14. _a botel hay_, a bottle of hay; similarly, we have _a barel ale_,
Monk's Prol. B. 3083. And see l. 24 below. A bottle of hay was a small
bundle of hay, less than a truss, as explained in my note to The Two Noble
Kinsmen, v. 2. 45. 'Nec vendant [foenum] per botellum'; Liber Albus, p.
721.
16. _by the morwe_, in the morning. There is no need to explain away the
phrase, or to say that it means in the afternoon, as Tyrwhitt does. The
Canon's Yeoman's tale is the first told on the third day, and the
Manciple's is only the second. The Cook seems to have taken too much to
drink over night, and to have had something more before starting. The fresh
air has kept him awake for a while at first, but he is now very drowsy
indeed.
Tyrwhitt well remarks that there is no allusion here to the unfinished
Cook's Tale in Group A. This seems to shew that the Manciple's Prologue was
written before the Cook's Tale was begun. Note that the Cook is here
excused; l. 29.
23. 'I know not why, but I would rather go to sleep than have the best
gallon of wine in Cheapside.' _me were lever slepe_, lit. it would be
dearer to me to sleep.