126 THE DIALECT OF. Speaks, spedks, spakes, speeches, or sayings. * He has some qaeet apeeka.^ Spectacles, noticeable only for the stress on the second syllable. See Perfectly. [The true Mid,Eng. accent.— W. W. S.] Spelhering, or Speldering, spelling. At Bedale, but not often used here. Spelk, a splint for a broken bone. See Stackbrods. SpelL See Knor and spelL Sper (pronounced epur), to ask in church previous to marriage. The askijigs, or banns, are called the aperrinijs, which are said to be * put in.' No doubt from aperc, to a*k or inquire. From p. xvi of the Surtees Society's Manuale et ProcessionaU ad Usum Insignia Ecdesice Eboracenaia^ I obtain the following copy of a form of Notice, written on the outside leaves of a manuscript York Manual^ in the Fothergill Collection in the Minster Library at York : — ' Frendys, y* cawso of our commyng at y tyme es for y* worthy sacrament off Matrimouie, the qwylk es for to cupyll two persons in one wyll, ayere of yam gowernynge one sawle. Allsso, frendys, it ye noght unknawn unto ^ow yat efftyr y' forome and use of holy kirlLe, y* N. and N., ye qwylk er here precent, base bene apirred thre solemne dayes in y* kirke, no lettyng ne none ympedvment fond, bott y' yay may go togydir efter the law and forome off naly kyrke ; bott jitt as for y* more sekymes yet I apyrr y* beynis off y* forsuyde N. and N., iff y' be any man can tell us any lettyng or impediment, tell us now or newyr.' In Cumberland during the fortnight oyer which the aperringa run, the contracting parties are said to be * hauging in the bell ropes.' Sperit, spirit. Spetch, a patch of any kind, even a plaster on the hand. Spetch, to patch. Spice (pronounced spawce), a geneml name for sweetmeats, such as peppermint, toffy, &c. Eay says, * Raisins, plums, figs, and such-like fruita, in which sense it seems to be used in *' apice-cakQ," * [In Chaucer it seems to be all sorts of things in the way of spices, Ac. A grocer was formerly a apicer. French, Spicier, — W. W. S.] Spicecake, or Spicebread, a kind of loaf made at Christmas-time, similar to plum-cake. Spiff, fine ; smart, &c. Spine, or Spine i' th' back, a spinal complaint ; a crink in the back ; the lumbago. Spink, the Chaffinch. Pink in Pembrokeshire. Bulhpink, the Bull- finch. In the Compluint of Scotland^ pub. 1548, we read: *The grene serene sang sueit, quhen the gold apyrik chantit' (See Murray's edition, p. 39.)