That is to say, "They labour at the oar till night is wearied out, and day also is obliged to give place in its turn; they master one by one the long serpentine bends of the river, and, though covered and inclosed by the varied foliage above them, they cut their way through the opposing woods, which lie, as it were, in their path in the shadowy surface of the clear, still water."
The word _placido_ is surely sufficient to prevent any one falling into the common-place interpretation alluded to by your correspondent as the one "usually given."
I feel much obliged for the information afforded by your Dutch correspondent. When I sent you my Query on the subject more than a year ago, I wrote principally from memory; but as I have now the work in question lying beside me as I write, and as it seems to be rarer and less known than I had imagined, you will perhaps find place for a more minute description of it.
_The Vine of St. Francis_ is a folio volume, containing 418 numbered leaves, a "Prologhe" of one leaf (next to the title-page), and a "Tafel v[=a] dit boeck" at the end, of five leaves and a half unnumbered.
The title-page contains a full-length picture of the saint, with a nimbus round his head, the knotted cord round his waist, and his palms extended, displaying the sacred stigmata. Above the picture is the title in red and black. I have written in Italics the words printed in red:
"_Den_ wÿngaert v[=a] _Sinte_ Franciscus _vol_ schoonre _historien_ legenden ende _duechdelÿcke_ leer[=e]nghen allen _menschen_ seer profÿtelÿch."
And under the picture "Cum _gratia_ et _privilegio_." On the back of the title-page is printed as follows:--
"Dit is die generael tafel v[=a] dese wÿngaert dwelcke ghdeylt is in drie boecken.
¶ Dat eerste boeck inhout Sinte Franciscus grote legende Sinte Franciscus oude legende Den aflaet van portiunkel Sinte Franciscus souter.
¶ Dat ander boeck inhoude De leg[=e]de v[=a] de .v. marte mind-brod's De leg[=e]de v[=a] de seu[=e] mar. ooc mind'b. Sinte bonauentura legende Sinte lodewÿc biscop legende Sinte anthonis v[=a] paduen legende Sinte bernardÿns legende Sinte clara legende Sinte puo priesters legende Sinte lodewÿc coninex legende Sinte elzearius graue legende Sinte elizabets legende.