than by quoting a portion of an indignant outbreak, against those who asperse the character of woman, contained in "A Praise of Women." This Poem is usually printed with Chaucer's works, and was considered genuine, till the judicious Tyrwhitt invested it with doubts. And although this eminent critic is of the opinion that it ought not to be imputed to him, considering it as he does, "A part of the heap of rubbish added by John Stowe to the edition of 1561,"1 yet we cannot but observe in it many of the characteristic peculiarities both of style and thought, which distinguish Chaucer. At all events, and if it be a forgery, it will still serve as an illustration of Chaucer, since the copyist was obliged to conform as closely as possible to the sentiments of the author whom he counterfeited.

ALL tho that list of women evil to speke,
And sain of hem worse than they deserve,
I pray to God that hir neckes to breke,

Or on some evil death mote the janglers' sterve;
For every man were holden hem to serve
And do hem worship, honour, and servise,
In every manner that they best coud devise.

For we ought first to think on what manere
They bring us forth, and what pain they endure
First in our birth, and sitte fro yere to yere,

How busely they done their busie cure,*
To keepe us fro every misaventure

In our youth whan we have no might

Our selfe to keepe, neither by day nor night.

1 Tyrwhitt's account of Chaucer's Works.

2 May the praters perish.

3 Since.

4 Care or occupation.

Alas, how may we say on hem but wele,'
Of whom we were y fostered and ybore,

And ben all our succour, and ever true as steele,
And for our sake full oft they succour sore;
Without women were all our joy lore,2
Wherefore we ought all women to obey
In all goodnesse, I can no more say.

Lo! what gentilnesse these women have,
If we coud know it for our rudenesse
How busie they be us for to keepe and save
Both in heale, and also in sicknesse,
And alway right sorrie for our distresse :
In every manner, thus shew they routh,'
That in hem is all goodnesse and truth.

And sith we find in hem gentillnesse and trouth,
Worship, bountie, and kindnesse evermore,
Let never this gentillnesse throgh your slouth
In hir kind trouth be aught forlore,
That in woman is, and hath ben full yore,
For in reverence of the Heaven's Queene,
We ought to worship all women that beene.

For of all creatures that ever wer gat and borne,
This wote we wele, a woman was the best;
By her recovered was the bliss that we had lorne,
And through the woman shall we come to rest,
And ben ysaved, if that our selfe lest ;*
Wherefore me thinketh, if that we had grace,
We oughten honor women in every place.

1 How may we say other than well of them.

3 Pity

2 Lorn, or undone.

4 Choose.

Therefore I rede,' that to our lives end,

Fro this time forth, while that we have space,
That we have trespassed pursue to amend,
Praying our ladie well of alle grace

To bring us unto that blissful place,

There as she and all good women shall be in fere3

In Heaven above, among the angels clere.

1 Advise.

2 Strive.

3 In companionship.

III.

PAINTINGS.-MASCULINE CHARACTERS.

I.

LYCURGE.

THERE mayst thou se coming with Palamon
Lycurge himself, the grete King of Thrace:
Blake was his berd, and manly was his face.
The cercles of his eyen in his hed,
They gloweden betwixen yelwe and red,
And like a griffon looked he about,
With kemped' haires on his browes stout:

His limmes gret, his braunes' hard and stronge,
His shouldres brode, his armes round and longe.
And as the guise was in his contree,

Full high upon a chair of gold stood he,
With four white bolles in the trais."
Instead of cote-armure on his harneis,
With nailes yelwe, and bright as any gold,
He hadde a beres skin, cole-blake for old.
His longe here was kempt behind his bak
As
any ravens fether it shone for blake.

1 Combed.

2 Muscles.

3 Traces.

A wreath of gold arm-gret,' of huge weight,
Upon his head sate ful of stones bright,
Of fine rubins and diamants."

About his chair their wenten white alauns,'
Twenty and mo, as gret as any stere,
To hunten at the leon or the dere,

And folwed him, with mosel' fast ybound,
Colored with gold, and torettes filed round.
An hundred lordes had he in his route,

Armed full well, with hertes sterne and stout.

The Knightes Tale.

II.

EMETRIUS.

WITH Arcita, in stories as men find,
The great Emetrius the King of Inde,
Upon a stede bay, trapped in stele,
Covered with cloth of gold, diapred' wele,
Came riding like the god of armes Mars.
His cote-armure was of a cloth of Tars,'
Couched with perles, white and round and grete.
His sadel was of brent gold new ybete;
A mantelet upon his shouldres hanging
Bret-ful of rubies red, as fire sparkling.
His crispe hair like ringes was yronne,

And that was yelwe, and glittered as the sonne.

1As thick as the arm. 2 Rubies and diamonds. 3 Mastiff dogs. 4 Muzzle. 5 Rings, similar to those now used on horse-harness, and which were ranged or filed around the collars of dogs for the purpose of fastening the hawk's leash to the jesses.

6 Figured.

7 A kind of silk.

8 Inlaid.

9 A mantle.