Many of the verses are easy and smooth, and the poem clearly shows us that the East Midland dialect was by this time at least the equal of the others, and that the language was good enough to be largely permanent.

When we read such lines as: Than seyd echone that sate and stode, Here comth Pers, that never dyd gode-- we have merely to modernise the spelling, and we at once have: Then said each one that sat and stood, Here cometh Pierce, that never did good, These are lines that could be written now.
An extract from Manning's _Handlyng Synne_ is given in _Specimens of Early English_, Part II, most of which can be read with ease.

The obsolete words are not very numerous, and we meet now and then with half a dozen consecutive lines that would puzzle no one.

It is needless to pursue the history of this dialect further.

It had, by this time, become almost the standard language, differing from Modern English chiefly in date, and consequently in pronunciation.