Dores, and wyndowes alle, Beten yn the halle As hyt wer voys of thunder, &c. As he fate tho dismayde, And helde hymfelfe betrayde, Steedes herde he naye, &c " This castle is called, "A paleys queynt of gynne," and, "by "negremancye ymaketh of fayrye '." CHAP. Cviii. The mutual fidelity of two thieves. A like story is in Boccace's DECAMERON, in the CENTO NOVELLE ANTICHE', and in Gower's CONFESSIO AMANTIS". The story, however, as it ftands in Gower, feems to be copied from one which is told by the hermit Barlaam to king Avenamore, in the fpiritual romance, written originally in Greek about the year 800, by Joannes Damafcenus a Greek monk", and tranflated into Latin before the thirteenth century, entitled, BARLAAM and JoSAPHAT. But Gower's immediate author, if not Boccace, was perhaps Vincent of Beauvais, who wrote about the year 1290, and who has incorporated Damafcenus's history of Barlaam and Jofaphat, who were canonifed, into his SPECULUM HISTORIALE a. As Barlaam's fable is probably the remote but original source of Shakespeare's CASKETTS in the MERCHANT OF VENICE, I will give the reader a tranflation of the paffage in which it occurs, from the Greek original, never yet printed. "The king commanded four chefts to be made: two of which "were covered with gold, and fecured by golden locks, but 66 "filled with the rotten bones of human carcaffes. The other "two were overlaid with pitch, and bound with rough cords; "but replenished with pretious ftones and the most exquisite gems, and with ointments of the richest odour. He called his "nobles together; and placing these chefts before them, asked "which they thought the most valuable. They pronounced "those with the golden coverings to be the most pretious, fuppofing they were made to contain the crowns and girdles of "the king'. The two chefts covered with pitch they viewed "with contempt. Then faid the king, I prefumed what would "be your determination: for ye look with the eyes of fenfe. "But to difcern bafeness or value, which are hid within, we "must look with the eyes of the mind. He then ordered the "golden chefts to be opened, which exhaled an intolerable ❝ftench, and filled the beholders with horror." In the METRICAL LIVES OF THE SAINTS, written about the year 1300, these chefts are called four fates, that is, four vats or veffels '• I make no apology for giving the reader a translation from the fame Greek original, which is now before me, of the ftory of the Boy told in the DECAMERon. "A king had an only fon. "As soon as he was born, the phyficians declared, that if he "was allowed to fee the fun, or any fire, before he arrived at "the age of twelve years, he would be blind. The king com"manded an apartment to be hewed within a rock, into which "no light could enter; and here he shut up the boy, totally in "the dark, yet with proper attendants, for twelve years. At the "end of which time, he brought him abroad from his gloomy "chamber, and placed in his view, men, women, gold, pre"tious stones, rich garments, chariots of exquifite workmanship "drawn by horses with golden bridles, heaps of purple tapestry, "armed knights on horfeback, oxen and fheep. 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 66 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 feen. 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 intercourse 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 afcetic of the Greek church, and probably before the tenth century. Leland mentions DAMASCENUS DE GESTIS BARLAAM ET JOSAPHAT, as one of the manuscripts which he saw 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 ftory of Argus and Mercury, with fome romantic additions. Mercury comes to Argus in the character of a minstrel, and lulls him to fleep by telling him tales and finging, incepit more hiftrionico fabulas dicere, et plerumque CHAP. cxii. The fon of king Gorgonius is beloved by his ftep-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 fecond day, each of whom chufes his antagonist by touching with his spear the shield 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 serious, 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 asleep 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 desolate forest. I sawe never none swyche '. The oon bar of gold a bafyn, m Of fylk that was goode and ryche. CHAP. CXVI. The queen of Pepin king of France died in childbed, leaving a fon. He married a fecond wife, who bore |