Saffron-bag

Having lately read Sir E.B. Lytton's novel of *The Caxtons*—to which I must give a passing tribute of admiration—I have been a good deal puzzled, first, to ascertain the meaning, and, second, the origin of the *saffron-bag* of which he speaks so much. I have asked many persons, and have not been able to obtain a satisfactory solution of my difficulty. Should you or any of your contributors be able, I wish you would enlighten not only me but many of my equally unlearned friends.