The Canterbury tales and Faerie queene &c., &c., &c., ed. for popular perusal with current illustrations and explanatory notes, by D. Laing Purves.

THE SQUIRE'S TALE. 121
33ut finally, thus at the last it stood, And goodly for to see, and humble, and free,
That fortune wouldb that he muste twin 1 He saw upon a time a kitd flee,
Out of that place which that I was in. And suddenly he loved this kite so,
WVhe'er 2 me was woe, it is no questi6n; That all his love is clean from me y-go:
I cannot make of it descripti6n. And hath his trothe falsed in this wise.
For one thing dare I telle boldely, Thus hath the kite my love in her service,
I know what is the pain of death thereby; And I am lorn 9 withouti remedy."
Such harm I felt, for he might not byleve.3 And with that word this falcon gan to cry,
So on a day of me he took his leave, And swooned eft10 in Canac6i's barme.1l
So sorrowful eke, that I ween'd verily, Great was the sorrow, for that hawke's harm,
That he had felt as muche harm as I, That Canact and all her women made;
When that I heard him speak, and saw his hue. They wist not how they might the falcon glade.12
But natheless, I thought he was so true, But Canace home bare her in her lap,
And eke that he repairs should again And softely in plasters gan her wrap,
Within a little while, sooth to sayn, There as she with her beak had hurt herselve.
And reason would eke that he must6 go Now cannot Canace but herbes delve
For his honoiur, as often happ'neth so, Out of the ground, and make salves new
That I made virtue of necessity, Of herb's precious and fine of hue,
And took it well, since that it mustB be. To heale with this hawk; from day to night
As I best might, I hid from him my sorrow, She did her business, and all her might.
And took him by the hand, Saint John to And by her beddt's head she made a mew,13
borrow,4 And cover'd it with velouettis blue,14
And said him thus;'Lo, I am youris all; In sign of truth that is in woman seen;
Be such as I have been to you, and shall.' And all without the mew is painted green,
What he answtr'd, it needs not to rehearse; In which were painted all these falsi fowls,
Who can say bet 5 than he, who can do worse? As be these tidifes,l5 tercelets, and owls;
When he had all well said, then had he done. And pits, on them for to cry and chide,
Therefore behoveth him a full long spoon, Right for despite were painted them beside.
That shall eat with a fiend; thus heard I say. Thus leave I Canact her hawk keeping.
So at the last he must6 forth his way, I will no more as now speak of her ring,
And forth he flew, till he came where him lest. Till it come eft 1G to purpose for to sayn
When it came him to purpose for to rest, How that this falcon got her love again
I trow that he had thilke text in mind, Repentant, as the story telleth us,
That alle thing repairing to his kind By mediati6n of Camballus,
Gladdeth himself; 6 thus say men, as I guess; The kinge's son of which that I you told.
Men love of [proper] kind newfangleness,7 But henceforth I will my process hold
As birdis do, that men in cages feed. To speak of aventures, and of battailes,
For though thou night and day take of them That yet was never heard so great marvailles.
heed, First I will telle you of Cambuscan,
And strew their cago fair and soft as silk, That in his tim6 many a city wan;
And give them sugar, honey, bread, and milk, And after will I speak of Algarsife,
Yet, right anon as that his door is up,8 How he won Theodora to his wife,
He with his feet will spurni down his cup, For whom full oft in great peril he was,
And to the wood he will, and wormes eat; N' had he 17 been holpen by the horse of brass.
So newefangle be they of their meat, And after will I speak of Camball6,s8
And lov6 novelties, of proper kind; That fought in listes with the brethren two
No gentleness of bloode may them bind. For Canact, ere that he might her win;
So far'd this tercelet, alas the day! And where I left I will again begin.
Though he were gentle born, and fresh, and gay,..
1 Depart, separate. 2 Whether. which the refrain is, " In stede of blew, thus may ye
3 Stay; another form is " bleve;" from Anglo-Saxon, were al grene."
"belifan," to remain. Compare German, "bleiben." 15 Supposed to be the titmouse.
4 Witness, pledge. 5 Better. 16 Again, presently. 17 Had he not.
6 This sentiment, as well as the illustration of the 18 Unless we suppose this to be a namesake of the
bird which follows, is taken from the third book of Camballo who was Canace's brother-which is not at
Boethius, " De Consolatione Philosophise," metrum 2. all probable-we must agree with Tyrwhitt that there
It has thus been rendered in Chaucer's translation: is a mistake here; which no doubt Chaucer would have
"All things seek aye to their proper course, and all rectified, if the tale had not been "left half-told." One
things rejoice on their returning again to their na- manuscript reads "Caballo;" and though not much
ture." authority need be given to a difference that may be due
7 Men, by their own-their very-nature, are fond to mere omission of the mark of contraction over the
of novelty, and prone to inconstancy. " a," there is enough in the text to show that another
8 Immediately on his door being opened. person than the king's younger son is intended. The
9 Lost, undone. 10 Again. Squire promises to tell the adventures that befell each
II Lap. 12 Gladden, member of Cambuscan's family; and in thorough con13 Cage. sistency with this plan, and with the canons of chivalric
14 Blue velvets. Blue was the colour of truth, as green story, would be " the marriage of Canace to some knight
was that of inconstancy. In John Stowe's additions to who was first obliged to fight for her with her two
Chaucer's works, printed in 1561, there is "A balade brethren; a method of courtship," adds Tyrwhitt,
whiche Chaucer made against womien inconstaunt," of " very consonant to the spirit of ancient chivalry."