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ADVERTISEMENT.
THIS MS. formerly belonged to Mr. Thoresby of Leeds, (see Nicolson's Historical Library,) now (1790) to Mr. Jackson of Clement's Lane, Lombard-street: written about 1440, as appears from a writing, and from a translation in the same MS. after this tract, of a book of morals by "John of Wiegnny, out of Frenshe into Englishe, by your humble servytoure John Shirley, att the full noble, honorable, and renomed cité of London, so as feblesse wold suffice, in his great and last age, the yere of oure lord a thousand, four hundreth fourty."
Mr. Pinkerton (in the Appendix to whose History of Scotland this tract first appeared) supposes that it was published in Scotland by authority; but we think it appears clearly from internal evidence to have been composed by a native of England. The following passage. Would certainly .never. have been written by a Scotchman, muchless published by authority: "The Kyng of Scottes hadde leve enlagissid, and had saufecondit of his maister the kyng of England, (for so the Kyng of Scottes clepid hym,) to return safe and sownde ayene. ynto his region of Scotteland."