At length they all to mery London came, To mery London, my most kyndly nurse,{29} That to me gave this lifes first native sourse, Though from another place I take my name, An house of auncient fame; There when they came, whereas those bricky towres The which on Themmes brode aged backe doe ryde, Where now the studious lawyers have their bowers,{30} There whylome wont the Templer Knights to byde, Till they decayd through pride; Next whereunto there standes a stately place,{31} Where oft I gayned giftes and goodly grace Of that great lord, which therein wont to dwell, Whose want too well now feels my freendles case;{32} But ah! here fits not well{33} Old woes, but ioyes, to tell Against the brydale daye, which is not long: Sweet Themmes! runne softly, till I end my song.

Yet therein now doth lodge a nobler peer,{34} Great Englands glory, and the worlds wide wonder, Whose dreadfull name late through all Spaine{35} did thunder, And Hercules two Pillors{36} standing neere Did make to quake and feare: Faire branch of honor, flower of chevalrie! That fillest England with thy triumphs fame, Ioy have thou of thy noble victorie, And endlesse happinesse of thine owne name That promiseth the same; That through thy prowesse, and victorious armes, Thy country may be freed from forraine harmes, And great Elisaes glorious name may ring Through all the world, fill'd with thy wide alarmes, Which some brave muse may sing To ages following, Upon the brydale day which is not long: Sweet Themmes! runne softly, till I end my song.

From those high towers this noble lord issuing, Like radiant Hesper,{37} when his golden hare In th' ocean billows he hath bathed fayre, Descended to the rivers open vewing, With a great train ensuing. Above the rest were goodly to bee seene Two gentle Knights of lovely face and feature, Beseeming well the bower of any queene, With gifts of wit and ornaments of nature, Fit for so goodly stature, That like the Twins of Iove{38} they seem'd in sight, Which decke the bauldricke{39} of the heavens bright; They two forth pacing to the rivers side, Receiv'd those two faire Brides, their loves delight; Which,{40} at th' appointed tyde, Each one did make his Bryde Against their brydale day, which is not long: Sweet Themmes! runne softly, till I end my song.

NOTES.

This poem was written and published towards the end of the year 1595. The word prothalamium is from Gr. pro, for, and thalamos, a bride-chamber, and would more properly be applied to a marriage-song than to "a spousall verse." Spenser had already written—earlier in the same year—the "Epithalamium" in honor of his own marriage. The singing of a hymeneal song in connection with the wedding festivities was a very ancient custom among the Greeks. Homer alludes to it in the "Iliad," XVIII, 493:

"And two fair populous towns were sculptur'd there; In one were marriage pomp and revelry, And brides, in gay procession, through the streets With blazing torches from their chambers borne, While frequent rose the hymeneal song."

See, also, Spenser's "Faerie Queene," I, xii, 38.

1. Titans. The word is used for Helios, the son of the Titans, Hyperion and Thea. Observe that the apostrophe, as the sign of the possessive case, is never used by Spenser.

glyster. Glisten, shine. From A.-S. glisnian, glow, or shine with a soft light.

"All that glisters is not gold." —Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, Act ii, sc. vii.

"Know one false step is ne'er retrieved . . . Nor all that glisters gold." —Gray, On a Favourite Cat, etc.

fayre. Fairly. An old form of the adverb, sanctioned by very old usage, but not current in Spenser's time.

2. princes court. Spenser had had experience of the many bitter disappointments which befall him who seeks the favor of royalty. In "Mother Hubbard's Tale" he complains in this wise:

"Full little knowest thou that hast not tride, What hell it is in suing long to bide: To lose good dayes that might be better spent; To wast long nights in pensive discontent; To speed today, to be put back tomorrow; To feed on hope, to pine with feare and sorrow; To have thy Princes grace, yet want her Peeres; To have thy asking, yet waite manie yeeres; To fret thy soule with crosses and with cares; To eate thy heart through comfortlesse dispaires; To fawne, to crowche, to waite, to ride, to ronne; To spend, to give, to want, to be undonne."

3. silver streaming Themmes. Sir John Denham's apostrophe to the Thames is well known:

"Oh, could I flow like thee, and make thy stream My great example, as it is my theme! Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull; Strong without rage; without overflowing full." —Cooper's Hill, 189.

And Pope praises the stream in still more extravagant terms:

"No seas so rich, so gay no banks appear, No lake so gentle, and no spring so clear." —Windsor Forest, 227.

See, also, Spenser's "Faerie Queene," IV, xi.

4. rutty. Rooty.

5. Against. For, or in preparation for; to provide for. Compare Genesis xliii. 25: "And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon." And Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream," Act iii, sc. ii:

"I'll charm his eyes against she do appear."

6. Flood. This word was often used, as here, to denote simply a river. Pope addresses the river Thames:

"Thou, too, great father of the British floods!"

7. all loose untyde. Steevens says: "Brides formerly walked to church with their hair hanging loose behind."

8. entrayled. Twisted, interlaced.

9. flasket. A long, shallow basket. Not used here as the diminutive of flask. Hales says it is the name given by the fishermen of Cornwall to the vessel in which the fish are transferred from the seine to the "tuck-net."

10. cropt. Gathered, Dutch krappen, to cut off.

feateously. Neatly, skilfully. Compare Chaucer:

"And French she spake ful fayre and fetisly." —Canterbury Tales, 124.

"A chambre had he in that hostelrie Ful fetisly ydight with herbes sote." —Ibid., 3205.

11. on hye. In haste. Probably the same as hie, haste.

12. pallid. Pale.

13. primrose trew. Compare Milton's "Lycidas," 142:

"The rathe primrose that forsaken dies."

And Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale," Act iv, sc. iii;

"Pale primroses that die unmarried."

14. store. Abundance.

vermeil. Vermilion. Commonly used as a noun.

15. posies. "Posy originally meant verses presented with a nosegay or a bunch of flowers, and hence the term came to be applied to the flowers themselves."

16. With that. At the same time.

Swannes. "Paulus Jovius, who died in 1552, describing the Thames, says: 'This river abounds in swans, swimming in flocks; the sight of whom and their noise are vastly agreeable to the fleets that meet them in their course.'"—Knight's Cyclopedia of London.

17. lee. Water, or river. See "Faerie Queene," V, ii, 19:

"His corps was carried downe along the lee, Whose waters with his filthy bloud it stayned."

Also, Ibid., IV, ii, 16:

"As when two warlike brigandines at sea, With murdrous weapons arm'd to cruell fight, Do meete together on the watry lea."

The word is of Celtic origin, and is very common as a river-name in England, Ireland, France, and other parts of Western Europe.

18. nor nothing near. In early English two negatives did not destroy each other, as now, but made the negation more emphatic.

19. Eftsoones. Soon after. From A.-S. eft, after, and sona, soon.

20. Somers-heat. The two ladies celebrated in this poem, it will be remembered, were Lady Elizabeth and Lady Katherine Somerset.

21. The Peneus river, the most important stream in Thessaly, forces its way through the Vale of Tempe, between Mounts Ossa and Olympus, into the sea.

22. loves couplement. Marriage.

23. heart-quelling Sonne. Cupid.

24. assoile. Free from, put off.

"Through long watch, and late daies weary toile, She soundly slept, and carefull thoughts did quite assoile." —Faerie Queene, III, i, 58.

25. bord. "Bed" and "board" are two associated terms, very frequently so used, which imply the performance of the two acts necessary for the maintenance of life—sleeping and eating. See Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors," Act v, sc. i:

"In bed he slept not for my urging it, At board he fed not for my urging it."

Also, "As You Like It," Act v, sc. iv:

"Wedding is great Juno's crown— O blessed bond of board and bed!"

26. redoubled. Repeated.

undersong. Refrain, burden.

27. neighbour. See note 10, on Burns's "Cotter's Saturday Night."

28. shend. Outshine, shame, disgrace. From A.-S. scendan.

29. my most kyndly nurse. Although born in London, the poet was "descended from the ancient and honourable family of Spencer, of Althorpe in Northamptonshire."

30. "When the order of the Knights Templar was suppressed in Edward the Second's reign, their London estate on the bank of the Thames was given over to the Knights of St. John; by these it was leased to the students of the Common Law, who, not finding a home at Cambridge or Oxford, were at that time in want of a habitation."—Hales.

31. stately place. This stood in the gardens where the Outer Temple should have been. In 1580 it was occupied by the Earl of Leicester, and here Spenser was for a time entertained, as he asserts in the following line. The great lord whom he mentions was Leicester.

32. "The want of whom I feel too well in my present friendless condition."

33. fits not well. It is not proper.

34. nobler peer. The Earl of Essex.

35. Macaulay says of Lord Essex's expedition against Spain, in 1596, that it was "the most brilliant military exploit that was achieved on the Continent by English arms during the long interval which elapsed between the battle of Agincourt and that of Blenheim."

36. Hercules two Pillors. The rocky capes on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar. It was said that Hercules erected them to mark the western limit of his wanderings.

37. Hesper. Hesperus was the evening star, also sometimes regarded as the morning star, and hence called by Homer the bringer of light. See note on Lucifer, page 80 and page 189.

38. Twins of Iove. Castor and Pollux. Two heroic brothers who as a reward of their devotion to each other were placed among the stars in the constellation Gemini.

39. bauldricke. Belt, girdle, or sash. The "bauldricke of the heavens" is the zodiac.

40. Which. In early English this pronoun was very commonly used instead of who when referring to persons.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

EDMUND SPENSER was born in London about the year 1552. He was educated at Merchant Taylor's school, and in 1569 went to Cambridge University, where he entered Pembroke Hall as a sizar. In the same year his first poetical performances—translations from Petrarch and Du Bellay—were published in a miscellaneous collection without the name of the author. At the University he was zealously devoted to the study of Latin and Greek literature, and there he made the acquaintance of several students who afterwards became men of note. In 1579 he visited Sir Philip Sidney at Penshurst, with whom he afterwards spent some time in London at the house of Sidney's uncle, the Earl of Leicester. In 1580 was published, but without his name, his first considerable poem, "The Shepheards Calendar"; and in the autumn of the same year he went to Ireland as secretary to Lord Grey of Wilton, the new Lord Lieutenant. With the exception of a few brief visits made to England, the remainder of his life was spent partly in Dublin and partly at Kilcolman Castle on a grant of forfeited land in the county of Cork. Between 1580 and 1589 he wrote the first three books of "The Faerie Queene," and in 1590 they were published in London, through the influence of Sir Walter Raleigh, who had recently visited the poet in Ireland. In the summer of 1594 he married a lady named Elizabeth, probably the daughter of some English settler in Ireland; and in the following year he carried to London and published the second three books of "The Faerie Queene." At about the same time were published his "Colin Clout's Come Home Again," and his "Amoretti Sonnets," and an "Epithalamium" relating to his courtship and marriage. Returning to Ireland, he resumed his labor upon the half-completed "Faerie Queene," but it was rudely interrupted by the breaking out of an insurrection among the Irish. In 1598 Spenser's house was sacked and burned by the rebels, and it was with the greatest difficulty that he and his family escaped with their lives. Indeed, it is stated, on the authority of Ben Jonson, that one little child perished in the flames. Spenser returned to London in poverty and great distress, and on the 16th of January, 1599, he died in King Street, Westminster. He was buried in the Abbey.

Spenser has been very appropriately named "the poets' poet." "For," says Leigh Hunt, "he has had more idolatry and imitation from his brethren than all the rest put together. The old undramatic poets, Drayton, Browne, Drummond, and Giles and Phineas Fletcher, were as full of him as the dramatic were of Shakespeare. Milton studied and used him, calling him 'sage and serious Spenser'; and adding that he 'dared be known to think him a better teacher than Scotus and Aquinas.' Cowley said he became a poet by reading him. Dryden claimed him for a master. Pope said he read him with as much pleasure when he was old as when he was young. Collins and Gray loved him. Thomson, Shenstone, and a host of inferior writers expressly imitated him. Burns, Byron, Shelley, and Keats made use of his stanza. Coleridge eulogized him."

Hazlitt says, "Of all the poets, Spenser is the most poetical." And Taine declares that no modern is more like Homer than he.

With reference to the peculiar forms of language—comparatively obsolete even when "The Faerie Queene" was composed—which are so marked a characteristic of Spenser's poetry, Hales says: "The subject he chose for his great work drew him into the midst of the old times of chivalry, and the literature that belonged to them. With such a subject the older forms of the language seemed to consort better. To him, too, perhaps, as to Virgil, the older words and word-forms seemed to give elevation and dignity. Moreover, an older dialect was probably to some extent his vernacular, as he had probably passed his youth in Lancashire. Lastly, the only great poet who had preceded him, his great model, the Tityrus of whom he 'his songs did lere,' was Chaucer. To him Chaucer's language may have seemed the one language of English poetry."

REFERENCES: Warton's History of English Poetry; Hazlitt's Lectures on the English Poets; Craik's Spenser and his Poetry; Morley's English Writers.



Thomas Wyatt.



A LOVE SONG.

THE LOVER COMPLAINETH OF THE UNKINDNESS OF HIS LOVE.

My lute, awake! perform the last Labor that thou and I shall waste; And end that I have now begun: And when this song is sung and past, My lute! be still, for I have done.

As to be heard where ear is none; As lead to grave in marble stone, My song may pierce her heart as soon; Should we then sing, or sigh, or moan? No, no, my lute! for I have done.

The rock doth not so cruelly, Repulse the waves continually, As she my suit and affection: So that I am past remedy; Whereby my lute and I have done.

Proud of the spoil that thou hast got Of simple hearts thorough Love's shot, By whom, unkind, thou hast them won; Think not he hath his bow forgot, Although my lute and I have done.

Vengeance shall fall on thy disdain, That makest but game of earnest pain; Trow not alone under the sun Unquit to cause thy lovers plain, Although my lute and I have done.

May chance thee lie withered and old In winter nights, that are so cold, Plaining in vain unto the moon; Thy wishes then dare not be told: Care then who list, for I have done.

And then may chance thee to repent The time that thou hast lost and spent, To cause thy lovers sigh and swoon: Then shalt thou know beauty but lent, And wish and want, as I have done.

Now cease, my lute! This is the last Labor that thou and I shall waste; And ended is that we begun: Now is thy song both sung and past; My lute, be still, for I have done.



THE COURTIER'S LIFE.

In court to serve, decked with fresh array, Of sugared meats feeling the sweet repast; The life in banquets and sundry kinds of play, Amid the press of worldly looks to waste: Hath with it joined oft times such bitter taste, That whoso joyes such kind of life to hold, In prison joyes, fettered with chains of gold.



The Earl of Surrey.



FROM THE FOURTH BOOK OF VIRGIL'S "NEID."

—At the threshold of her chamber door The Carthage lords did on the Queen attend: The trampling steed, with gold and purple trapped, Chewing the foaming bit there fiercely stood. Then issued she, awaited with great train, Clad in a cloak of Tyre embroidered rich. Her quiver hung behind her back, her tress Knotted in gold, her purple vesture eke Buttoned with gold. The Trojans of her train Before her go, with gladsome Iulus. neas eke, the goodliest of the rout, Makes one of them, and joineth close the throng. Like when Apollo leaveth Lycia, His wint'ring place, and Xanthus, stood likewise, To visit Delos his mother's mansion, Repairing eft and furnishing her quire. The Candians and the folk of Driopes, With painted Agathyrsi shout and cry, Environing the altars round about, When that he walks upon Mount Cynthus' top, His sparkled tress repressed with garlands soft Of tender leaves, and trussed up in gold, His quiver and darts clattering behind his back— So fresh and lusty did neas seem. But to the hills and wild holts when they came From the rock's top the driven savage rose. So, from the hills above on the other side, Through the wide lawns they gan to take their course. The harts likewise, in troops taking their flight, Raising the dust, the mountain-fast forsake. The child Iulus, blithe of his swift steed Amids the plain, now pricks by them, by these; And to the encounter wisheth oft, in mind, The foaming boar instead of fearful beasts, Or lion brown, might from the hill descend.

NOTE.

This short extract is given as a sample of the first blank verse written in the English language. The spelling has been modernized.



A SONNET.

DESCRIPTION AND PRAISE OF HIS LOVE GERALDINE.

From Tuscan' came my lady's worthy race; Fair Florence was some time their ancient seat; The western isle, whose pleasant shore doth face Wild Camber's cliffs, did give her lively heat: Fostered she was with milk of Irish breast; Her sire an earl; her dame of princes' blood: From tender years, in Britain she doth rest With king's child, where she tasteth costly food. Hunsdon did first present her to my een: Bright is her hue, and Geraldine she hight: Hampton me taught to wish her first for mine: And Windsor, alas, doth chase me from her sight. Her beauty of kind, her virtues from above; Happy is he that can obtain her love.



ON THE DEATH OF SIR THOMAS WYATT.

Wyatt resteth here that quick could never rest: Whose heavenly gifts increased by disdain, And virtue sank the deeper in his breast; Such profit he by envy could obtain.

A head where wisdom mysteries did frame, Whose hammers beat still in that lively brain, As on a stithe where that some work of fame Was daily wrought, to turn to Britain's gain.

A hand that taught what might be said in rhyme; That reft Chaucer the glory of his wit; A mark, the which (unperfected for time) Some may approach, but never none shall hit.

An eye whose judgment none effect could blind, Friends to allure and foes to reconcile, Whose piercing look did represent a mind With virtue fraught reposed void of guile.

A heart where dread was never so imprest To hide the thought that might the truth advance; In neither fortune lost, nor yet represt, To swell in wealth, or yield unto mischance.

A valiant corpse, where force and beauty met, Happy alas, too happy but for foes, Lived, and ran the race that nature set Of manhood's shape, when she the mould did lose.

Thus for our guilt this jewel have we lost; The earth his bones, the heavens possess his ghost.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.

WYATT and SURREY are usually named together as the most illustrious poets of the earlier part of the sixteenth century. J. Churton Collins calls them, not inaptly, "the Dioscuri of the Dawn." "They inaugurated," he says, "that important period in our literature known as the Era of Italian Influence, or that of the Company of Courtly Makers—the period which immediately preceded and ushered in the age of Spenser and Shakespeare." It is to them that we are indebted for the sonnet: they were indeed the founders of our lyrical poetry. Jonson, Herrick, Waller, Cowley, and Suckling found inspiration in their ditties. Surrey's translation of the second and fourth books of Virgil's "neid" (1552) is the earliest specimen of blank verse in our language.

* * * * *

THOMAS WYATT was born at Allington Castle in 1503, and in his youth was a prominent and very popular member of the court of Henry VIII. He was knighted in 1536, and in 1537 became high sheriff of Kent. In April of the same year he was sent as ambassador to Spain, and in 1539-40 was with the court of Charles V. in the Low Countries. Returning to England he lived for the next two years in retirement, and died at Sherborne in 1542.

* * * * *

HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF SURREY, was born about 1517, and, like his friend Wyatt, passed his youth at the court of Henry VIII. He served in France in 1540, and again in 1544-46. After taking Boulogne, he became its governor; but, on account of defeat soon afterwards at St. Etienne, he was recalled to England by Henry VIII. His comments upon this action of the king caused his arrest and imprisonment in the Tower. A charge of high treason was preferred against him for having quartered the royal arms with his own, and he was beheaded on Tower Hill, January 21, 1547.



Ballads.



WALY, WALY.

O waly,{1} waly, up the bank, O waly, waly, doun the brae,{2} And waly, waly, yon burn-side,{3} Where I and my love were wont to gae! I lean'd my back unto an aik, I thocht it was a trustie tree, But first it bow'd and syne{4} it brak',— Sae my true love did lichtlie{5} me.

O waly, waly, but love be bonnie A little time while it is new! But when it's auld it waxeth cauld, And fadeth awa' like the morning dew. O wherefore should I busk{6} my heid, Or wherefore should I kame my hair? For my true love has me forsook, And says he'll never lo'e me mair.

Noo Arthur's Seat{7} sall be my bed, The sheets sall ne'er be press'd by me; Saint Anton's well sall be my drink; Since my true love's forsaken me. Martinmas wind, when wilt thou blaw, And shake the green leaves off the tree? O gentle death, when wilt thou come? For of my life I am wearie.

'Tis not the frost that freezes fell, Nor blawing snaw's inclemencie, 'Tis not sic cauld that makes me cry; But my love's heart grown cauld to me. When we cam' in by Glasgow toun, We were a comely sicht to see; My love was clad in the black velvet, And I mysel' in cramasie.

But had I wist before I kiss'd That love had been so ill to win, I'd lock'd my heart in a case o' goud, And pinn'd it wi' a siller pin. Oh, oh! if my young babe were born, And set upon the nurse's knee; An' I mysel' were dead and gane, And the green grass growing over me!

NOTES.

"This is a very ancient song," says Bishop Percy, "but we can only give it from a modern copy." It is often printed as part of a ballad relating to the history of Lord James Douglas and of the Laird of Blackwood. The lament is that of a beautiful lady whose fortunes were connected with those of Lord Douglas.

1. waly. An interjection denoting grief.

2. brae. Hillside.

3. burn-side. Brook-side.

4. syne. Then.

5. lichtlie. Slight, undervalue.

6. busk. Dress.

7. Arthur's Seat. A hill near Edinburgh, at the foot of which is St. Anthony's well.



SIR PATRICK SPENS.

A SCOTTISH BALLAD.

[This ballad is a confused echo of the Scotch expedition which should have brought the Maid of Norway to Scotland about 1285.]

The king sits in Dunfermline town, Drinking the blude-red wine; "O whare will I get a skeely skipper, To sail this new ship of mine!"

O up and spake an eldern knight, Sat at the king's right knee,— "Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailor, That ever sail'd the sea."

Our king has written a braid letter, And seal'd it with his hand, And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens, Was walking on the strand.

"To Noroway, to Noroway, To Noroway o'er the faem; The king's daughter of Noroway, 'Tis thou maun bring her hame."

The first word that Sir Patrick read, Sae loud, loud laughed he; The neist word that Sir Patrick read, The tear blinded his e'e.

"O wha is this has done this deed, And tauld the king o' me, To send us out, at this time of the year, To sail upon the sea?

"Be it wind, be it weet, be it hail, be it sleet, Our ship must sail the faem; The king's daughter of Noroway, 'Tis we must fetch her hame."

They hoysed their sails on Monenday morn, Wi' a' the speed they may; They hae landed in Noroway, Upon a Wodensday.

They hadna been a week, a week, In Noroway, but twae, When that the lords o' Noroway Began aloud to say,—

"Ye Scottishmen spend a' our king's goud, And a' our queenis fee." "Ye lie, ye lie, ye liars loud! Fu' loud I hear ye lie.

"For I brought as much white monie, As gane my men and me, And I brought a half-fou o' gude red goud, Out o'er the sea wi' me.

"Make ready, make ready, my merrymen a'! Our gude ship sails the morn." "Now, ever alake, my master dear, I fear a deadly storm!

"I saw the new moon, late yestreen, Wi' the auld moon in her arm; And, if we gang to sea, master, I fear we'll come to harm."

They had not sailed a league, a league, A league but barely three, When the lift grew dark, and the wind blew loud, And gurly grew the sea.

The ankers brak, and the topmasts lap, It was sic a deadly storm; And the waves cam o'er the broken ship, Till a' her sides were torn.

"O where will I get a gude sailor, To take my helm in hand, Till I get up to the tall top-mast, To see if I can spy land?"

"O here am I, a sailor gude, To take the helm in hand, Till you go up to the tall top-mast; But I fear you'll ne'er spy land."

He hadna gane a step, a step, A step but barely ane, When a bout flew out of our goodly ship, And the salt sea it came in.

"Gae, fetch a web o' the silken claith, Another o' the twine, And wap them into our ship's side, And let na the sea come in."

They fetched a web o' the silken claith, Another of the twine, And wapped them round that gude ship's side, But still the sea came in.

O laith, laith, were our gude Scots lords To weet their cork-heel'd shoon! But lang or a' the play was play'd, They wat their hats aboon.

And mony was the feather-bed, That flattered on the faem; And mony was the gude lord's son, That never mair cam hame.

The ladyes wrang their fingers white, The maidens tore their hair, A' for the sake of their true loves; For them they'll see na mair.

O lang, lang, may the ladyes sit, Wi' their fans into their hand, Before they see Sir Patrick Spens Come sailing to the strand!

And lang, lang, may the maidens sit, Wi' their goud kaims in their hair, A' waiting for their ain dear loves! For them they'll see na mair.

O forty miles off Aberdeen, 'Tis fifty fathoms deep, And there lies gude Sir Patrick Spens, Wi' the Scots lords at his feet.

NOTES AND GLOSSARY.

This ballad in its original form is a very old one, and was probably at first a metrical story of the Scotch expedition which was sent to bring the Maid of Norway to Scotland (about the year 1285). In its sixteenth-century form it shows many changes and additions, some of which are not in harmony with the original tale. The cork-heel'd shoon, for example, were unknown until some hundreds of years later than the occurrence of the events here narrated.

skeely, skilful. skipper, captain. braid, open, not private. goud, gold. fee (see note 13, page 105). gane, suffice. half-fou, a quart, dry measure. alake, alack. lift, sky. (Still used in Scotland.) shoon, shoes.



THE BAILIFF'S DAUGHTER OF ISLINGTON.

There was a youthe, and a well-beloved youthe, And he was a squires son; He loved the bayliffes daughter deare, That lived in Islington.

Yet she was coye, and would not believe That he did love her soe, Noe nor at any time would she Any countenance to him showe.

But when his friendes did understand His fond and foolish minde, They sent him up to faire London, An apprentice for to binde.

And when he had been seven long yeares, And never his love could see,— "Many a teare have I shed for her sake, When she little thought of mee."

Then all the maids of Islington Went forth to sport and playe, All but the bayliffes daughter deare; She secretly stole awaye.

She pulled off her gowne of greene, And put on ragged attire, And to faire London she would go Her true love to enquire.

And as she went along the high road, The weather being hot and drye, She sat her downe upon a green bank, And her true love came riding bye.

She started up, with a colour soe redd, Catching hold of his bridle-reine; "One penny, one penny, kind sir," she sayd, "Will ease me of much paine."

"Before I give you one penny, sweet-heart, Praye tell me where you were borne." "At Islington, kind sir," sayd shee, "Where I have had many a scorne."

"I prythee, sweet-heart, then tell to mee, O tell me, whether you knowe The bayliffes daughter of Islington." "She is dead, sir, long agoe."

"If she be dead, then take my horse, My saddle and bridle also; For I will into some farr countrye, Where noe man shall me knowe."

"O staye, O staye, thou goodlye youthe, She standeth by thy side; She is here alive, she is not dead, And readye to be thy bride."

"O farewell griefe, and welcome joye, Ten thousand times therefore; For nowe I have founde mine owne true love, Whom I thought I should never see more."



ROBIN HOOD AND THE WIDOW'S THREE SONS.

There are twelve months in all the year, As I hear many say, But the merriest month in all the year Is the merry month of May.

Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, With a link a down, and a day, And there he met a silly old woman, Was weeping on the way.

"What news? what news? thou silly old woman, What news hast thou for me?" Said she, "There's my three sons in Nottingham town To-day condemned to die."

"O, have they parishes burnt?" he said, "Or have they ministers slain? Or have they robbed any virgin? Or other men's wives have ta'en?"

"They have no parishes burnt, good sir, Nor yet have ministers slain, Nor have they robbed any virgin, Nor other men's wives have ta'en."

"O, what have they done?" said Robin Hood, "I pray thee tell to me." "It's for slaying of the king's fallow deer, Bearing their long bows with thee."

"Dost thou not mind, old woman," he said, "How thou madest me sup and dine? By the truth of my body," quoth bold Robin Hood, "You could not tell it in better time."

Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, With a link a down, and a day, And there he met with a silly old palmer, Was walking along the highway.

"What news? what news? thou silly old man, What news, I do thee pray?" Said he, "Three squires in Nottingham town Are condemn'd to die this day."

"Come change thy apparel with me, old man, Come change thy apparel for mine; Here is ten shillings in good silvr, Go drink it in beer or wine."

"O, thine apparel is good," he said, "And mine is ragged and torn; Wherever you go, wherever you ride, Laugh not an old man to scorn."

"Come change thy apparel with me, old churl, Come change thy apparel with mine; Here is a piece of good broad gold, Go feast thy brethren with wine."

Then he put on the old man's hat, It stood full high on the crown: "The first bold bargain that I come at, It shall make thee come down."

Then he put on the old man's cloak, Was patch'd black, blue, and red; He thought it no shame, all the day long, To wear the bags of bread.

Then he put on the old man's breeks, Was patch'd from leg to side: "By the truth of my body," bold Robin can say, "This man loved little pride."

Then he put on the old man's hose, Were patch'd from knee to wrist: "By the truth of my body," said bold Robin Hood, "I'd laugh if I had any list."

Then he put on the old man's shoes, Were patch'd both beneath and aboon; Then Robin Hood swore a solemn oath, "It's good habit that makes a man."

Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, With a link a down and a down, And there he met with the proud sheriff, Was walking along the town.

"Save you, save you, sheriff!" he said; "Now heaven you save and see! And what will you give to a silly old man To-day will your hangman be?"

"Some suits, some suits," the sheriff he said, "Some suits I'll give to thee; Some suits, some suits, and pence thirteen, To-day's a hangman's fee."

Then Robin he turns him round about, And jumps from stock to stone: "By the truth of my body," the sheriff he said, "That's well jumpt, thou nimble old man."

"I was ne'er a hangman in all my life, Nor yet intends to trade; But curst be he," said bold Robin, "That first a hangman was made!

"I've a bag for meal, and a bag for malt, And a bag for barley and corn; And a bag for bread, and a bag for beef, And a bag for my little small horn.

"I have a horn in my pockt, I got it from Robin Hood, And still when I set it to my mouth, For thee it blows little good."

"O, wind thy horn, thou proud fellw! Of thee I have no doubt. I wish that thou give such a blast, Till both thy eyes fall out."

The first loud blast that he did blow, He blew both loud and shrill; A hundred and fifty of Robin Hood's men Came riding over the hill.

The next loud blast that he did give, He blew both loud and amain, And quickly sixty of Robin Hood's men Came shining over the plain.

"O, who are these," the sheriff he said, "Come tripping over the lee?" "They're my attendants," brave Robin did say; "They'll pay a visit to thee."

They took the gallows from the slack, They set it in the glen, They hanged the proud sherff on that, Released their own three men.

NOTES.

Among the earliest and most popular of English ballads are those relating to Robin Hood. This noted, half-mythical outlaw was the impersonation of popular rights as they were understood by Englishmen of the lower orders in the days of the Plantagenets. Hence the memory of him and his reputed deeds was preserved in the songs of the people. "It is he," says an old historian, "whom the common people love so dearly to celebrate in games and comedies, and whose history, sung by fiddlers, interests them more than any other." Even so late as the reign of Edward VI., "Robyn Hoode's Daye" was very generally observed in the country parishes as a day of feasting and amusement.

The ballads were originally the production of wandering minstrels or gleemen, a class of men very popular in the Middle Ages, who followed the profession of poetry and music. These rude poets were held in the highest esteem and veneration by the people among whom they lived; they were received and welcomed wherever they went, and even kings delighted to honor them. In short, their art was supposed, by the Anglo-Saxons, to be of divine origin, having been invented by Odin, the great All-Father, and perfected by Bragi, the musician of the gods. As, however, civilization advanced and Christianity became established, this admiration for the minstrel and his art became modified in a degree. He was no longer regarded as a poet, but only as a singer, a sweet musician. Poetry was cultivated by men of leisure and refinement; but lyrical ballads remained the peculiar inheritance of the minstrel. For a long time after the Norman conquest, minstrels continued to gain their livelihood by singing in the houses of the great, and at festive occasions, which were never considered complete unless graced by the presence of these honored descendants of Bragi; nor did they cease to compose and sing their inimitable pieces until near the close of Elizabeth's reign. The greater number of the ballads now in existence were probably produced during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; and the best of them originated in the "North Country," or the border region between England and Scotland. They were not at first reduced to writing, but were handed down from one generation to another merely by oral tradition. As regards their metre and versification, the ballads were commonly composed of iambic hexameters or heptameters rhyming in couplets. These couplets are readily broken into stanzas of four lines, in which form they are usually printed.

The first collection of English ballads ever published was probably that of John Dryden, in 1684. The collection was included in a volume entitled Miscellany Poems. In 1723 a work called A Collection of Old Ballads was published anonymously. In 1724 Allan Ramsay issued The Evergreen, "being a collection of Scots Poems wrote by the Ingenious before 1600." This work included many popular songs and ballads. It was reprinted in 1875.

We owe the preservation of a large number of the most interesting and beautiful ballads to Bishop Percy, who, in 1765, published the first really valuable collection of such works in his Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. Previous to that time most of these songs had existed only in manuscript, or, if printed at all, in the cheapest style of typography, on sheets designed for circulation among the poor. Bishop Percy's work first called the attention of scholars to the value and beauty of these neglected and half-forgotten relics, and did much to bring about that revolution in literature which took place in the latter part of the last century. And it is to these old ballads, thus rescued from oblivion, that we owe very many of the noblest literary productions of the present century. We know that they were the immediate inspiration of Sir Walter Scott, and that they exerted a wonderful influence in modifying and directing the taste and style of many other distinguished writers.



The Fifteenth Century.

"When we pass from Chaucer's age, we have to overleap nearly a hundred and eighty years before we alight upon a period presenting anything like an adequate show of literary continuation. A few smaller names are all that can be cited as poetical representatives of this sterile interval in the literary history of England: whatever of Chaucer's genius still lingered in the island seeming to have travelled northward and taken refuge in a series of Scotch poets, excelling any of their English contemporaries. We are driven to suppose that there was something in the social circumstances of England during the long period in question which prevented such talent as there was from assuming the particular form of literature. Fully to make out what this 'something' was may baffle us; but, when we remember that this was the period of the Civil Wars of the Roses, we have reason to believe that the dearth of pure literature may have been owing, in part, to the engrossing nature of the practical questions which then disturbed English society. . . . Accordingly, though printing was introduced during this period, and thus Englishmen had greater temptations to write, what they did write was almost exclusively plain grave prose, intended for practical or polemical occasions, and making no figure in a historical retrospect."—DAVID MASSON.

"Must we quote all these good people who have nothing to say? . . . dozens of translators, importing the poverties of French poetry, rhyming chroniclers, most commonplace of men; spinners and spinsters of didactic poems who pile up verses on the training of falcons, on heraldry, on chemistry, . . . invent the same dream over again for the hundredth time, and get themselves taught universal history by the goddess Sapience. . . . It is the scholastic phase of poetry."—TAINE.

Poets of the Fifteenth Century.

John Lydgate (1370-1440). See biographical note, page 283.

Thomas Occleve (1365-1450). "De Regimine Principum"; short poems.

Robert Henryson (1425-1480). See biographical note, page 283.

William Dunbar (1450-1513). See biographical note, page 283.

Gawain Douglas (1474-1522). See biographical note, page 284.

Stephen Hawes ( -1530), "The Pastime of Pleasure"; "Graunde Amour and la Belle Pucel."

John Skelton (1460-1529). See biographical note, page 272.



John Skelton.



TO MAYSTRESS MARGARET HUSSEY.

Mirry Margaret, As mydsomer flowre; Jentill as fawcoun Or hawke of the towre: With solace and gladnes, Moche mirthe and no madness, All good and no badness, So joyously, So maydenly, So womanly, Her demenyng In every thynge, Far, far passynge That I can endyght, Or suffyce to wryghte, Of mirry Margaret, As mydsomer flowre, Jentyll as fawcoun Or hawke of the towre: As pacient and as styll, And as full of good wyll As faire Isaphill; Colyaunder, Swete pomaunder, Goode Cassaunder; Stedfast of thought, Wele made, wele wrought; Far may be sought, Erst that ye can fynde So corteise, so kynde, As mirry Margaret, This mydsomer floure, Jentyll as fawcoun Or hawke of the towre.



CARDINAL WOLSEY.

[FROM "WHY COME YE NOT TO COURT?"]

He is set so hye In his ierarchye Of frantike frenesy, And folish fantasy, That in chambre of stars{1} Al maters ther he mars, Clapping his rod on the borde, No man dare speake a worde: For he hath al the saying Without any renaying. He rolleth in his Recordes; He saith, "How say ye, my lordes? Is not my reason good?" Good!—even good—Robin Hood!— Borne up on every syde With pompe and with pryde, With trump up alleluya,{2} For dame Philargyria{3} Hath so his hart in hold. Adew, Philosophia! Adew, Theologia! Welcome, dame Simonia,{4} With dame Castamergia,{5} To drink and for to eate, Sweete ipocras{6} and sweete meate. To keep his fleshe chaste In Lente, for his repaste He eateth capons stewed, Fesaunt and partriche mewed— Spareth neither mayd ne wife— This is a postel's{7} life!

NOTES.

1. chambre of stars. The Star Chamber, a court of civil and criminal jurisdiction for the punishment of offences for which the law made no provision. It was so called because the ceiling of the room in which it was held was decorated with gilt stars.

2. alleluya. In allusion to the pomp with which Wolsey celebrated divine service.

3. Philargyria. Love of money; covetousness.

4. Simonia. Simony; buying and selling church livings.

5. Castamergia. Gluttony. Greek kastrimargia. A not uncommon word among the monks of the Middle Ages, one of whose prayers was, "From the spirit of castrimargia, O Lord, deliver us!"

6. ipocras. Hippocras, or spiced wine, a drink formerly very popular in England. It was made by mixing Canary and Lisbon wines, in equal parts, with various kinds of sweet spices, and allowing the whole to stand for a few days, after which the wine was poured off and sweetened with sugar.

7. postel. Apostle—here ironically applied to Wolsey.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

JOHN SKELTON was born about the year 1460. In his earlier life he was the friend of Caxton, the first English printer, and of Percy, Earl of Northumberland. He was poet-laureate under Henry VII., and tutor of the young prince (afterwards Henry VIII.), and was described by Erasmus as litterarum Anglicarum lumen et decus. Later in life he was promoted to the rectory of Diss in Norfolk, but was severely censured by his bishop for his buffooneries in the pulpit and his satirical ballads against the mendicants. He finally became a hanger-on about the court of Henry VIII.; and, daring to write a rhyming libel on Cardinal Wolsey, was driven to take refuge in the sanctuary of Westminster Abbey. There he was kindly entertained and protected by Abbot Islip until his death in 1529. Some of his poems were printed in 1512, and others in 1568.

Taine calls Skelton "a virulent pamphleteer, who jumbles together French, English, Latin phrases, with slang and fashionable words, invented words, intermingled with short rhymes. Style, metre, rhyme, language, art of every kind, at an end; beneath the vain parade of official style there is only a heap of rubbish. Yet, as he says,

'Though my rhyme be ragged, Tatter'd and jagged, Rudely rain-beaten, Rusty, moth-eaten, Yf ye take welle therewithe, It hath in it some pithe.'"

As to the coarseness which characterizes his verses, it cannot be explained by saying that it is a reflection of the manners of the times in which he lived. For, as Warton says, Skelton "would have been a writer without decorum at any period." Yet, notwithstanding his faults, he is deserving of our notice, if for nothing else, on account of the complete originality of his style—a style unknown and unattempted by any former writer. His bold departure from the accepted rules of versification showed to those who followed him some of the possibilities in English poetical composition, and helped to open the way to the great outburst of song which followed.



Selections from Four Minor Poets.



A VISIT TO LONDON.

BY JOHN LYDGATE.

Then unto London I dyd me hye, Of all the land it beareth the pryse: "Hot pescodes," one began to crye, "Strabery rype, and cherryes in the ryse"; One bade me come nere and by some spyce, Peper and safforne they gan me bede, But for lack of mony I myght not spede.

Then to the Chepe I began me drawne, Where mutch people I saw for to stand; One ofred me velvet, sylke, and lawne, An other he taketh me by the hande, "Here is Parys thred, the fynest in the land"; I never was used to such thyngs indede, And wanting mony, I might not spede.

Then went I forth by London stone, Th[o]roughout all Canwyke streete; Drapers mutch cloth me offred anone; Then comes me one, cryed, "Hot shepes feete"; One cryde "makerell," "ryshes grene," an other gan greete; One bad me by a hood to cover my head, But for want of mony I myght not be sped.

Then I hyed me into Est-Chepe; One cryes rybbs of befe, and many a pye: Pewter pottes they clattered on a heape; There was harpe, pype, and mynstralsye. "Yea, by cock! nay, by cock!" some began crye; Some songe of Jenken and Julyan for there mede; But for lack of mony I myght not spede.

Then into Corn-Hyll anon I yode, Where was mutch stolen gere amonge; I saw where honge myne owne hoode, That I had lost amonge the thronge; To by my own hood I thought it wronge, I knew it well as I dyd my crede, But for lack of mony I could not spede.

The taverner tooke me by the sleve, "Sir," sayth he, "wyll you our wyne assay"? I answered, "That can not mutch me greve: A peny can do no more than it may"; I drank a pynt, and for it did paye; Yet sone a-hungerd from thence I yede, And wantyng mony, I cold not spede.

Then hyed I me to Belyngsgate; And one cryed, "Hoo! go we hence!" I prayd a barge-man, for God's sake, That he wold spare me my expence. "Thou scapst not here," quod he, "under two pence; I lyst not yet bestow my almes dede." Thus, lackyng mony, I could not spede.

Then I convayd me into Kent; For of the law wold I meddle no more; Because no man to me tooke entent, I dyght me to do as I dyd before. Now Jesus, that in Bethlem was bore, Save London, and send trew lawyers there mede! For who so wantes mony with them shall not spede.

—From "London Lickpenny."

GLOSSARY.

anone, at once. assay, try. bede, offer. Chepe, the market. Cheapside, still a famous street in London. dyght, disposed. gere, apparel. greete, cry out. hyed, hurried. lyst, wish. mede, reward, wages. pescodes, pease. ryse, bough or twig. ryshes, rushes. spede, proceed, do. yede, went.



THE GOLDEN AGE.

Rightwisenes chastised al robbours, By egall balaunce of execucion, Fraud, fals mede, put backward fro jurours, True promes holde, made no delacioun; Forswearing shamed durst enter in no toun, Nor lesingmongers, because Attemperaunce Had in that world wholy the governaunce.

That golden world could lov God and drede, All the seven dedes of mercy for to use, The rich was ready to do alms dede, Who asked harbour, men did him not refuse; No man of malice would other tho accuse, Defame his neighbour, because Attemperaunce Had in that world wholy the governaunce.

The true marchant by measure bought and sold, Deceipt was none in the artificer, Making no balkes, the plough was truely hold, Abacke stode Idlenes, farre from labourer, Discrecion marcial at diner and supper, Content with measure, because Attemperaunce Had in that world wholy the governaunce.

Of wast in clothing was that time none excesse; Men might the lord from his subjects know; A difference made twene povertie and richesse, Twene a princesse and other stats lowe; Of horned boasts no boast was tho blowe, Nor counterfeit feining, because Attemperaunce Had in that world wholy the governaunce.

This golden world long whyl dyd endure, Was none allay in that metall sene, Tyll Saturne ceased, by record of scripture, Jupiter reygned, put out his father clene, Chaunged obrison into silver shene, Al up so downe, because Attemperaunce Was set asyde, and loste her governaunce.

NOTE.

"The Falls of Princes," from which this is an extract, was printed in folio in 1558. Its complete title is, "The Tragedies gathered by Jhon Bochas of all such Princes as fell from theyr Estates throughe the Mutability of Fortune since the creation of Adam until his time; wherin may be seen what vices bring menne to destruccion, wyth notable warninges howe the like may be avoyded. Translated into English by John Lidgate, Monke of Burye."



THE GARMOND OF FAIR LADIES.

BY ROBERT HENRYSON.

Wald my gud lady lufe me best, And wirk eftir my will, I suld ane Garmond gudliest Gar mak hir body till.

Off hie honour suld be hir hud, Upoun hir heid to weir, Garneist with governance so gud, Na demyng suld hir deir.

Hir sark suld be hir body nixt, Of chestetie so quhyt, With schame and dreid togidder mixt, The same suld be perfyt.

Hir kirtill suld be of clene constance, Lasit with lesum lufe, The mailyheis of continuance For nevir to remufe.

Hir gown suld be of gudliness Weill ribband with renowne, Purfillit with plesour in ilk place, Furrit with fyne fassoun.

Hir belt suld be of benignitie, About hir middill meit; Hir mantill of humilitie, To tholl bayth wind and weit.

Hir hat suld be of fair having And her tepat of trewth, Hir patelet of gude pansing, Hir hals-ribbane of rewth.

Hir slevis suld be of esperance, To keip hir fra dispair; Hir gluvis of the gud govirnance, To hyd hir fyngearis fair.

Hir schone suld be of sickernes, In syne that scho nocht slyd; Hir hoiss of honestie, I ges, I suld for hir provyd.

Wald scho put on this Garmond gay, I durst sweir by my seill, That scho woir nevir grene nor gray That set hir half so weill.

GLOSSARY.

esperance, hope. fassoun, manners. garmond, garment, costume. governance, discretion. hals-ribbane, neck-ribbon. hoiss, hose. hud, hood. kirtill, skirt. lasit, fastened. lesum, lawful. lufe, love. mailyheis, eyelet-holes. pansing, thought. patelet, ruffet. quhyt, white. rewth, pity. sark, shirt, chemise. scho, she. schone, shoes. seill, knowledge. set, suited. sickernes, security. suld, should. tepat, tippet. tholl, withstand. weit, rain.



A MAY MORNING.

BY WILLIAM DUNBAR.

Quhen Merche wes with variand windis past And Appryle had, with her silver schouris, Tane leif at Nature with ane orient blast, And lusty May, that muddir is of flouris, Had maid the birdis to begyn thair houris Amang the tendir odouris reid and quhyt, Quhois armony to heir it wes delyt:

In bed at morrow, sleiping as I lay, Me thocht Aurora, with hir cristall ene In at the window lukit by the day, And halsit me, with visage paill and grene; On quhois hand a lark sang fro the splene, Awalk, luvaris, out of your slomering S hou the lusty morrow dois up spring.

Me thocht fresche May befoir my bed up stude, In weid depaynt of mony diverss hew, Sobir, benyng, and full of mansuetude In brycht atteir of flouris forgit new Hevinly of colour, quhyt, reid, broun and blew, Balmit in dew, and gilt with Phebus bemys; Quhyll all the house illumynit of her lemys.

Slugird, scho said, awalk annone for schame, And in my honour sum thing thou go wryt; The lark hes done the mirry day proclame, To raise up luvaris with comfort and delyt; Yit nocht incressis thy curage to indyt, Quhois hairt sum tyme hes glaid and blisfull bene, Sangis to mak undir the levis grene.

Then callit scho all flouris that grew on feild Discirnyng all thair fassionis and effeiris Upone the awfull Thrissil scho beheld And saw him kepit with a busche of speiris; Considering him so able for the weiris A radius croun of rubeis scho him gaif, And said, In feild go furth and fend the laif:

And sen thou art a King, thou be discreit; Herb without vertew thow hald nocht of sic pryce As herb of vertew and of odour sueit; And lat no nettill vyle, and full of vyce, Hir fallow to the gudly flour-de-lyce; Nor latt no wyld weid, full of churlicheness, Compair hir to the lilleis nobilness.

Nor hald non udir flour in sic denty As the fresche Rois, of cullour reid and quhyt: For gife thow dois, hurt is thyne honesty; Considring that no flour is so perfyt, So full of vertew, pleasans, and delyt, So full of blisful angeilik bewty, Imperiall birth, honour and dignit.

NOTE.

This is a selection from the long allegorical poem, "The Thistle and the Rose." The thistle represents Scotland, of which country that plant is the national emblem. The fleur-de-lis, or lily, represents France; and the rose, England. The poem was written in celebration of the marriage of James IV. of Scotland to the Princess Margaret of England, and the friendly relations thus established for a time between those two countries.

GLOSSARY.

denty, favor. effeiris, affairs. ene, eyes. fallow, betroth. forgit, made, created. gife, if. halsit, hailed. houris, morning orisons. laif, rest. lemys, rays. lukit, looked. mansuetude, gentleness. morrow, morning. muddir, mother. orient, eastern. quhen, when. quhois, whose. quhyll, while. rois, rose. sic, such. speiris, spears. splene, heart. thrissil, thistle. udir, other. weid, garments. weiris, wars.



IN PRAISE OF HONOUR.

BY GAWAIN DOUGLAS.

O hie honour, sweit heuinlie flour degest, Gem verteous, maist precious, gudliest. For hie renoun thow art guerdoun conding, Of worschip kend the glorious end and rest, But quhome in richt na worthie wicht may lest. Thy greit puissance may maist auance all thing, And pouerall to mekill auaill sone bring. I the require sen thow but peir art best, That efter this in thy hie blis we ring.

Of grace thy face in euerie place sa schynis, That sweit all spreit baith heid and feit inclynis, Thy gloir afoir for till imploir remeid. He docht richt nocht, quhilk out of thocht the tynis; Thy name but blame, and royal fame diuine is; Thow port at schort of our comfort and reid, Till bring all thing till glaiding efter deid, All wicht but sicht of thy greit micht ay crynis, O schene I mene, nane may sustene thy feid.

Haill rois maist chois till clois thy fois greit micht, Haill stone quhilk schone vpon the throne of licht, Vertew, quhais trew sweit dew ouirthrew al vice, Was ay ilk day gar say the way of licht; Amend, offend, and send our end ay richt. Thow stant, ordant as sanct, of grant maist wise, Till be supplie, and the high gre of price. Delite the tite me quite of site to dicht, For I apply schortlie to thy deuise. —From "The Palice of Honour."

GLOSSARY.

afoir, before. auance, advance. ay, ever, always. but, without. conding, condign, worthy. crynis, diminishes. deid, death. degest, grave. dicht, relieve. docht, avails. feid, hatred. fois, time. glaiding, happiness. gloir, glory. grant, giving. gre, degree. guerdoun, reward. ilk, any. mekill, much, mickle. peir, peer. poureall, the poor. puissance, power. quhilk, who, which. quhome, without whom. reid, advice. rois, king. sanct, saint. site, shame. till, to. tite, quickly. tynis, loses. wicht, person, wight.



FOUR POETS OF THIS CENTURY.

JOHN LYDGATE was born at the village of Lydgate, near Newmarket, about 1370. He was a Benedictine monk attached to the monastery of Bury St. Edmunds, and is remembered as the author of three poems, which, in their time, attracted much attention. These are "The Storie of Thebes," written in ten-syllable rhyming couplets, and founded upon the "Teseide" of Boccaccio; the "Troye Book," finished about 1420, and relating the story of the Trojan war as recounted by Guido di Colonna in his Latin prose history of Troy; and "The Falls of Princes," founded on a French version of Boccaccio's "De Casibus Virorum Illustrium." In 1433, Lydgate wrote a wearisome but somewhat amusing poem, "Pur le Roy," describing a visit to London, and the pageants, processions, and other rejoicings, on the occasion of the entrance of Henry VI. into the city after his coronation. The date of the poet's death is not exactly known, but it was probably not later than 1440.

* * * * *

ROBERT HENRYSON, "an accomplished man and a good and genuine poet," was born about the year 1425, and died near the close of the century. He was for a time a schoolmaster and notary public at Dunfermline, in Scotland, and was connected, in some capacity, with the University of Glasgow. He was probably, like Lydgate, a Benedictine monk. His principal works are "The Testament of Cresseid," a sequel to Chaucer's "Troilus and Cresseide," and a collection of thirteen fables. He wrote also many shorter poems, of which the ballad of "Robin and Makyne" (published in Percy's Reliques) is the best known.

* * * * *

WILLIAM DUNBAR was born in East Lothian, Scotland, about the year 1450. He was educated at the University of St. Andrews, and in early life travelled somewhat extensively as a novitiate of the order of St. Francis. He visited England in 1501, upon the occasion of the marriage of James IV. of Scotland to the Princess Margaret, daughter of Henry VII. One of his best poems, "The Thistle and the Rose," was written in commemoration of that event. He accompanied the queen to Aberdeen in 1511, and for some time, both before and after, was in attendance and favor at the Scotch court. Nothing is known of his death, but it has been conjectured that he fell in the battle of Flodden, in 1513. Besides the poem just mentioned, he wrote "The Golden Targe," "The Dance of the Deadly Sins," and many shorter poems, most of which are allegories. The "Thistle and the Rose" has been pronounced "the happiest political allegory in our language. Heraldry has never been more skilfully handled, nor compliments more gracefully paid, nor fidelity more persuasively preached to a monarch than in this poem."

* * * * *

GAWAIN DOUGLAS was a son of the famous Earl of Angus, and was born in Brechin, Scotland, about 1474. He was educated partly at the University of St. Andrews, and partly in Paris. His first considerable poem, "The Palice of Honour," was published in 1501, and dedicated to King James IV. It is an allegory, such as was at that time the staple of poetical composition, and contains but little that is particularly original. Another allegory, printed after his death, is entitled "King Hart," and has for its subject the heart of man. His greatest work is his translation of Virgil's "neid" into Scottish verse. In 1509, Douglas was appointed provost of St. Giles, Edinburgh, and after the battle of Flodden he was made abbot of Aberbrothwick. In 1515 he was consecrated Bishop of Dunkeld, but was unable to gain possession of the cathedral except by force. Becoming involved in the feud between the rival families of Angus and Hamilton, he was obliged to escape into England in 1521, where towards the end of the same year he died.



The Fourteenth Century.

"In the fourteenth century there comes an Englishman nourished on this [the romance] poetry, taught his trade by this poetry, getting words, rhyme, metre from this poetry; for even of that stanza which the Italians used, and which Chaucer derived immediately from the Italians, the basis and suggestion was probably given in France. . . . If we ask ourselves wherein consists the immense superiority of Chaucer's poetry over the [earlier] romance-poetry, why it is that in passing from this to Chaucer we suddenly feel ourselves to be in another world, we shall find that his superiority is both in the substance of his poetry and in the style of his poetry. His superiority in substance is given by his large, free, simple, clear yet kindly view of human life. . . . We have only to call to mind the Prologue to 'The Canterbury Tales.' The right comment upon it is Dryden's: 'It is sufficient to say, according to the proverb, that here is God's plenty.' And again: 'He is a perpetual fountain of good sense.' It is by a large, free, sound representation of things, that poetry, this high criticism of life, has truth of substance; and Chaucer's poetry has truth of substance. If we think of Chaucer's divine liquidness of diction, his divine fluidity of movement, it is difficult to speak temperately. They are irresistible, and justify all the rapture with which his successors speak of his gold 'dew-drops of speech.' . . . Chaucer is the father of our splendid English poetry, he is our 'well of English undefiled,' because by the lovely charm of his diction, the lovely charm of his movement, he makes an epoch and founds a tradition. In Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Keats, we can follow the tradition of the liquid diction, the fluid movement, of Chaucer; at one time it is his liquid diction of which in these poets we feel the virtue, and at another it is his fluid movement. And the virtue is irresistible."—MATTHEW ARNOLD.

Poets of the Fourteenth Century.

Geoffrey Chaucer (1328-1400). See biographical note, page 301.

William Langland (1332- ). "The Vision of William concerning Piers the Ploughman."

John Gower (1330-1408). "Confessio Amantis."



Geoffrey Chaucer.



FROM THE "PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES."

Whan that Aprille with his schowrs swoote The drought of Marche had perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertue engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his swet breethe Enspired hath in every holte and heethe The tendre cropps, and the yong sonne Hath in the Ram{1} his half cours i-ronne,{2} And smal fowls maken melodie, That slepen al the night with open eye, So priketh hem nature in here corages:— Than longen folk to gon on pilgrimages, And palmers for to seeken{3} straung strondes, To fern halwes, kouthe in sondry londes; And specially, from every schirs ende Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende, The holy blisful martir{4} for to seeke, That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.{5} Byfel that, in that sesoun on a day, In Southwerk at the Tabard{6} as I lay, Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage To Caunterbury with ful devout corage, At night was come into that hostelrye Wel nyne and twenty in a compainye, Of sondry folk, by aventure i-falle In felaweschipe, and pilgryms were thei alle, That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde; The chambres and the stables{7} weren wyde, And wel we wern esed att beste. And schortly, whan the sonn was to reste, So hadde I spoken with hem everychon, That I was of here felaweschipe anon, And mad forward erly for to ryse, To take our wey ther as I yow devyse. But nathles, whil I have tyme and space, Or{8} that I forther in this tal pace, Me thinketh it acordaunt to resoun, To tell yow al the condicioun{9} Of eche of hem, so as it semede me, And whiche they weren, and of what degre; And eek in what array that they were inne: And at a knight than wol I first bygynne. A KNIGHT ther was, and that a worthy man, That from the tym that he first bigan To ryden out, he lovede chyvalrye,{10} Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye. Ful worthy was he in his lords werre, And therto hadde he riden, noman ferre, As wel in Cristendom as in hethnesse,{11} And evere honoured for his worthinesse. At Alisaundre{12} he was whan it was wonne, Ful oft tyme he hadde the bord bygonne{13} Aboven all naciouns in Pruce.{14} In Lettowe hadde he reysed and in Ruce, No cristen man so ofte of his degre. In Gernade{15} att sieg hadde he be Of Algesir, and riden in Belmarie. At Lieys was he, and at Satalie, Whan they were wonne; and in the Greet see{16} At many a noble arive hadde he be. At mortal batailles hadde he ben fiftene, And foughten for our feith at Tramassene In lysts thris, and ay slayn his foo. This ilk worthy knight hadde ben also Somtym with the lord of Palatye,{17} Ageyn another hethen in Turkye: And evermore he hadde a sovereyn prys. And though that he was worthy, he was wys, And of his port as meke as is a mayde. He nevere yit no vileinye ne sayde In al his lyf, unto no maner wight.{18} He was a verray perfight gentil knight. But for to tellen you of his array, His hors was good, but he ne was nought gay. Of fustyan he werede a gepoun Al bysmotered with his habergeoun. For he was late ycome from his viage, And went for to doon his pilgrimage. With him ther was his sone, a yong SQUYER, A lovyere, and a lusty bacheler,{19} With lokks crulle as they were leyd in presse. Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse. Of his stature he was of even lengthe, And wonderly delyver, and gret of strengthe. And he hadde ben somtyme in chivachye, In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Picardye, And born him wel, as of so litel space, In hope to stonden in his lady grace. Embrowded was he, as it were a mede Al ful of fressh floures, white and reede. Syngynge he was, or floytynge,{20} al the day; He was as fressh as is the moneth of May. Schort was his goune, with sleevs longe and wyde. Wel cowde he sitte on hors, and fair ryde. He cowd songs make and wel endite, Juste and eek daunce, and wel purtreye and write. So hote he loved, that by nightertale He sleep nomore than doth a nightyngale. Curteys he was, lowly, and servysable, And carf byforn his fader at the table. A YEMAN hadde he,{21} and servaunts nomoo At that tyme, for him lust ryd soo; And he was clad in coote and hood of grene. A shef of pocok arws{22} brighte and kene Under his belte he bar ful thriftily. Wel cowde he dresse his takel yemanly; His arwes drowpede nought with fetheres lowe. And in his hond he bar a mighty bowe A not-heed hadde he with broun visage. Of wood-craft wel cowde he al the usage. Upon his arm he bar a gay bracer{23} And by his side a swerd and a bokeler, And on that other side a gay daggere, Harneysed wel, and scharp as poynt of spere; A Cristofre{24} on his brest of silver schene. An horn he bar, the bawdrik was of grene; A forster was he sothly, as I gesse. Ther was also a Nonne, a PRIORESSE, That of hire smylyng was ful symple and coy; Hire grettest ooth ne was but by seynt Loy{25}; And sche was cleped madame Eglentyne. Ful wel sche sang the servis divyne, Entuned in hire nose ful semly; And Frensch sche spak ful faire and fetysly, After the scole of Stratford att Bowe, For Frensch of Parys was to hire unknowe. At met wel i-taught was sche withalle; Sche leet no morsel from hire lipps falle, Ne wette hire fyngres in hire sauc deepe. Wel cowde sche carie a morsel, and wel keepe, That no drop ne fille upon hire breste. In curteisie was set ful moche hire leste. Hire overlipp wypede sche so clene, That in hire cupp was no ferthing sene Of grec, whan sche dronken hadde hire draughte. Ful semly after hir mete sche raughte, And sikerly sche was of gret disport,{26} And ful plesaunt, and amyable of port, And peynede hir to countrefet cheere Of court, and ben estatlich of manere, And to ben holden digne of reverence. But for to speken of hir conscience, Sche was so charitable and so pitous, Sche wold weepe if that sche saw a mous Caught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde. Of smal hounds hadde sche, that sche fedde With rosted flessh, or mylk and wastel breed. But sore weep sche if oon of hem were deed, Or if men{27} smot it with a yerd smerte: And al was conscience and tendre herte. Ful semly hire wympel i-pynched was; Hir nose tretys; hir eyn greye as glas; Hir mouth ful smal, and therto softe and reed But sikerly sche hadde a fair forheed. It was almost a spann brood, I trowe; For hardily sche was not undergrowe. Ful fetys was hir cloke, as I was war. Of smal coral aboute hir arm sche bar A peire of beds gauded al with grene; And theron heng a broch of gold ful schene, On which was first i-write a crownd A, And after, Amor vincit omnia.{28} Another NONNE with hir hadd sche, That was hir chapeleyne,{29} and PRESTES thre. A MONK ther was, a fair for the maistry,{30} An out-rydere, that loved venery; A manly man, to ben an abbot able. Ful many a deynt hors hadde he in stable: And whan he rood, men mighte his bridel heere Gynglen in a whistlyng wynd as cleere, And eek as lowde as doth the chapel belle. Ther as this lord was kepere of the celle, The reule of seynt Maure or of seint Beneyt, Bycause that it was old and somdel streyt, This ilk monk leet old things pace, And held after the new world the space. He yaf nat of that text a pulld hen,{31} That seith, that hunters been noon holy men; Ne that a monk, whan he is recchles Is likned to a fissch that is waterles{32}; This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloystre. But thilk text held he not worth an oystre. And I seide his opinioun was good. What{33} schulde he studie, and make himselven wood,{34} Upon a book in cloystre alway to powre. Or swynk with his hands, and laboure, As Austyn bit? How schal the world be servd? Lat Austyn have his swynk to him reservd. Therfor he was a pricasour aright; Greyhoundes he hadde as swifte as fowel in flight; Of prikyng and of huntyng for the hare Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.{35} I saugh his slevs purfiled att honde With grys, and that the fyneste of a londe. And for to festne his hood under his chynne He hadde of gold y-wrought a curious pynne: A love-knot in the grettere ende ther was. His heed was balled, that schon as eny glas, And eek his face, as he hadde ben anoynt. He was a lord ful fat and in good poynt; His eyn steepe, and rollyng in his heede, That stemde as a forneys of a leede;{36} His boots souple, his hors in gret estat. Now certeinly he was a fair prelat; He was not pale as a for-pyned goost. A fat swan lovede he best of eny roost. His palfrey was as broun as is a berye. A FRERE there was, a wantown and a merye, A lymytour,{37} a ful solempn man. In alle the ordres foure{38} is noon that can So moche of daliaunce and fair langage. He hadde i-mad ful many a mariage Of yong wymmen, at his own cost. Unto his ordre he was a noble post.{39} Ful wel biloved and famulier was he With frankeleyns{40} over-al in his cuntre, And eek with worthy wommen of the toun: For he hadde power of confessioun, As seyde himself, mor than a curat, For of his ordre he was licentiat.{41} Ful swetly herde he confessioun, And plesaunt was his absolucioun; He was an esy man to yeve penaunce Ther as he wist han{42} a good pitaunce; For unto a poure ordre for to yive Is sign that a man is wel i-schrive. For if he yaf, he dorst make avaunt, He wist that a man was repentaunt. For many a man so hard is of his herte, He may not wepe although him sor smerte. Therfore in stede of wepyng and preyeres, Men{43} moot yive silver to the pour freres. His typet was ay farsd ful of knyfes And pynns, for to yiv fair wyfes. And certeynly he hadde a mery note; Wel couthe he synge and pleyen on a rote. Of yeddynges he bar utterly the prys. His nekk whit was as the flour-de-lys. Therto he strong was as a champioun. He knew the tavernes wel in every toun, And everych hostiler and tappestere, Bet then a lazer, or a beggestere, For unto such a worthy man as he Acorded not, as by his facult, To han with sik lazars aqueyntaunce. It is not honest, it may not avaunce, For to delen with no such poraille, But al with riche, and sellers of vitaille.{44} And overal, ther as profyt schulde arise, Curteys he was, and lowly of servyse. Ther nas no man nowher so vertuous. He was the best beggere in his hous, For though a widewe hadd noght oo schoo, So plesaunt was his In principio,{45} Yet wolde he have a ferthing or he wente. His purchas{46} was wel better than his rente. And rage he couthe as it were right a whelpe, In lov-days{47} couthe he mochel helpe. For ther he was not lik a cloysterer, With a thredbare cope as is a poure scoler, But he was lik a maister or a pope. Of double worsted was his semy-cope, That rounded as a belle out of the presse. Somwhat he lipsede, for his wantownesse, To make his Englissch swete upon his tunge; And in his harpyng, whan that he hadde sunge His eyn twynkled in his heed aright, As don the sterrs in the frosty night. This worthy lymytour was cleped Huberd. A MARCHAUNT was ther with a forkd berd, In mottleye, and hign on hors he sat, Upon his heed a Flaundrisch bevere hat; His bots clapsed faire and fetysly. His resons he spak ful solempnly, Sownynge alway the encres of his wynnynge. He wolde the see were kept for{48} eny thinge Betwix Middelburgh and Orwelle. Wel couthe he in eschaung scheelds{49} selle. This worthi man ful wel his wit bisette; Ther wist no wight that he was in dette, So estatly was he of governaunce, With his bargayns, and with his chevysaunce For sothe he was a worthy man withalle, But soth to sayn, I not how men him calle. A CLERK ther was of Oxenford{50} also, That unto logik hadd longe i-go. As len was his hors as is a rake, And he was not right{51} fat, I undertake; But lokde holwe, and therto soberly. Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy. For he hadde geten him yit no benefice, Ne was so worldly for to have office. For him was levere have at his bedds heede Twenty books, clad in blak or reede, Of Aristotle and his philosophy, Then robs riche, or fithel, or gay sawtry.{52} But al be that he was a philosophre, Yet hadd he but litel gold in cofre; But al that he mighte of his frends hente, On books and on lernyng he it spente, And busily gan for the souls preye Of hem that yaf him wherwith to scoleye; Of studie took he most cure and most heede. Not oo word spak he mor than was neede, And that was seid in forme and reverence And schort and quyk, and ful of high sentence. Sownynge{53} in moral vertu was his speche, And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.

GLOSSARY.

ageyn, against. arive, disembarkment. aventure, chance. ay, always. bar, bore. bawdrick, baldric. ben, to be. bit, biddeth. byfel, it happened. bysmotered, smutted. carf, carved. cheere, manner. chevysaunce, loans, bargains. chivachye, military expedition. clapsed, clasped. cleped, called. clerk, a scholar. corage, heart. courtepy, cloak. cowde, knew. crulle, curled. cure, care. delyver, active. devyse, speak of. digne, worthy. don, do. eek, also. embrowded, embroidered. encres, increase. everychon, every one, all. farsed, stuffed. ferne, distant, foreign. ferre, farther. ferthing, small portion. fetysly, neatly, well. fithel, fiddle. Flaundrische, Flemish. flotynge, fluting, playing. flour-de-lys, fleur-de-lis. for-pyned, much wasted. forster, forester. frere, friar. gawded, having gawds. gepoun, short cassock. goost, ghost. grys, fur. gynglen, jingling. habergeoun, hawberk. halwes, shrines (holies). heethe, heath, meadow. hem, them. here, their. heute, borrow. holpen, helped. holte, wood. i-falle, fallen. ilke, same. i-ronne, ran. juste, joust. kouthe, known. leede, cauldron. leste, pleasure. levere, rather. lipsede, lisped. luste, pleased. maistrye, mastery. maner, kind. mede, meadow. mete, meals, eating. motteleye, mixed colors. nightertale, night-time. noon, not one, not at all. not-heed, shorn-head. pace, pass. peyned, took pains. pitous, full of pity. pocok, peacock. poraille, poor folks. pricasour, hard rider. priketh, incites, spurs. prys, reputation, worth. purfiled, embroidered. purtreye, paint. raughte, reached. reccheles, reckless. reysed, ridden. rote, a musical instrument. sawtreye, psaltery. schene, bright. scoleye, attend school. seeke, sick. semely, becomingly. sikerly, surely. somdel, somewhat. sondry, different kinds. sothly, truly. souple, pliant. sovereyn, excellent. sowning, boasting. steepe, bright. streit, strict. swich, such. swynke, toil. thilke, this. tretys, slender. venerye, hunting. viage, journey. wastel breed, cake bread. wenden, go. werre, war. wight, person. wiste, knew. wood, mad, foolish. wympel, wimple. yaf, gave. yeddynges, gleemen's songs. yemanly, yeoman-like. yerde, stick.

NOTES.

1. in the Ram. In the constellation Aries. "There is a difference, in astronomy, between the sign Aries and the constellation Aries. In April the sun is theoretically in the sign Taurus, but visibly in the constellation Aries."—Morris.

2. i-ronne. Run. The prefix i- or y- is equivalent to the A.-S. or German ge, and usually denotes the past participle.

3. seeken. The infinitive in early English ended in n, usually in en.

4. martir. Thomas Becket, who was slain at Canterbury in 1170. He was canonized by Pope Alexander III. as St. Thomas of Canterbury.

5. seeke. Sick, ill. At the present time the English restrict the use of the word "sick" to nausea, and regard it in its original and broader signification as an "Americanism."

6. Tabard. A tabard is "a jaquet or slevelesse coat worne in times past by noblemen in the warres, but now only by heraults. It is the signe of an inne in Southwarke by London, within the which was the lodging of the Abbot of Hyde by Winchester. This is the hostelrie where Chaucer and the other pilgrims mett together and accorded about the manner of their journey to Canterbury."—Speght.

7. stables. Standing-places (Lat. sto, to stand); meaning here the public rooms of the inn.

8. Or. Before, ere (A.-S. aer, ere). Compare Psalm xc. 2.

9. condicioun. A word of four syllables, accented on the last.

10. chyvalrye. The profession of a knight.

11. hethnesse. Heathen countries. From heath, the open country. "The word heathen acquired its meaning from the fact that, at the introduction of Christianity into Germany, the wild dwellers on the heaths longest resisted the truth."—Trench.

12. Alisaundre. Alexandria was taken in 1365 by Pierre de Lusignan, king of Cyprus, but was very soon abandoned.

13. he hadde the bord bygonne. "He had been placed at the head of the table, the usual compliment to extraordinary merit."—Tyrwhitt.

14. Pruce. Prussia. "When our military men wanted employment it was usual for them to go and serve in Pruce, or Prussia, with the Knights of the Teutonic order, who were in a state of constant warfare with their heathen neighbours in Lettow (Lithuania) and Ruse (Russia)."—Tyrwhitt.

15. Gernade. Grenada, probably at the siege of Algezir, in that country, in 1344. Belmarie was probably a Moorish town in Africa, as also was Tramassene, mentioned below. Lieys was in Armenia. Both it and Satalie (Attalia) were conquered by Pierre de Lusignan in 1367.

16. Greet see. That part of the Mediterranean which washes the coast of Palestine.

17. lord of Palatye. A Christian knight who kept possession of his lands by paying tribute to the Turks.

18. no maner wight. No sort of person. In early English the preposition was often omitted after manner. Observe the double negatives in these two lines.

19. bacheler. "A soldier not old or rich enough to lead his relations into battle with a banner. The original sense of the word is little, small, young, from Welsh bach."—Webster.

20. floytynge. Fluting. So, in Chaucer's "House of Fame," he says:

"And many a floyte and litlyng horne, And pipes made of grene corne."

21. he. That is, the knight. The word yeman, or yeoman, is an abbreviation of yeongeman. As used by Chaucer, it means a servant of a rank above that of groom, but below that of squire. The present use of the word to signify a small landholder is of more modern origin.

22. pocok arws. Arrows tipped with peacock feathers.

23. bracer. A kind of close sleeve laced upon the arm. "A bracer serveth for two causes, one to save his arme from the strype of the stringe, and his doublet from wearing; and the other is, that the stringe glidinge sharplye and quicklye off the bracer, maye make the sharper shoote."—Roger Ascham's Toxophilus, page 129.

24. Cristofre. An image of St. Christopher, which was thought to protect its wearer from hidden danger.

25. seynt Loy. St. Eloy, or Eligius.

26. of gret disport. Fond of gayety.

27. men. This word as here used is an indefinite pronoun equivalent to one, or any one.

28. "Love conquers all things."

29. chapeleyne. Probably assistant.

30. a fair for the maistry. A fair one for the chief place.

31. "He would not give a pulled hen for that text"; that is, "he cared not a straw for it." Pulled = pylled = pilled = plucked.

32. waterles. Out of water.

33. what. Why, wherefore.

34. wood. Mad. Scotch wud, wild.

"An' just as wud as wud can be."—Burns.

35. no cost wolde he spare. For this pleasure he spared no expense.

36. "That shone like the fire under a cauldron."

37. lymytour. One who was licensed to beg within a limited territory.

38. ordres foure. The Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Carmelites, and the Augustine Friars.

39. post. Pillar, support. Compare with the modern expression, "A pillar of the church."

40. frankeleyns. Country gentlemen; wealthy landholders.

41. licentiat. He had license from the pope to grant absolution in all cases. A curate's powers did not extend so far.

42. "Where he knew he would have."

43. See note 27, above.

44. sellers of vitaille. Givers of food, or a livelihood. The original meaning of the word sell was to give. From A.-S. syllan, to give.

45. "In the beginning." The first words of St. John's Gospel in the Vulgate.

46. purchas. Income from begging.

47. lov-days. Days appointed for the amicable settlement of differences, without recourse to law.

48. "He wished the sea were guarded." Middelburgh, a port in the Netherlands. Orwelle, a port in Essex.

49. scheelds. French crowns marked with a shield. Shillings.

50. Oxenford. Not the "ford of the ox," but the "ford of the river." Ox, from Celtic esk, ouse, water.

51. The word right used, as here, in the sense of very is now considered a vulgarism. "A Southerner would say, 'It rains right hard.'"—Bartlett.

52. sawtry. Psaltery, a Greek instrument of music.

53. sownynge. Sounding; that is, in consonance with. =Sentence= = sense. So, also, construe forme and reverence, above, as meaning propriety and modesty.

ON READING CHAUCER.

"'How few there are who can read Chaucer so as to understand him perfectly,' says Dryden, apologizing for 'translating' him. In our day, with the wider spread of historical study, with the numerous helps to Old English that the care of scholars has produced for us, with the purification that Chaucer's text has undergone, this saying of Dryden's ought not to be true. It ought to be not only possible, but easy, for an educated reader to learn the few essentials of Chaucerian grammar, and for an ear at all trained to poetry to tune itself to the unfamiliar harmonies. For those who make the attempt the reward is certain. They will gain the knowledge, not only of the great poet and creative genius, but of the master who uses our language with a power, a freedom, a variety, a rhythmic beauty, that, in five centuries, not ten of his successors have been found able to rival."—T. H. Ward.

The peculiarities of diction and grammar which distinguish Chaucer's poetry seem to make its reading and comprehension difficult and often discourage the student at the outset. A very little study, however, will show that the difficulties in the way are not nearly so great as they at first appear, and, after a little patient practice in reading, they will disappear entirely. By observing the following rules you will soon acquire the ability to read with a fluency which will be highly pleasing to you:

1. Final e should be pronounced as a separate syllable whenever the metre demands it.

2. In all words of French origin, such as visge, corge, manir, the final syllable is accented.

The greatest difficulty in reading Chaucer arises from the antiquated manner in which the words are spelled; but if the reader will change an occasional y to i, and drop a final e or a final n, here and there, the words which seemed at first so strange will appear more familiar to the eye and the understanding.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

GEOFFREY CHAUCER, "the morning-star of English poetry," was born in London in 1328,—according to some authorities, in 1340. He was the son of a vintner, and at an early age became acquainted with many persons of distinction. He was a page in the household of Prince Lionel, and afterwards valet and squire to Edward III. In 1372 he was sent abroad as a royal envoy, and on his return he was made Controller of the Customs In London. In the meantime he had married Philippa Rouet, one of the queen's maids of honor, a sister to the wife of John of Gaunt. Being thus closely related to one of the most powerful members of the royal family, he was often employed in important and honorable commissions connected with the government. In 1386 he was member of Parliament for Kent, and in 1389 was appointed Clerk of the King's Works, at Windsor. He died in 1400, and was buried in Westminster Abbey,—"the first of the long line of poets whose ashes make that edifice illustrious." His poetical history has been divided by Mr. Furnivall into four periods: (1) up to 1371, during which he wrote the "A B C" the "Compleynte to Pit," the "Boke of the Duchesse," and the "Compleynte of Mars"; (2) from 1372 to 1381, which saw the production of "Troylus and Criseyde," "Anelida," and the "Former Age"; (3) from 1381 to 1389, during which his best works appeared, the "Parlament of Foules," the "House of Fame," the "Legende of Goode Women," and some of the "Canterbury Tales"; (4) from 1389 to the close of his life, in which period the remainder of the "Canterbury Tales" and some short poems were written.

M. Taine says, "Chaucer is like a jeweller with his hands full; pearls and glass beads, sparkling diamonds and common agates, black jet and ruby roses, all that history and imagination had been able to gather and fashion during three centuries in the East, in France, in Wales, in Provence, in Italy, all that had rolled his way, clashed together, broken or polished by the stream of centuries, and by the grand jumble of human memory, he holds in his hand, arranges it, composes therefrom a long sparkling ornament, with twenty pendants, a thousand facets, which by its splendor, variety, contrasts, may attract and satisfy the eyes of those most greedy for amusement and novelty."

Other Poems to be Read: The Knight's Tale; The Clerk's Tale; The Man of Law's Tale; The Legende of Goode Women; The Parlament of Foules; The House of Fame; Chaucer's A B C.

REFERENCES: Lowell's My Study Windows; Marsh's Origin and History of the English Language; Charles Cowden Clarke's The Riches of Chaucer; Morley's English Writers, vol. v; Carpenter's English of the XIV Century; Taine's English Literature; Lounsbury's Studies in Chaucer; Hazlitt's English Poets.



INDEX TO NOTES.

accloyes, 234.

afoir, 282.

aft, 106.

Age of Gold, 79, 192.

Ajax, 147.

Akenside, Mark, 96.

amaist, 106.

ance, 106.

"Annus Mirabilis," 173.

antickes, 234.

Aonian, 208.

Apollo, 74.

apparelled, 46.

Arnold, Matthew, 16.

Arthur's Seat, 254.

Arvon, 136.

Ashtaroth, 194.

assay, 275.

assuasive, 154.

awfull, 189.

axle-tree, 189.

ay, 282.

Aytoun, William Edmondstoune, 16.

Baalim, 194.

Bacchus, 87, 166.

bairns, 105.

baldric, 25.

Ballads, 265.

Beattie, James, 96.

bede, 275.

bedight, 233.

beets, 105.

belyve, 106.

ben, 105.

bield, 109.

birkie, 110.

Blair, Robert, 96.

Blake, William, 96.

blate, 106.

blinkin, 106.

Boadicea, 114.

boding, 127.

bonnet, 105.

bracer, 299.

brae, 254.

braw, 106.

bray, 137.

Browne, William, 158.

Browning, Robert, 16.

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 16.

brutish, 194.

Bulwer-Lytton, Robert, 16.

burn-side, 254.

Burns, Robert, 111.

busk, 254.

buskin, 139.

Butler, Samuel, 158.

Byron, Lord, 16.

ca', 105.

Cambria, 135.

Camelot, 24.

Camilla, 147.

Campbell, Thomas, 16.

cannie, 106.

Carew, Thomas, 158.

carking, 106.

castamergia, 271.

cataracts, 46.

Chapman, George, 216.

Chatterton, Thomas, 96.

Chaucer, Geoffrey, 301.

Chepe, 275.

Christabel, 64.

Churchill, Charles, 96.

chyvalrye, 298.

claes, 106.

Clarius, 208.

close, 190.

Clough, Arthur Hugh, 16.

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 65.

Collins, William, 96.

conceit, 145.

concern, 119.

consort, 192.

convoy, 106.

coof, 110.

coot, 27.

coronal, 47.

cotter, 104.

Cowley, Abraham, 158.

Cowper, William, 122.

Crabbe, George, 96.

cracks, 106.

Crashaw, Richard, 158.

craws, 106.

crew, 168.

Cristofre, 299.

crynis, 282.

Cynthia, 190.

ddal, 74.

Daniel, Samuel, 216.

Darius, 166.

darkling, 87.

Davenant, Sir William, 158.

Davies, Sir John, 216.

deid, 282.

Delphos, 193.

demi-gods, 154.

Denham, Sir John, 158.

denty, 281.

deposit, 105.

dicht, 282.

docht, 282.

Donne, John, 216.

Douglas, Gawain, 284.

dragon, 193.

Drayton, Michael, 216.

Drummond, William, 158.

dryad, 86.

Dryden, John, 175.

Dunbar, William, 283.

dusk, 24.

Dyer, John, 96.

dyght, 275.

effeires, 281.

Elysian, 79.

ene, 281.

Epipsychidion, 79.

ere, 189.

esperance, 278.

eydent, 106.

eyn, 195.

fallow, 281.

fassoun, 278.

Fates, 137.

Fauns, 73.

feid, 282.

fell, 106.

Fergusson, Robert, 96.

fit, 145.

Flamins, 194.

Fletcher, Giles, 158.

flichterin, 106.

floytynge, 299.

fois, 282.

fond, 139.

foreland, 27.

forgit, 281.

forgoes, 194.

frankeleyns, 300.

Fungoso, 146.

Furies, 167.

galaxy, 25.

garmond, 278.

gars, 106.

Garth, Samuel, 120.

Gascoigne, George, 216.

gauge, 127.

Gay, John, 96.

genius, 193.

gere, 275.

Gernad, 299.

gife, 281.

glaiding, 282.

glinted, 109.

gloir, 282.

Gloster, 136.

Glover, Richard, 96.

Goldsmith, Oliver, 128.

governance, 278.

gowd, 110.

Gower, John, 286.

grant, 282.

Gray, Thomas, 139.

gree, 110, 282.

Green, Matthew, 96.

Greene, Robert, 216.

greete, 275.

griesly, 137.

grisly, 194.

gross, 174.

guerdoun, 282.

ha'-bible, 105.

haffets, 106.

hafflins, 106.

halcyons, 79.

Hall, Joseph, 216.

hals-ribbane, 278.

halsit, 281.

Hammon, 194.

harbinger, 188.

hauberk, 135.

haut-boys, 166.

Hawes, Stephen, 268.

hawkie, 105.

Henryson, Robert, 283.

Herbert, George, 158.

Herbert, Lord, of Cherbury, 158.

hern, 27.

Herrick, Robert, 202.

Hesperus, 80.

hethenesse, 298.

hinges, 191.

Hippocrene, 86.

histie, 109.

Hoel, 136.

hoiss, 278.

Hood, Thomas, 16.

Howard, Henry, 252.

hud, 278.

Hunt, Leigh, 16.

hyed, 275.

hymeneal, 71.

ilk, 282.

influence, 189.

ingle, 106.

Ionian, 79.

ipocras, 271.

i-ronne, 298.

Isis, 194.

its, 190.

Ixion, 154.

Japhet, 209.

Johnson, Samuel, 96.

jollity, 46.

Jonson, Ben, 213.

Keats, John, 93.

kebbuck, 106.

key, 174.

Kingsley, Charles, 16.

kirtill, 278.

kye, 105.

laif, 281.

Lamb, Charles, 16.

Landor, Walter Savage, 16.

Langland, William, 286.

lasit, 278.

lathefu', 106.

lave, 106.

lawn, 189.

lays, 104.

lemys, 281.

lesum, 278.

Lethe, 86.

letted, 173.

licentiate, 300.

lichtlie, 254.

Lodge, Thomas, 216.

love-days, 300.

Lovelace, Richard, 158.

Lucifer, 80, 189.

lufe, 278.

lukit, 281.

lyart, 106.

Lydgate, John, 283.

Lydian, 167.

Lyly, John, 216.

lymytour, 300.

lyst, 275.

Macaulay, Thomas B., 16.

Mnalus, 74.

maiden (adj.), 188.

mailyheis, 278.

mansuetude, 281.

Marlowe, Christopher, 216.

martir, 298.

Marvell, Andrew, 158.

May, 47.

mede, 275.

mekill, 282.

mend, 146.

"Meredith, Owen," 16.

Milnes, Richard Monckton, 16.

Milton, John, 195.

moil, 106.

Moore, Thomas, 16.

morrow, 281.

Mortimer, 136.

mould, 192.

muddir, 281.

Mulciber, 234.

Muses, 153.

neibor, 105.

noise, 190.

numbers, 147.

Occleve, Thomas, 268.

or, 189, 298.

oracles, 193.

organs, 168.

Orpheus, 154.

Orus, 194.

Oxenford, 300.

Osiris, 195.

pad, 24.

Palatye, 299.

Pan, 190.

pansy, 47.

pansing, 278.

paramour, 80, 188.

pards, 87.

Parnassus, 146.

Parnell, Thomas, 96.

passing, 126.

patelet, 278.

peir, 282.

Peneus, 73, 243.

penny-fee, 105.

Peor, 194.

pescodes, 275.

philargyria, 271.

Phlegethon, 154.

pies, 208.

pine (v.), 71.

Plinlimmon, 136.

plum, 120.

Pope, Alexander, 155.

pourall, 282.

prevent, 188.

Procter, Adelaide, 16.

Procter, Bryan Waller, 16.

profuse, 71.

Prothalamion, 241.

Provenal, 86.

Pruce, 299.

puissance, 282.

quality, 147.

quhen, 281.

quhois, 281.

quhome, 282.

quhyll, 281.

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 216.

Ramsay, Allan, 96.

reedes (v.), 233.

reid, 282.

requiem, 87.

rewth, 278.

Rhodope, 155.

Robin Hood, 265.

rois, 281, 282.

rutty, 242.

ryshes, 275.

sacerdotal, 106.

Sackville, Thomas, 216.

Saint Agnes, 93.

Saint Cecilia, 168.

salvage, 233.

sanct, 282.

Sandys, George, 158.

sark, 278.

sawtrye, 300.

scho, 278.

schone, 278.

Scott, Sir Walter, 16.

seeke, 298.

seeken, 298.

seeliest, 212.

seill, 278.

seraphim, 191.

session, 193.

set, 278.

Shakespeare, William, 221.

Shelley, Percy B., 81.

shend, 244.

Shenstone, William, 96.

sic, 281.

sickerness, 278.

Sidney, Philip, 216.

Sileni, 73.

silly, 190.

Simos, 174.

simonia, 271.

Sisyphus, 154.

site, 282.

Skelton, John, 272.

skylark, 71.

Snowdon, 135.

socks, 213.

sort, 146.

Southey, Robert, 16.

sovran, 189.

sowninge, 300.

sowpe, 106.

sparks, 146.

spede, 275.

speiris, 281.

Spenser, Edmund, 245.

sphear, 188.

spiers, 106.

splene, 281.

spread, 193.

sprite, 71.

stables, 298.

stacher, 106.

stage, 48.

Star Chamber, 271.

steep, 119.

store, 243.

stoure, 109.

strook, 190.

Styx, 154.

Suckling, Sir John, 158.

sugh, 104.

Surrey, Earl of, 252.

Swan of Avon, 213.

swindges, 193.

THE END