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3. brief
Cauthen's statistics suggest that B has a two to one preference for briefe over breefe. In the Paviers, only one justified -ee- form occurs in copy and this is followed by B. Of the twenty-one (+J3) -ie- forms in copy, B changes five to -ee- and retains sixteen (+J3) as -ie-. From this evidence, it would appear that any preference which these statistics point toward is for -ee- over -ie-. To complete the picture, it would be necessary to be able to observe B's treatment of several -ee- forms when found in copy.
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