text:  "But though the version itself has been an agreeable and easy rural occupation yet in a remote village near 250 miles from London the very books _trifling as they may seem_ to which it would be necessary to refer _to illustrate the manners of the 14th century_ were not to be procured; and parochial and other engagements would not admit of absence sufficient to consult them where they are to be found; it is not therefore for want of deference to the opinions of those who have recommended a body of notes that they do not accompany these Tales