What good they have as they suppose,
He bad anon the cofre unclose,

105 Which was fulfild with straw and stones:
Thus be they served all at ones.

This king than, in the samè stede,
Anon that other cofre undede,

Where as they sihen gret richesse,
110 Wel more than they couthen gesse.

Lo! seith the king, now may ye se
That ther is no defalte in me;
Forthy my self I wol aquite,

And bereth ye your ownè wite
115 Of that fortune hath you refused.

Thus was this wise king excused:
And they lefte off her evil speche,
And mercy of her king beseche.

11. Chaucer. 1340-1400. (History, pp. 21-34.)

To know when to pronounce and when not to pronounce the final e forms the chief difficulty in reading Chaucer. The nearest approach to a general rule is perhaps the following:-When the final e represents any grammatical inflection or form whatsoever, or is a modification of any old English verbal ending, or is the e feminine of French words, it is sounded before a word beginning with a consonant, elided before one beginning with a vowel. There are but few cases that may not be explained by this rule; and even those might be found regular could we recover an exact copy of the poet's text.

In nouns this e final principally represents the dative singular; in adjectives the definite declension (i. e. the declension that follows the definite article, and a demonstrative or possessive pronoun), the vocative case and the plural; in verbs the present and preterite indicative, the infinitive and past participle. It is also a frequent adverbial termination, and often the Old English a, u, e, an, in a weakened form; thus time, soné, lippe, withouté, were tima, sunu, lippe, wiðutan, in Old English respectively.

The young reader must also remember that in nouns the es of the genitive singular and nominative plural, and in verbs the ed of the

preterite make distinct syllables; and that the accent in such foreign words as honoùr, virtue, statùre, viage, plesànt, devoccioùn, is almost always thrown on the last syllable; to which custom indeed many native words also occasionally conform.

Generally speaking here (their), hire (her), oure, youre, are monosyllables.

FROM THE PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES.

THE KNIGHT.

1 A KNIGHT ther was, and that a worthy man,
That from the tyme that he ferst bigan
To ryden out, he lovede Chyvalrye,
Trouthe and honour, fredom and curtesie.
5 Ful worthi was he in his lordes werre,
And thereto hadde he riden no man ferre,
As wel in Cristendom as in Hethenesse,
And evere honoured for his worthinesse.
At Alisandre he was whan it was wonne.
10 Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bygonne
Aboven alle nations in Pruce.
In Lettowe hadde reyced and in Ruce,
No cristen man so ofte of his degre.
In Gernade atte siege hadde he be

Alexandria.

Prussia.

Lithuania. Russia.

Granada.

Algezir. Belmarie.

15 Of Algesir, and riden in Belmarie.
At Lieys was he, and at Satalie,
Whan they were wonne; and in the Greete see
At many a noble arive hadde he be.

At mortal batailles hadde he ben fitene,

20 And foughten for our faith at Tramassene
In lystes thries, and ay slayn his foo.
This ilke worthi knight hadde ben also
Sometyme with the Lord of Palatye,
Ayeyn another hethene in Turkye:

6. Ferre, father, fr. O. E. fyrre.

10. He had sat at the head of the table.

11-22. In alle e is the plural; in Greete, ilke, the definite declension of the adjective.

Layas. Attalia.

Tremassen.

Palathia.

17. Greete see, the Mediterranean. 18. Arive, disembarkation, fr. arriver, which comes from L. L. adripare (ad ripam), to put into shore.

22. Thries. Twice, thrice, were once genitives of two and three.

25 And everemore 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 never yit no vilonye ne sayde
In alle his lyf, unto no maner wight.
30 He was a verray perfight gentil knight.
But for to telle you of his array,

His hors was good, but he ne was not gay.
Of fustyan he wered a gepoun

Al bysmoterud with his haburgeoun.
35 For he was late comen from his viage
And wente for to doon his pilgrimage.

25. He was in the very highest estimation.

28. Vilonye. Such language or conduct as is generally found in a villain (villanus), or boor.

29. Maner wight, kind of man. See note to line 69, extract 10.

31. For to telle. See note to line 10,

extract 8.

33. Gepoun, a short cassock (jupon). 34. Bysmoterud, soiled, smutted, fr. bismoteren, L. Ger. smudern.

Haburgeoun, a small coat of mail, hauberk, fr. O. E. healsbeorg (hals, the neck, and beorgan, to cover).

THE SQUIRE.

1 With him ther was his sone, a yong SQUYER,
A lovyer, and a lusty bacheler,

With lokkes crulle as they were layde in presse.
Of twenty yeer he was of age I gesse.

5 Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,
And wondurly delyver, and gret of strengthe.
And he hadde ben sometyme in chivachie,
In Flaundres, in Artoys, and in Picardie,
And born him wel, as in so litel space,
10 In hope to stonden in his lady grace.
Embrowdid was he, as it were a mede
Al ful of fresshe floures, white and reede.

1. Squire, fr. ecuyer (scutum), literally a shield-bearer.

3. Crulle, curled.

4. Yeer-this word, like hors, has no plural in Chaucer.

6. Delyver, active, nimble, dexterous; said to be the origin of our modern clever (d'lever).

SPECS. ENG. LIT.

7. Chivachie, military expedition, Fr. chevaucher (cheval), to ride. Mr. Burton believes the phrase "Chevy Chase" to be merely a corruption of chivachie.

10. Lady grace :-lady is here a genitive with e fem. dropped (ladye). 11. Embrowdid, embroidered.

C

Syngynge he was, or flowtynge, al the day;

He was as fressh as is the moneth of May.

15 Schort was his goune, with sleeves long and wyde.
Wel cowde he sitte on hors, and faire ryde.

He cowde songes wel make and endite,

Justne and cek daunce, and wel purtray and write.
So hote he lovede, that by nightertale

20 He sleep nomore than doth a nightyngale.
Curteys he was, lowly, and servysable,
And carf byforn his fadur at the table.

16. Fairé:-the e is here, as in hoté afterwards, the adverbial termination. 17-19. Endite, rehearse. Justne, joust. Pourtray, paint. Nightertale, night

time.

20-22. Sleep, slept. Carf, carved: -Strong preterites where we now use weak.

THE PRIORESS.

1 Ther was also a Nonne, a PRIORESSE,
That of hire smylyng was ful symple and coy;
Hire grettest ooth nas but by Seynt Loy;
And sche was clept Madame Englentyne.
5 Ful wel she sang the servise devyne,
Entuned in hire nose ful semyly;
And Frensch sche spak ful faire and fetysly,
Aftur the scole of Stratford atte Bowe,
For Frensch of Parys was to hire unknowe.
10 At mete wel i-taught was sche withalle;
Sche leet no morsel from hire lippes falle,
Ne wette hire fyngres in hire sauce deepe.
Wel cowde sche carie a morsel, and wel keepe,
That no drope ne fil uppon hire breste;

15 In curtesie was sett al hire leste.

Hire overlippe wypude sche so clene,

That in hire cuppe ther was no ferthing sene
Of grees, whan sche dronken hadde hire draught.
Ful semely aftur hire mete sche raught.
20 And sikurly she was of gret disport,

25

And ful plesant, and amyable of port,
And peyned hire to counterfete cheere
Of court, and ben estatlich of manere,
And to ben holden digne of reverence.
But for to speken of hire conscience,
Sche was so charitable and so pitous,
She wolde weepe if that sche sawe a mous
Caught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde.
Of smale houndes hadde sche, that she fedde
30 With rostud fleissh, and mylk, and wastel breed.
But sore wepte sche if oon of hem were deed,
Or if men smot it with a yerde smerte:
And al was conscience and tendre herte.

Ful semely hire wymple i-pynched was;
35 Hire nose streight; hire eyen grey as glas;

40

Hire mouth ful smal, and therto softe and reed;
But sikurly sche hadde a fair foreheed.
It was almost a spanne brood, I trowe;
For hardily sche was not undergrowe.

Ful fetys was hire cloke, as I was waar.
Of smal coral aboute hire arms sche baar
A peire of bedes, gaudid al with grene;
And theron heng a broch of gold ful schene,
On which was first i-written a crowned A,
45 And after that Amor vincit omnia.

17. Ferthing, farthing, a small portion (fourthing).

19. Raught, reached, old pret. 20. Sikurly, surely, fr. Lat. securus. Disport, playfulness.

22-24. Peyned hire, took pains, gave herself trouble. Estatlich, stately, dignified. Digne, worthy (Lat. dignus). 30. Wastel, finest cake, fr. O. Fr. gastel g âteau).

32. Men smot:-men is thought to be the indefin, pronoun here; as the plural would require at least a terminal e to the verb.

34. Wymple i-pynched, her wimple (covering for the head and neck) was gathered becomingly around her.

36-43. Therto, moreover. Hardily seems to mean certainly, surely, in this passage. Fetys, neat. Schene, bright.