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

THE LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN. 283
Of winter, that him naked made and mate,1 And, leaning on mine elbow and my side
And with his sword of cold so sore grieved; The longi day I shope me20 to abide,
Now hath th' attemper 2 sun all that releaved3 For nothing elles, and I shall not lie,
That naked was, and clad it new again. But for to look upon the daisy;
The smalle fowles, of the season fain,4 That men by reason well it calle may
That of the panter 5 and the net be scap'd, The Daye's-eye, or else the Eye of Day,
Upon the fowler, that them made awhap'd 6 The empress and the flow'r of flowers all.
In winter, and destroyed had their brood, I pray to God that faire may she fall!
In his despite them thought it did them good And all that love flowers, for her sake:
To sing of him, and in their song despise But, nathelesse, ween not 21 that I make 22
The foule churl, that, for his covetise,7 In praising of the Flow'r against the Leaf,
Had them betrayed with his sophistry.s No more than of the corn against the sheaf;
This was their song: " The fowler we defy, For as to me is lever none nor lother,23
And all his craft:" and somel sunge clear I n'am withholden yet with neither n' other.2
Layes of love, that joy it was to hear, Nor I n'ot25 who serves Leaf, nor who the Flow'r;
In worshipping 9 and praising of their make; 10 Well brooke they 26 their service or labour!
And for the blissful newe summer's sake, For this thing is all of another tun,27
Upon the branches full of blossoms soft, Of old story, ere such thing was begun.
In their delight they turned them full oft, When that the sun out of the south gan west,
And sungi, "Blessed be Saint Valentine! 11 And that this flow'r gan close, and go to rest,
For on his day I chose you to be mine, For darkness of the night, the which she dread; 2
Withoute r6penting, my hearte sweet." Home to my house full swiftly I me sped,
And therewithal their beaks began to meet, To go to rest, and early for to rise,
Yielding honohr, and humble obeisances, To see this flower spread, as I devise.29
To love, and did their other observances And in a little arbour that I have,
That longen unto Love and to Nature; That benched was of turfes fresh y-grave,30
Construe that as you list, I do no cure.12 I bade men shouldi me my couchi make;
And those that hadde done unkindeness,l3 For dainty,31 of the newe summer's sake,
As doth the tidife, for newfangleness,l4 I bade them strowe flowers on my bed.
Besoughte mercy for their trespassing, When I was laid, and had mine eyen hid,
And humblely sange their repenting, I fell asleep; within an hour or two,
And swore upon the blossoms to be true, Me mette 32 how I lay in the meadow tho,3
So that their mates would upon them rue,5 To see this flow'r that I love so and dread.
And at the laste made their accord.16 And from afar came walking in the mead
All 17 found they Danger 18 for a time a lord, The God of Love, and in his hand a queen;
Yet Pity, through her stronge gentle might, And she was clad in royal habit green;
Forgave, and made mercy pass aright A fret 34 of gold she hadde next her hair,
Through Innocence, and ruled Courtesy. And upon that a white corown she bare,
But I ne call not innocence folly' With flowrons 35 small, and, as I shall not lie,
Nor false pity, for virtue is the mean, For all the world right as a daisy
As Ethic 19 saith, in such manner I mean. Y-crowned is, with white leaves lite,36
And thus these fowlis, void of all malice, So were the flowrons of her crowne white.
Accorded unto Love, and lefte vice For of one pearle, fine, orientiil,
Of hate, and sangen all of one accord, Her white crowne was y-maked all,
" Welcome, Summer, our governor and lord!" For which the white crown above the green
And Zephyrus and Flora gentilly Made her like a daisy for to see'n,37
Gave to the flowers, soft and tenderly, Consider'd eke her fret of gold above.
TheirsweetBbreath, and madethemforto spread, Y-clothed was this mighty God of Love
As god and goddess of the flow'ry mead; In silk embroider'd, full of greene greves,38
In which me thought I mighte, day by day, In which there was a fret of red rose leaves,
Dwellen alway, the jolly month of May, The freshest since the world was first begun.
Withoute sleep, withoute meat or drink. His gilt hair was y-crowned with a sun,
Adown full softly I began to sink, Instead of gold, for 39 heaviness and weight;
1 Dejected, lifeless. 2 Temperate. 22 Rhyme, make (this poem).
3 Furnished anew with leaves. 23 Neither is more nor less liked.
4 Glad. 5 Draw-net, bag-net. 24 I am not bound by, holden to, either the one or the
6 Terrified, confounded. other. 25 Nor do I know.
7 Greed. 8 Stratagems, deceptions. 26 Much may they profit by-well may they enjoy.
9 Honouring. 1o Mate. 27 Wine of another tun-a quite different matter.
11 See " The Assembly of Fowls," pages 220-221. 28 Dreaded. 29 Describe.
12 I care nothing. 30 With turfs freshly dug or cut. Compare the de13 Committed offence against natural laws. scription of the arbour in "The Flower and the Leaf,"
14 The titmouse, or any other small bird, which some- page 226.
times brings up the cuckoo's young when its own have 31 Pleasure. 32 I dreamed.
been destroyed. See note 24, page 223. 33 Then. 31 Band.
15 Take pity. 16 Reconciliation. 35 Florets; little flowers on the disk of the mainflower;
17 Although. 18 Anger, disdain. French, "fleuron."
19 The Ethics of Aristotle. 36 Small. 37 To look upon.
20 Resolved, prepared. 21 Do not fancy. 38 Boughs. 39 In order to avoid.