lovers. Our hero bids adieu in pathetic terms to the Tower of Music, where he first saw Pucell. Next he proceeds to the Tower of GEOMETRY, which is wonderfully built and adorned. From thence he feeks ASTRONOMY, who refides in a gorgeous pavilion pitched in a fragrant and flowery meadow: fhe delivers a prolix lecture on the feveral operations of the mind, and parts of the body. He then, accompanied with his greyhounds, enters an extenfive plain overfpread with flowers; and looking forward, fees a flaming star over a tower. Going forward, he perceives that this tower stands on a rough precipice of fteel, decorated with beafts of various figures. As he advances towards it, he comes to a mighty fortrefs, at the gate of which were hanging a fhield and helmet, with a marvellous horn. He blows the horn with a blast that shook the tower, when a knight appears; who, afking his bufinefs, is anfwered, that his name is Graunde Amoure, and that he was just arrived from the tower of DOCTRINE. He is welcomed by the knight, and admitted. This is the caftle of CHIVALRY. The next morning he is conducted by the porter STEDFASTNESS into the base court, where stood a tower of prodigious height, made of jafper: on its fummit were four images of \ armed knights on horfes of fteel, which, on moving a secret fpring, could represent a turney. Near this tower was an antient temple of Mars: within it was his ftatue, or picture, of gold, with the figure of FORTUNE on her wheel; and the walls were painted with the fiege of Troy'. He

fupplicates Mars, that he may be enabled to fubdue the monfters which obftruct his paffage to the Tower of Pucell. Mars promifes him affiftance; but advises him first to invoke Venus in her temple. FORTUNE reproves Mars for prefuming to promise affistance; and declares, that all human glory is in the power of herself alone. Amoure is then led by Minerva to king Melyzus, the inventor of tilts and tournaments, who dubs him a knight. He leaves the caftle of CHIVALRY, and on the road meets a perfon, habited like a Fool, named Godfrey Gobilive, who enters into a long difcourse on the falfehood of women'. They both go together

popularity of the ftory, has made it a fubject for painted glafs. DREME CHAUC. v. 322. p. 406. Ŭrr. col. 1.

and with glas

Were al the windowes wel yglafed
Ful clere, and nat an hole ycrafed,
That to beholde it was grete joy;
For wholly all the ftory of Troy
Was in the glaifinge ywrought thus,
Of Hector, and king Priamus,
Achilles, &c.

In our author's defcription of the palace of
Pucell," there was enameled with figures
"curious the fyege of Troy." cap. xxxviii.
Sign. A. iii. edit. 1555. The arras was
the fyege of Thebes. ibid. In the temple
of Mars was alfo "the fege of Thebes de-
"paynted fayre and clere" on the walls.
cap. xxvii. Sign. Q. iii. [See fupr. p. 216.]

Through the fumptuous hall of the caftle, which is painted with the Siege of Thebes, and where many knights are playing at chefs.

A fabulous king of Thrace, who, I think, is mentioned in Caxton's RECUYAL OF THE HYSTORYES OF TROY, now just printed; that is, in the year 1471. Our author appeals to this romance, which he calls the Recule of Troye, as an authentic voucher for the truth of the labours of Hercules. ch. i. By the way, Boccacio's GENEALOGY OF THE GODS is quoted in this romance of Troy, B. ii. ch. xix.

• His father is Davy Drunken nole,

Who never dranke but in a fayre blacke boule.

One

Here he seems to allude to Lydgate's poem,
called Of Jack Wat that could pull the lining
out of a black boll. MS. Afhmol. Oxon. 59.
ii. MSS. Harl. 2251. 12. fol. 14.
Jack Hare is the fame fort of ludicrous
character, who is thus defcribed in Lyd-
gate's Tale of froward Maymonde. MSS.
Laud. D. .31. Bibl. Bodl.

A froward knave pleynly to defcryve,
And a floggard fhortely to declare,
A precious knave that caftith hym never to
thryve,

His mouth weel weet, his flevis riht thred-
bare;

A turnebroche, [turn-fpit] a boy for hogge

of ware,

With louring face noddyng and flumberyng,
Of new cryftened, and called Jakke Hare,
Whiche of a boll can plukke out the lynyng-
These two pieces of Lydgate appear to be

the fame.

f He relates, how Ariftotle, for all his clergy, was fo infatuated with love, that he fuffered the lady, who only laughed at his paffion, to bridle and ride him about his chamber. This story is in Gower, CONF. AMANT. lib. viii. fol. clxxxix. b. edit. ut fupr. [See fupr. p. 25.]

I faw there Ariftote alfo

Whom that the quene of Grece alfo
Hath brideled, &c.

Then

into the temple of Venus, who was now holding a folemn affembly, or court, for the redrefs of lovers. Here he meets with SAPIENCE, who draws up a fupplication for him, which he presents to Venus. Venus, after having exhorted him to be conftant, writes a letter to Pucell, which fhe fends by Cupid. After offering a turtle, he departs with Godfrey Gobilive, who is overtaken by a lady on a palfrey, with a knotted whip in her hand, which fhe frequently exercifes on Godfrey. Amoure asks her name, which, fhe anfwers, is CORRECTION; that the lived in the Tower of CHASTITY, and that he who affumed the name of Godfrey Gobilive was FALSE REPORT, who had just escaped from her prison, and disguised himself in a fool's coat. She invites Amoure to her Tower, where they are admitted by Dame MEASURE; and led into a hall with a golden roof, in the midst of which was a carbuncle of a prodigious fize, which illuminated the room. They are next introduced to

Then follows a long and ridiculous story
about Virgil, not the poet, but a necro-
mancer framed in the dark ages, who is
deceived by the tricks of a lady at the court
of Rome; on whom, however, her para-
mour takes ample revenge by means of his
fkill in mufic. ch. xxix. I have mentioned
this Virgil, fupr. vol. i. p. 407. See alfo,
fupr. p. 25. Where I have falfely fuppofed
him to be the poet. This fiction is also
alluded to by Gower, and added to that of
Ariftotle's, among his examples of the
power of love over the wifeft men. ubi fupr.
And eke Virgile of acqueintance
I figh [faw] where he the maiden praid
Which was the daughter, as men faid,
Of themperour whilom of Rome.
There is an old book, printed in 1510,
entitled, "VIRGILIUS. This boke treat-
"eth of the lyfe of Virgilius, and of his
"deth, and many marvayles that he did
"in his lyfetyme by whitchcraft and ni-

gramanfy, thorouhg the help of the de"vylls of hell." Coloph. "Thus endeth "the lyfe of Virgilius with many dyvers confaytes that he dyd. Emprynted in the

66

"cytie of Andewarpe by me John Doef"borche, dwellyng at the Camer Porte." With cuts, octavo. It was in Mr. Weft's library. Virgil's Life is mentioned by Laneham among other romantic pieces, Killinw. Caffle. p. 34. edit. 1575. 12°. This fictitious perfonage, however, feems to be formed on the genuine Virgil, because, from the fubject of his eighth Eclogue, he was fuppofed to be an adept in the mysteries of magic and incantation.

In another place he is called FOLLY, and faid to ride on a mare. When chivalry was at its heighth in France, it was a difgrace to any perfon, not below the degree of a gentleman, to ride a mare.

h From Chaucer, Roм. ROSE, V. 1120.

Urr. p. 223. a. RICHESSE is crowned
with the costlieft gems,

But all before full fubtilty
A fine carboncle sel sawe I,
The stone fo cleare was and bright,
That al fo fone as it was night,
Men mightin fene to go for nede
A mile or two in length and brede.
Such light yfprange out of that ftone.

But

a fair chamber; where they are welcomed by many famous women of antiquity, Helen, quene Proferpine, the lady Medufe, Penthefilea, &c. The next morning, CORRECTION fhews our hero a marvellous dungeon, of which SHAMFASTNESSE is the keeper; and here FALSE REPORT is feverely punished. He now continues his expedition, and near a fountain obferves a fhield and a horn hanging. On the fhield was a lion rampant of gold in a filver field, with an infcription, importing, that this was the way to La Bell Pucell's habitation, and that whoever blows the horn will be affaulted by a most formidable giant. He founds the horn: when instantly the giant appeared, twelve feet high, armed in brafs, with three heads, on each of which was a ftreamer, with the infcriptions Falsehood, Imagination, Perjury. After an obftinate combat, he cuts off the giant's three heads with his fword Claraprudence. He next meets three fair ladies, VANITY, GOOD-OPERATION, FIDELITY. They conduct him to their castle with mufic; where, being admitted by the portress OBSERVANCE, he is healed of his wounds by them. He proceeds and meets PERSEVERANCE, who acquaints him, that Pucell continued ftill to love: that, after fhe had read Venus's letter, STRANGENESS and DISDAIN came to her, to diffuade her from loving him; but that foon after, PEACE and MERCY' arrived, who foon undid all that DISDAIN and STRANGENESS had faid, advising her to fend PERSEVERANCE

But this is not uncommon in romance, and is an Arabian idea. See fupr. vol. i. p. 378. In the Hiftory of the SEVEN CHAMPIONS, a book compiled in the reign of James the first by one Richard Johnson, and containing fome of the most capital fictions of the old Arabian romance, in the adventure of the ENCHANTED FOUNTAIN, the knights entering a dark hall, "tooke off their "gauntletts from their left hands whereon

they wore marvellous great and fine diamonds, that gave fo much light, that they "might plainly fee all things that were in

"the hall, the which was very great and "wide, and upon the walls were painted "the figures of many furious fiends, &c." SEC. P. ch. ix. And in Maundeville's TRAVELLS," The emperour hath in his "chamber a pillar of gold, in which is a "ruby and carbuncle a foot long, which "lighteth all his chamber by night, &c." ch. lxxii.

MERCY is no uncommon divinity in the love-fyftem of the troubadours. See M. Millot's HIST. LITT. DES TROUBAD. tom. i. p. 181. Par. 1774.

to

to him with a fhield. This fhield PERSEVERANCE now presents, and invites him to repose that night with her cousin COMFORT, who lived in a moated manor-place under the fide of a neighbouring wood. Here he is ushered into a

*There is a defcription of a magnificent manor-place, curious for its antiquity, in an old poem, written before the year 1300, entitled a Difputation bytwene a Cryflen man and a Jewe, perhaps tranflated from the French, MS. Vernon. fol. 301. ut fupr. [See Carpentier's Suppl. du Cange, Lat. Gloff. V.RADIMERE.]

Forth heo (a) wenten on the ffeld
To an hul (6) thei bi held,
The eorthe clevet (c) as a scheld (d),
On the grownde grene:
Some fonde thei on (e) stîh,
Thei went theron (ƒ) radly;
The criften mon hedde (g) farly

What hit mihte mene.
Aftir that ftiz lay a ftrete,
Clere i pavet with (b) gete,
Thei fond a Maner that was mete

With murthes ful schene ;

Wel corven and wroht
With halles heize uppon (i) loft,
To a place weore thei brouht

As paradys the (4) clene.
Ther was foulen (1), song,
Much murthes among,
Hofe lenge wolde longe

Fful luitell hym thouht:
On vche a fyde of the halle,
Pourpell, pelure, and (m) palle;
Wyndowes in the walle

Was wonderli (») i wrouht :

There was (6) dofers on the (p) dees,
Hofe the cheefe wolde (q) ches
That never richere was,

In no fale (r) fouht:
Both the mot and the mold
Schone al on red golde

The criftene mon hadde ferli of that (s) folde,
That hider was brouzt.

Ther was erbes* growen grene,
Spices fpringynge bi twene,
Such hadde I not fene,

Ffor fothe as I say:

The thruftell () fonge full frhille,
He newed notes at his wille;
Ffaire flowers to fille,

Ffine in that ffay:

And al the rounde table good,
Hou Arthur in eorthe (u) zod,
Sum fate and fum ftod,

O the grounde grey:
Hit was a wonder fiht
As thei wer quik men (w) diht
To feo hou they (x) play.
Together with fome of his expreffions, F
do not always understand this writer's con-
text and tranfitions, which have great
abruptnefs. In what he fays of king Ar-
thur, I fuppofe he means, that king Ar-
thur's round table, and his knights turney-
ing, were painted on the walls of the hall.

(d) Shield.

(a) They. (b) Hill. (c) Cleaved. (e) Road. Way. Cavern ascent. (f) Readily. Eafily. (g) Was very attentive. Heeded. (b) Paved with gritt, i. e. fand, or gravel. (i) With halls built high. (k) Bright, or pleasant, as Paradife. (1) Fowls, birds. (m) The guests fate on each fide of the hall, cloathed in purple, furs, or ermine, and rich robes. (n) Wonderfully wrought. (0) Doffer is a basket carried on the back. Lat. Dorfarium. Chaucer's H. F. iii. 850. "Or elfe hutchis or Doffers." We must here understand Provisions. (p) Dees is here the table. (9) Whoever would chuse the best. (r) Hall. Lat. Sala. (s) House. (1) Thrush. (u) Yod, went. Walked on earth. (w) As if they were living men. (x) To fee their sports, tournaments, &c.

* An Herbary, for furnishing domestic medicines, always made a part of our antient gardens. In Hawes s poem, now before us, in the delicious garden of the castle of Mufic, "Amidds the garden "there was an herber fayre and quadrante." ch. xviii. In the Gloffary, to Chaucer, Erbers is abfurdly interpreted Arbours. NoN. PR. T. v. 1081. "Or erve ive growing in our erberis." Chaucer is here enumerating various medical herbs, ufually planted in erberis, or herbaries.

chamber