21. “An allusion,” says Mr Wright, “to the story of the Roman
sage who, when blamed for divorcing his wife, said that a shoe
might appear outwardly to fit well, but no one but the wearer
knew where it pinched.”
22. Vigilies: festival-eves; see note 33 to the Prologue to the
Tales.
23. Bobance: boasting; Ben Jonson’s braggart, in “Every Man in
his Humour,” is named Bobadil.
24. “I hold a mouse’s wit not worth a leek,
That hath but one hole for to starte to”
A very old proverb in French, German, and Latin.