After thus travelling through the most material and most used
ingredients, the _spykenard de spayn_ occurring only once, I shall
beg leave to offer a few words on the nature, and in favour of the
present publication, and the method employed in the prosecution of it.

[Illustration: Take þe chese and of flessh of capouns, or of hennes
& hakke smal and grynde hem smale inn a morter, take mylke of
almandes with þe broth of freysh beef. oþer freysh flessh, & put the
flessh in þe mylke oþer in the broth and set hem to þe fyre, & alye
hem with flour of ryse, or gastbon, or amydoun as chargeaunt as þe
blank desire, & with zolks of ayren and safroun for to make hit zelow,
and when it is dressit in dysshes with blank desires; styk aboue
clowes de gilofre, & strawe powdour of galyugale above, and serue it
forth.]

The common language of the _formula_, though old and obsolete, as
naturally may be expected from the age of the MS, has no other
difficulty in it but what may easily be overcome by a small degree of
practice and application [113]: however, for the further illustration
of this matter, and the satisfaction of the curious, a _fac simile_
of one of the recipes is represented in the annexed plate. If here
and there a hard and uncouth term or expression may occur, so as to
stop or embarrass the less expert, pains have been taken to explain
them, either in the annotations under the text, or in the Index and
Glossary, for we have given it both titles, as intending it should
answer the purpose of both [114]. Now in forming this alphabet, as
it would have been an endless thing to have recourse to all our
glossaries, now so numerous, we have confined ourselves, except
perhaps in some few instances, in which the authorities are always
mentioned, to certain contemporary writers, such as the Editor's MS,