"drawn by horses with golden bridles, heaps of purple tapestry, "armed knights on horfeback, oxen and sheep. These were "all distinctly pointed out to the youth: but being most pleased "with the women, he defired to know by what name they "were called. An efquire of the king jocofely told him, that "they were devils who catch men. Being brought to the "king, he was asked which he liked beft of all the fine things "he had seen. He replied, the devils who catch men, &c." I need not enlarge on Boccace's improvements ".

This romantic legend of Barlaam and Jofaphat, which is a history of confiderable length, is undoubtedly the compofition of one who had an intercourfe with the east: and from the ftrong traces which it contains of the oriental mode of moralifing, appears plainly to have been written, if not by the monk whose name it bears, at least by fome devout and learned ascetic of the Greek church, and probably before the tenth century.

Leland mentions DAMASCENUS DE GESTIS BARLAAM ET JosAPHAT, as one of the manufcripts which he faw in Nettleyabbey near Southampton ".

CHAP. CX. The life of the knight Placidus, or Placidas *, afterwards called Euftacius.

It occurs in Caxton's GOLDEN LEGENDE. Among the Cotton manuscripts there is a metrical legend or romance on this story *.

CHAP. CXI. The claffical story of Argus and Mercury, with some romantic additions. Mercury comes to Argus in the cha, racter of a minstrel, and lulls him to fleep by telling him tales and finging, incepit more hiftrionico fabulas dicere, et plerumque

CHAP. cxii. The son of king Gorgonius is beloved by his step-mother. He is therefore fent to feek his fortune in a foreign country, where he ftudies phyfic; and returning, heals his father of a dangerous disease, who recovers at the fight of him. The step-mother, hearing of his return, falls fick, and dies at feeing him.

CHAP. cxiii. The tournaments of the rich king Adonias. A party of knights arrive the first day, who lay their shields afide, in one place. The fame number arrives the second day, each of whom chufes his antagonist by touching with his spear the fhield of one of the first day's party, not knowing the

owner.

The most curious anecdote of chivalry, now on record, occurs in the ecclefiaftical history of Spain. Alphonfus the ninth, about the year 1214, having expelled the Moors from Toledo, endeavoured to establish the Roman miffal in the place of faint Ifidore's. This alarming innovation was obftinately opposed by the people of Toledo; and the king found that his project would be attended with almost infuperable difficulties. The contest at length between the two miffals grew fo ferious, that it was mutually refolved to decide the controverfy, not by a theological difputation, but by fingle combat; in which the champion of the Toletan miffal proved victorious *.

Many entertaining paffages relating to trials by fingle combat may be seen in the old Imperial and Lombard laws. In Caxton's BOKE OF THE FAYTTES OF ARMES AND OF CHIVALRYE, printed at Westminster in the year 1489, and translated from the French of Christine of Pisa, many of the chapters towards the end are compiled from that fingular monument of Gothic legislation.

CHAP. CXV. An intractable elephant is lulled afleep in a forest by the fongs and blandishments of two naked virgins. One of them cuts off his head, the other carries a bowl of his blood to

a See the MoZARABES, or Miffal of faint Ifidore, printed at Toledo, by the

command of Cardinal Ximenes, A. D 1500, fol.

the

the king. Rex vero gavifus eft valde, et ftatim fecit fieri PURPURAM, et multa alia, de eodem fanguine.

In this wild tale, there are circumftances enough of general analogy, if not of peculiar parallelism, to recall to my memory the following beautiful description, in the manufcript romance of SYR LAUNFAL, of two damfels, whom the knight unexpectedly meets in a defolate forest.

Har heddys' wer dyzt well withall,
Everych hadde on a jolyf coronall,

With fixty gemmys and mo*.

Har faces was whyte as fnowe on downe,
Har rode was red, har eyn were broune,

k

I fawe never none fwyche'.

The oon bar of gold a bafyn,

That other a towayle whyt and fyn,

Of fylk that was goode and ryche.

Har kercheves wer well fchyreTM

Arayd with ryche gold wyre, &c. "

CHAP. cxvi. The queen of Pepin king of France died in childbed, leaving a fon. He married a fecond wife, who bore

a fon within a year. These children were fent abroad to be nurfed. The furviving queen, anxious to fee her child, defired that both the boys might be brought home. They were fo exceedingly alike, that the one could not be distinguished from the other, except by the king. The mother begged the king to point out her own fon. This he refused to do, till they were both grown up; left she should fpoil him by too fond a partiality. Thus they were both properly treated with uniform affection, and without excefs of indulgence.

A favorite old romance is founded on the indistinctible likeness of two of Charlemagne's knights, Amys and Amelion; originally celebrated by Turpin, and placed by Vincent of Beauvais under the reign of Pepin •.

CHAP. CXVii. The law of the emperor Frederick, that whoever rescued a virgin from a rape might claim her for his wife.

CHAP. CXviii. A knight being in Egypt, recovers a thousand talents which he had entrusted to a faithlefs friend, by the artifice of an old woman.

This tale is in Alphonfus. And in the CENTO NOVELLE ANTICHE .

CHAP. cxix. A king had an oppreffive Seneshall, who paffing through a forest, fell into a deep pit, in which were a lion, an ape, and a ferpent. A poor man who gathered sticks in the forest hearing his cries, drew him up: together with the lion, the ape, and the serpent. The Seneshall returned home, promifing to reward the poor man with great riches. riches. Soon afterwards the poor man went to the palace to claim the promised reward; but was ordered to be cruelly beaten by the seneshall. In the mean time, the lion drove ten affes laden with gold to the poor man's cottage: the ferpent brought him a pretious stone of three colours: and the ape, when he came to the forest on his daily business, laid him heaps of wood. The poor man, in confequence of the virtues of the ferpent's pretious stone,

SPECUL. HIST. xxiii. c. 162. f. 329. b.

P Nov, Ixxiv.

which he fold, arrived to the dignity of knighthood, and acquired ample poffeffions. But afterwards he found the pretious stone in his cheft, which he presented to the king. The king having heard the whole story, ordered the feneshall to be put to death for his ingratitude, and preferred the poor man to his

office.

This story occurs in Symeon Seth's tranflation of the celebrated Arabian fable-book called CALILAH U DUMNAH. It is recited by Matthew Paris, under the year 1195, as a parable which king Richard the first, after his return from the east, was often accustomed to repeat, by way of reproving those ungrateful princes who refused to engage in the crufade'. It is verfified by Gower, who omits the lion, as Matthew Paris does the ape, in the fifth book of the CONFESSIO AMANTIS'. He thus describes the services of the ape and ferpent to the poor man, who gained his livelihood by gathering sticks in a forest.

He gan his ape anone behold,
Which had gadred al aboute,
Of ftickes here and there a route,
And leyde hem redy to his honde,
Whereof he made his truffe and bond
From daie to daie.

Upon a time and as he drough
Towarde the woodde, he figh befide
The great gaftly ferpent glide,
Till that she came in his presence,
And in hir kynde a reverence
She hath hym do, and forthwith all
A ftone more bright than a christall
Out of hir mouth to fore his waye
She lett down fall.

P. 444. This work was tranflated into English under the title of "Donies 66 MORALL PHILOSOPHIE, tranflated from “the Indian tongue, 1570." Black Letter

with woodden cuts, 4to. But Doni was the Italian translator.

HIST. MAJ. p. 179. Edit. Wats. • fol. 110. b.