Selected quad for the lemma: hand_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
hand_n	close_v	file_n	rank_n	4,772	5	12.1063	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06891	The queen of Nauarres tales Containing, verie pleasant discourses of fortunate louers. Now newly translated out of French into English.; Heptaméron. English	Marguerite, Queen, consort of Henry II, King of Navarre, 1492-1549.; A. B., fl. 1597.	1597 (1597)	STC 17323; ESTC S120742	69,714	98

THE Queene of Nauarres Tales Containing Verie pleasant Discourses of fortunate Louers Now newly translated out of French into English LABORE ET CONSTANTIA LONDON Printed by V. S. for Iohn Oxenbridge and are to be solde at his shop in Paules churchyard at the signe of the Parot 1597 ❧ To his assured good friend I. O. Stationer SIr you hauing manie times beene in hand with me about a booke intituled The Queene of Nauarres Tales which as you say you haue caused to be translated out of French at your proper charges on mind to Print it and you haue seuerall times bin in hand with me to write you a Preface You know I neuer read the Booke and therefore I am not able to say what argument it holdeth nor otherwise what it concerns which were behouefull to be knowne to him that shal write a Preface but the Title is enough to grace the Booke bearing the name of the Queene of Nauarres Tales whereby any man may coniecture that the contentes are some pithie Discourses written for pleasure and recreation and so great a Princesse vouchsafing so to honour them with her owne name who can thinke but that the pleasure is contained within the limits both of wit modesty For the curious conceited fellows that liue now in the world thogh not possest with any great store of malice nor wit but are yet of such a fine iesting humor that they wil dry-bob any man that writes of what subiect soeuer In steade of a Preface I will present them with a peece of an olde tale a fiction and fained I know not by whom but if the Author wil not be found let me father it my selfe the fable is this Nature hauing many yeares agoe so wasted her treasures in the perfiting of womans beauties that by her former prodigalitie her perfections are so consumed and spent that the women of this age are enforced to supply their defects by periwigs painting by bombasting and bolstering and such other artificiall helps the poore Lady finding her owne scarcitie not able to performe that excellencie as before she had done in the feminine sex determined yet to make proofe and to trie her cunning what she could do in the masculine Vndertaking the taske with this setled curiositie she proportioned a man of such excellent perfection in all his limbs and lineaments that Nature herselfe began to wonder at her owne worke and as the curious Artificer who thinkes his labor to be but lost that is still concealed and neuer brought to sight so Nature bringing forth this superexcellent personage to be viewed appointed him in such a place where the people of seueral Nations had their continuall recourse the first that passed by was a Spaniard who taking a full suruey of this new formed man crossing himselfe both his forehead breast then throwing vp his handes with admiration to the heauens hee saide with a lowde voice O most glorious excelent creature in countenance more amiable and louely than our lady of Loretta in personage more comly than S. Iago of Compostella but how shall I extoll thy prayses my comparisons are too weake I will therefore leaue thee and blesse Nature who hath blessed her selfe in featuring of thee Nature that stoode fast by where she might both heare and see and yet vnseene her selfe was wel pleased with this first salutation and the Spaniard thus departed The next that came by was an Italian and he as the Spaniard before but with alitle more circumspection taking the view of this goodly creature fell first into a fit of wondering from that into an extasie of praising then to protesting that for a thousand duckats hee woulde not haue his wife to haue a sight of this temtation and now he fell to swearing that to preuent all perills he would keepe her still lockt vp in a chamber and thus he went his way With this Nature smiled to see the passionate demeanor of the iealous headed Italian And let it suffice that I deliuer though not in this particular sort how the people of sundry other Nations as they passed by what praises and commendations they would all of them attribute to this handiworke of Nature imputing it to bee without fault blemish imperfection or any maner of defect till at the last there fortuned to come by an Englishman I think some of the same trauelling fellows whereof there are some that running thorow the world to seeke new fashions abroade doe lose al their wits that they carried with them from home or perhaps it might be some worthy souldier that if he hath but discharged a case of pifle-pots out of a Gentlemans chamber seene an Ensigne three times spread in the field puts himselfe by and by into the arming doublet the poyntes with the great siluer tagges tied in the pitch of the shoulder then at euery word he must be caled Mas Captain then if hee haue but learned thus much of the new Discipline as to say Double your Rankes on the right hand now againe as you were double your Files on the left hand close your Ranks open your Files why so this is enough to make him able to coosin an hundred and fiftie souldiers of their pay Now for table-talke you shal heare nothing out of their mouths but of the scaling of forts the assaulting of breaches the taking of citidales by theyr words they will seeme to vndertake the winning of a greater towne than Lysbourne but with discharging two or three volies of oths To conclude when they are angrie there is nothing in their mouthes but the stab and when they are pleased their greatest friendship is not woorth an ordinary of eighteene pence I speake not to preiudice anie gentleman that hath trauelled for his owne experience whereof there bee many worthy of commendations nor to disgrace any souldier that is of desert whereof there are none but are worthy of honour but I speake of those counterfeit Companions that vnder these titles and pretenses do countenaunce themselues taking authoritie to slander iest scoffe and find fault at any thing One of these priuiledged people now passing along the streete his gesture so gouerned as if he caried a whole com mon wealth in his head his eyes so fixed as if hee were in the meditation of his mistresse his countenāce so graced as a man might see a dicker of fools in his face his salutation to such as passed by was a nod with his head and his hand clapt ouer his lips which they do call the Bassiles manus his speeches compendious and shorte nothing but sentences this finicall fellow being now come to the place where Nature was yet abiding reioycing to heare herselfe so glorified for this excelencie of her work he began as the rest had done to suruey euery part euery proportion and lineament from the top to the toe he went about him and round about him behinde and before prying and beholding wyth more curiosity than any of the