Scottish Text Society publications > Third series > Ratis raving and other early Scots poems on morals

11
PREFACE.
Owing to the length of time which elapsed between the
printing of the different parts, some discrepancies appear
in the manner of reference to certain texts, and possibly
in other matters as well. These are mostly unimportant,
but to one attention ought to be drawn. Early English
Meals and Manners (E.E.T.S. 32, also called The Babees
Book) in the introduction is quoted from the original
edition of 1868, in the notes from the re-issue of 1894
(1904) ; and since in the latter the texts are not in the
same order, and since some in the original edition are
omitted altogether—including all those referred to in the
introduction—the pagination also differs in the two issues.
I am indebted to several people for help of one kind
or another required in preparing this work. First of all
I must here place on record the courtesy of the Librarian
of Cambridge University Library, who allowed the MS.
to be deposited in the University Library at Glasgow
for my use, and to remain there for several months, also
for consent given in more recent years to have a rotograph
made of the whole MS. To Dr B. F. C. Atkinson of the
same Library I am indebted for answering one or two
questions on the composite MS.; to the authorities of
St John’s College, Cambridge, for permission to have
rotographed some folios of MS. G. 23; to the Librarians
of the University Libraries of Bristol, Edinburgh,
Liverpool, Manchester, and to the Librarian of the National
Library, Edinburgh, for the loan of books not available
in Glasgow; also to the Librarian at Liverpool for his
kindness in verifying two points in the text of Palmieri.
To all those I express also in this place my sincere thanks.
No less do I owe and express here my thanks to the follow¬
ing friends : to Miss M. G. May, formerly General Adviser
to Women Students in Glasgow University, who looked
over for me in the first instance Pahnieri’s Libro della
Vita Civile; to Dr W. Grant, who answered one or two