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

276 POEMS OF GEOFFREY CHAUCER.
Lived above all princesses. That we were both content and paid; 12
Now is befall'n, as ye may see; And me to comfort and to please,
To gather these said apples three, And my heart for to put at ease,
I have not fail'd, against the day, She took great pain in little while,
Thitherward to take the way, And thus hath brought us to this isle,
Weening to speed 1 as I had oft. As ye may see; wherefore each one
But when I came, I found aloft I pray you thank her one and one,
My sister, which that here stands, As heartily as ye can devise,
Having those apples in her hands, Or imagine in any wise."
Advising 2 them, and nothing said, At once there then men mightM see'n,
But look'd as she were well apaid: 3 A world of ladies fall on kneen
And as I stood her to behold, Before my lady,Thinking how my joys were cold, Thanking her, and placing themselves at her
Since I these apples have not might,4 commandment. Then the queen sent the aged
Even with that so came this knight, lady to the knight, to learn of him why he had
And in his arms, of me unware, done her all this woe; and when the messenger
Me took, and to his ship me bare, had discharged her mission, telling the knight
And said, though him I ne'er had seen, that in the general opinion he had done amiss,
Yet had I long his lady been; he fell down suddenly as if dead for sorrow and
Wherefore I shoulde with him wend, repentance. Only with great difficulty, by the
And he would, to his life's end, queen herself, was he restored to consciousness
My servant be; and gan to sing, and comfort; but though she spoke kind and
As one that had won a rich thing. hope-inspiring words, her heart was not in her
Then were my spirits from me gone speech
So suddenly every one,
That in me appear'd but death, For her intent was, to his barge
For I felt neither life nor breath, Him for to bring against the eve,
Nor good nor harme none I knew,' With certain ladies, and take leave,
The sudden pain me was so new, And pray him, of his gentleness,
That had not the hasty grace be 5 To suffer her 13 thenceforth in peace,
Of this lady, that from the tree As other princes had before;
Of her gentleness so hied,6 And from thenceforth, for evermore,
Me to comf6rten, I had died; She would him worship in all wise
And of her three apples she one That gentlenesse might devise;
Into mine hand there put anon, And pain her 14 wholly to fulfil,
Which brought again my mind and breath, In honour, his pleasire and will.
And me recover'd from the death. And during thus this knighte's woe,Wherefore to her so am I hold,7 Present 15 the queen and other mo',
That for her all things do I wo'ld, My lady and many another wight,For she was leach 8 of all my smart, Ten thousand shippes at a sight
And from great pain so quit9 my heart. I saw come o'er the wavy flood,
And as God wot, right as ye hear, With sail and oar; that, as I stood
Me to comf6rt with friendly cheer, Them to behold, I gan marvail
She did her prowess and her might. From whom might come so many a sail;
And truly eke so did this knight, For, since the time that I was born,
In that he could; and often said, Such a navy therebeforn
That of my woe he was ill paid,'0 Had I not seen, nor so array'd,
And curs'd the ship that him there brought, That for the sight my hearte play'd
The mast, the master that it wrought. Ay to and fro within my breast;
And, as each thing must have an end, For joy long was ere it would rest.
My sister here, our bother friend,l For there were sailis full of flowers; 1
Gan with her words so womanly After, castles with huge tow'rs,l7
This knight entreat, and cunningly, Seeming full of armes bright,
For mine honofr and hers als6, That wond'rous lusty 18 was the sight;
And said that with her we should go With large tops, and mastis long,
Both in her ship, where she was brought, Richly depaint' and rear'd among.'9
Which was so wonderfully wrought, At certain times gan repair
So clean, so rich, and so array'd, Smalle birdes down from the air,
1 Expecting to succeed. 2 Regarding, gazing on. and to you. In the same way, Reason, in Troilus'
3 Well satisfied. 4 Might not have. soliloquy on the impending loss of his mistress, is made,
5 Had it not been for the prompt kindness. addressing Troilus and Cressida, to speaks of "your
6 Hastened. 7 Holden, obliged. bother," or "bothe," love. 12 Satisfied.
8 Physician. 9 Delivered. 13 That is, to let her dwell. 14 Make her utmost efforts.
1o Distressed, ill-pleased with himself. 15 (There being) present.
11 "Your brother friend," is the common reading; 16 Embroidered with flowers.
but the phrase has no apparent applicability; and per- 17 High embattled poops and forecastles, as in me.
haps the better reading is "our bother friend "-that diaeval ships of war. 18 Pleasant.
is, the lady who has proved herself a friend both to me 19 Raised among them.