Gan faillen whan the herte felte deth;

Dufked his eyen two, and failled his breth:
But on his ladie yet caft he his eye;
His lafte word was, Mercy, Emelie!
His fpirit changed hous, and wente ther
As I came never I cannot teilen wher;
Therfore I ftent, I am no diviniftre;
Of foules find I not in this regiftre:
Ne me luft not th' opinions to telle

2810

2815

Of hem, though that they writen wher they dwelle.

Arcite is cold, ther Mars his foule gie.

Now wolfpcken forth of Emelie.

Shright Emelie, and houleth Palamon,
And Thefeus his fifter toke anon
Swouning, and bare hire from the corps away.
What helpeth it to tarien forth the day,
To tellen how fhe wep both even and morwe?
For in fwiche cas wimmen have fwiche forwe,
Whan that hir houfbonds ben fro hem ago,
That for the more part they forwen fo,
Or elles fallen in fwiche maladie,

That atte lafte certainly they die.

2820

2825

V. 2813. Therfore 1 flent] This is apparently a fling at Boccace's pompous defcription of the paffage of Arcite's foul to heaven, Thef. 1. xi. It thould be obferved however that our Author had already made ufe of the fame defcription in his Troilus, ver. 1806, feq. It is not in The Philoftrato.

.2817 ther Mars his foule gie] The force of ther, in this pallage, will beft appear by a collation of other fimilar patlages. See particularly ver. 5022, 7143, 9182.

Infinite ben the forwes and the teres
Of olde folk and folk of tendre yeres
In all the toun for deth of this Theban;
For him ther wepeth bothe child and man:
So gret a weping was ther non certain
Whan Hector was ybrought all fresh yflain
To Troy: alas! the pitec that was there;
Cratching of chekes, rending eke of here.
Why woldeft thou be ded? thise women crie,
And haddest gold ynough and Emelie.

No man might gladen this Duk Thefeus
Saving his olde fader Egeus,
That knew this worldes tranfmutatioun,
As he had feen it chaungen up and doun,
Joye after wo, and wo after gladneile,
And fhewed him enfample and likenesse.

Right as ther died never man (quod he)

That he ne lived in erth in fom degree,
Right fo ther lived never man (he feyd)
In all this world that fomtime he ne deyd:
This world a'is but a thurghfare ful of wo,
And we ben pilgrimes paffing to and fro:
Deth is an end of every worldes fore.

And over all this yet faid he mochel more

2830

2835

2840

2845

2850

To this effect, ful wifely to enhort

The peple that they fhuld hem recomfort.
Duk Thefeus with all his befy cure

2855

He cafteth now wher that the fepulture

V.2856. Ho cafteth] I have added He to complete the verfe. The ufe of pronouns redundantly is common in Chaucer.

Of good Arcite may best ymaked be,
And eke most honourable in his degree;
And at the last he toke conclufion

That ther as first Arcite and Palamon

2860

Hadden for love the bataille hem betwene,

That in that felve grove, fote and grene,
Ther as he hadde his amorous defires,
His complaint, and for love his hote fires,

He wolde make a fire, in which the office

2865

Of funeral he might all accomplise;

And let anon commande to hack and hewe
The okes old, and lay hem on a rew

In culpons, wel araied for to brenne.

His officers with fwifte feet they renne
And ride anon at his commandement.

2870

And after this, this Thefeus hath fent

After a bere, and it all overspradde

With cloth of gold the richest that he hadde,

And of the fame fuit he cladde Arcite,

2875

Upon his hondes were his gloves white,

Eke on his hed a croune of laurer grene,

And in his hond a swerd ful bright and kene.

2862. in that felve grove] In The Thefeida Arcita is buried

Nel befco, ove rancuna

Aver fovente foleva de an ore.

V. 2866. Of funera!] Of is a conjectural fupplement; or the verfe may be (perhaps better) completed by taking in the word fully from mf. NC. and ed. Ca. 2,-in which the office

Funeral he might all fully accomplice.

.2872. And after this] 'The fecond this is from conjecture only. Some mff. read-And after this Thefeus hath fentwhich perhaps is right.

He laid him bare the visage on the bere,
Therwith he wept that piree was to here;
And for the pople fhulde feen him alle, -
Whan it was day he brought him to the halle,
That roreth of the crying and the foun.

2880

Tho came this woful Theban Paizmon With flotery berd and ruggy asfhy heres,

2885

In clothes blake, ydropped all with teres,
And (paffing over of weping Emelie)
The reufulleft of all the compagnie.

And in as much as the fervice fhuld be
The more noble and riche in his degree,

2890

. 2879. bare the riface]. If this expreffion were in Milton the criticks would not fail to call it an elegant Orteciâm; in Chaucer we can only hope that it may be allowed to be an cle gant Anglicifm. Foffart fays that the corpfe of our Edw. III. was carried" tout au long de la cité de Londres, à viaire de"couvert, jufques à Weitmonitier." V. i. c. 326.

V. 2855. With Potgry-berd] Thefl. xi. ;

Con rabuffata braza [or barbale triito crine

E polverofo.

Flotery feems literally to mean floting, as hair dishevelled (rabufata) may be laid to flote upon the air. Ruggy is rough. 2887. And (paffing over.] According to this reading the fet fe is plain that Palamon was the reufullest, c. patling over or excepting Emelie; but all the mii. that i have feen read-other. If we adhere to that we mult difpofe the parentheris thus;

And (paffing other of weping) Emelie

The reufulle, ✪ ̊C. --

and the fenfe will be, that with Palamon came alfo Emelie, (paffing others of or in weping the reuftileft, &. But fuch a construction would be very harth, and unlike Chaucer's ufual facility, and therefore i rather believe we thould read-over-→→→ with ed. Urr.

Duk Thefeus let forth three fledes bring,
That trapped were in ftele all glittering,
And covered with the armes of Dan Arcite;
And eke upon thefe fledes gret and white
Ther faten folk, of which on bare his fheld,
Another his fpere up in his hondes held;
The thridde bare with him his bow Turkeis,
Of brent geld was the cas and the harneis;
And riden forth a pas with forweful chere
Toward the grove, as ye fhul after here.

The nobleft of the Grekes that ther were

Upon hir fhuldres carrieden the bere,
With flacke pas, and eyen red and wete,

2895

2900

Thurghout the citee, by the maister strete,

That fprad was all with black, and wonder hie 2905

Right of the fame is all the ftrete ywrie.
Upon the right hand went olde Egeus,
And on that other fide Duk Thefeus,
With veffels in hir hond of gold ful fine,

All ful of hony, milk, and blood, and wine;
Eke Palamon with ful gret compagnie,

2910

And after that came woful Emelie

With fire in hond, as was that time the gife, 'To don the office of funeral fervice.

High labour and ful gret apparailling

2915

Was at the fervice of that fire making,

. 2897. his bow Turkeis] So in The Rom. de la R. Love is

faid to have deux arcs Turquois, ver. 924.

V. 2904. the maifter frete] The principal ftrect; "Le fou "verain carrefour." Froiffart, v. iv. c. 28.