðre men bihinden"; the two kinds are 1. those who openly speak evil of others, and 2. those who under the cloak of friendship slander others. The latter is stated to be far the worse. In an Old Eng. Miscellany (E. E. Text Soc. ed. Morris), p. 187, we are told that "Alle bacbytares heo wendeþ to helle."—Rev. W. W. Skeat, note to P. Plowman, B. v. 89.
[E476] "The friend doth hate." The edition of 1585 reads, evidently by a misprint, fiends.
[E477] "Roinish," lit. scurvy, hence coarse, rough. "Rongneux, scabbie, mangie, scurvie."—Cotgrave. It occurs twice in the "Romaunt of the Rose," ll. 988 and 6190. In the form rinish, signifying "wild, jolly, unruly, rude," it is found among the Yorkshire words in Thoresby's Letter to Ray, reprinted by the Eng. Dial. Soc. "Rennish," in the sense of "furious, passionate," which is in Ray's collection of North-country words, is, perhaps, another form of the word.
[E478] "Still presently," i.e. always as close at hand.
[E479] "In vsing there his will," that is, in doing so he acted of his own free will.
[E480] "Seene" = appeared, showed himself.
[E481] "Do show" (to who thou wouldst to know). The meaning is perfectly clear, but the manner in which it is expressed is very curious. We may paraphrase it thus: "doth show to him whom thou wishest to teach."