But he did not, after all, avoid all interference with the operations of nature; and as one evidence that his work was built on nature, he commences talking about her. He refreshes the earth with sweet April rains and strows it with flowers; he inspires the green and tender shoots with the fragrant breath of spring, and nature stirs all energies and ages, when the pilgrimage commences. "When that sweet April showers with downward shoot * The tender shoots of green, and the young sun; That folks are bent to go on pilgrimages, And more especially, from each shire's end Of England, they to Canterbury wend, Who hath upheld them when that they were weak, * Reversified by R. H. Horne. That now to Canterbury town would ride. And shortly when the sun was gone to rest, And then promise early for to rise Of each of them, so as it seem'd to me; And which they were-of what kind, and degree; And at a knight, then, will I first begin. THE KNIGHT. He was a worthy man and like all heroes of romance, he is brave and generous; upright and honorable; patriotic and courteous: He loved chivalry, Truth and honor, freedom and courtesy. He is the most illustrious knight that ever wore an iron mail or bore a trophied lance either in christian or heathen land. And yet he bears his honors meekly: he is wise and humble, kind and courteous: Though thus at all times honor'd, he was wise, But for to tell you of his staid array,— He wore a fustian cassack, short and plain, THE SQUIRE. Chaucer takes advantage of the variety of his characters by arranging the serious and the comic in nearly alternate succession; which arrangement displays them with the greatest effect. The sighing lover follows by the side of the noble knight; valor is contrasted with love; the simple and coy princess is attended by the sturdy yeoman with his coat and hood of green. From this grouping of characters, in the delineation, a rich vein of humor and irony is made to run through the whole. His son, a young SQUIRE, with him there I saw ; With locks, crisp, curl'd as they'd been laid in press: Of twenty years of age he was, I guess. He was in stature of the common length, In Flanders, Artois, and in Picardy; He was as fresh as is the month of May. Short was his gown, with sleeves right long and wide Well could he sit his horse, and fairly ride. THE YEOMAN. The sturdy yeoman with his nut brown visage and giant form, is firm and dauntless; both by nature and habit, by the texture of his body, and the temper of his mind he presents us the picture of a man qualified both for action and endurance. A YEOMAN had he; and no page beside: Well sheathed was hung, and on his breast he bare A horn he had; the baldric was of green. A forester was he truly, as I guess. THE PRIORESS. She is modest, reserved and inaccessible, yet she indulges freely the generous impulses of her nature; cheerful, sprightly, and conscientious, she attests her spiritual life. She possesses a constitution, the very nature of which is a law unto herself, the elements of which law are tenderness, simplicity, and truth. She is delicate without being fastidious; affable without familiarity; and courteous without officiousness. And of a truth she was of great disport; Pleasant to all and amiable of port. It gave her pain to counterfeit the ways Of court; its stately manner and displays; Grey eyes and a large forehead were beautiful in Chaucer's day: Full seemly was her 'kerchief crimp'd across; Most proper was her cloak, as I was ware, THE MONK. Chaucer's character of a monk is drawn purely for comical effect, and it agrees with the condition of the |