currents, shallows, and sandbanks; the exact place of the sun, the age of the moon, and for the complete art of piloting, there was not his equal between Hull and Carthage. He was a brave, and prudent man; whose beard many a tempest had shaken. He was intimate with every harbour from Gothland to Cape Finisterre, and every creek in Spain and Brittany. His ship was called the Magdalen.
There was a Doctor of Physic with us. No one was like him for discoursing on medicine and surgery; for he was well grounded in astronomy. He kept his patients principally by his magic, and could render them fortunate by the ascendant of his images. He was a skilful practitioner, and knew the cause of every malady; whether it were cold, heat, moisture, or drouth; where it originated, and from what humour;—the cause and root of his
obscure, I think is intended to convey a sly little irony;—for the poet, after saying,
'Of nice conscience toke he no kepe,'
adds,
'If that he faught and hadde the higher hand,
By water he sent hem home to every land.'
In other words I conceive the meaning to be, that he drowned his prisoners.
