Yet faw I brent the shippes hoppefteres,
The hunte yûrangled with the wilde beres ;
The fow freting the child right in the cradel,
The coke yfcalled for all his long ladel :
Nought was foryete by th' infortune of Marte
The carter overridden with his carte;

Under the wheel ful low he lay adoun.

Ther were alfo of Martes divifion

Th' armerer and the bowyer, and the smith,
That forgeth fharpe fwerdes on his stith;

2020

2025

the termination fire or fier was used to denote a female, like trix in Latin. As therefore a female baker was called a bakefter, a female brewer a brewefter, a female webbe or weaver a webbefter, fo, I conceive, a female hopper or dancer was called an hoppefter. It is well known that a ship, in most languages, is confidered as a female.---Though the idea of a thip dancing on the waves be not an unpoetical one, the adjunct hoppefters does not feem fo proper in this place as the bellatrici of The Thefeida, l. vii.;

Vedevi ancor le navi bellatrici,

In voti carri e li volti guaftati.

In another respect Chaucer has improved upon his original, by reprefenting the thips on fire. It thould be obferved that the principal circumftances in Boccace's defcription of this temple of Mars are copied from Statius, 1. vii.

. 2020. The hunte] The huntfman, from the Sax. hunta. See before, ver. 1680, and below, ver. 2630. I know not what to think of the two following lines. Was Chaucer ferious, or did he mean, in this and fome other fimilar paffages, to ridicule the minute and often incongruous defcriptions of the old romancers? The lines are in all the mfl.

. 2017. Th' armerer and the boyer] The editions, and all the mff. except Dr. Afkew's, read-The barbour and the bocher. I was glad to avail myfelf of the authority of those two

And all above depeinted in a tour
Saw I a Conqueft, fitting in gret honour,
With thilke fharpe fwerd over his hed
Yhanging by a fubtil twined thred.
Depeinted was the flaughter of Julius,
Of gret Nero and of Antonius:

2030

All be that thilke time they were unborne,

2035

Yet was hir deth depeinted ther beforne,

By manacing of Mars, right by figure,
So was it fhewed in that purtreiture
As is depeinted in the cercles above,
Who fhal be flaine or elles ded for love.
Sufficeth on enfample in ftories olde;
I may not reken hem alle though I wolde.
The ftatue of Mars upon a carte stood
Armed, and loked grim as he were wood,
And over his hed ther fhinen two figures
Of fterres that ben cleped in fcriptures,
That on Puella, that other Rubeus.
This god of Armes was araied thus;

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2045

A wolf ther flood beforne him at his fete

With eyen red, and of a man he ete:

2050

mff. to infert the armerer inflead of the barbour, and in confequence of that emendation I have ventured (from conjecture only) to fubftitute the boyer for the bocher.

. 2031. With thilke sharpe fewerd] Thilke is from conjec. ture only. The mil. read-the. Sharpe is a diffyllable in other places. See ver. 2028, 2605, 9033.----In the next line I have alfo put rhanging inflead of banging.

With fubtil penfil peinted was this florie,
In redouting of Mars and of his glorie.
Now to the temple of Diane the challe
As shortly as I can i wol me hafte,
To tellen you of the defcriptioun,
Depeinted by the walles up and doun,
Of hunting and of fhamefaft chastitee.
Ther faw I how woful Califtope,
Whan that Diane agreved was with here,
Was turned from a woman til a bere,
And after was she made the lodefterre:

Thus was it peinted, I can fay no ferre ;
Hire fone is eke a fterre as men may fee.
Ther faw I Dane yturned til a tree,

I mene not hire the goddeffe Diane,

2055

2060

2065

But Peneus daughter, which that highte Dane.
Ther faw I Atteon an hart ymaked,

For vengeance that he faw Diane all naked:

J faw how that his houndes have him caught,

And freten him, for that they knew him naught. Yet peinted was a litel forthermore

How Athalante hunted the wilde bore,

2071

And Meleagre, and many another mo,

For which Diane wroughte hem care and wo.
Ther faw I many another wonder storie,
The which me lifte not drawen to memorie.

This goddeffe on an hart ful heye fete,

With fmale houndes all aboute hire fete,

2075

And undernethe hire feet fhe hadde a mone,
Wexing it was, and fhulde wanen fone.
In gaudy grene hire statue clothed was,
With bow in hond, and arwes in a cas.
Hire eyen cafte fhe ful low adoun,
Ther Pluto hath his derke regioun.

2080

A woman travailling was hire beforne,

2085

But for hire childe fo longe was unborne

Ful pitoufly Lucina gan fhe call,

And fayed; Helpe, for thou mayeft befte of all.
Wel coude he peinten lifly that it wrought,

That everich fhuld an hundred knightes bring,
The bataille to darreine, as I you told;

And til Athenes hir covenant for to hold,

2ICO

Hath everich of hem brought an hundred knightes
Wel armed for the werre at alle rightes.

And fikerly, ther trowed many a man
That never fithen that the world began,
As for to speke of knighthood of hir hond,
As fer as God hath maked fee and lond,

2105

N'as of fo fewe fo noble a compagnie ;
For every wight that loved chevalrie,

And wold his thankes han a paffant name,

Hath praied that he might ben of that game, 2110
And wel was him that therto chofen was,
For if ther fell to-morwe fwiche a cas,
Ye knowen wel that every lufty knight
That loveth par amour, and hath his might,
Were it in Englelond or ellefwher,
They wold hir thankes willen to be ther.
To fight for a lady, a benedicite!
It were a lufty fighte for to fe.

And right fo ferden they with Palamon.
With him ther wenten knightes many on
Som wol ben armed in an habergeon,
And in a breft plate, and in a gipon;
And fom wol have a pair of plates large,
And fom wol have a Pruce fheld or a targe;
Som wol ben armed on his legges wele,
And have an axe, and fom a mace of ftele.
Ther n'is no newe guise that it n'as old.
Armed they weren as I have you told
Everich after his opinion.

2115

2120

2125

Ther maist thou fe coming with Palamon 2130 Licurge himself, the grete King of Trace;

Blake was his berd, and manly was his face;

.2128. Armed they weren] This is upon the authority of

ed. M: The mff, read-Armed were they.