and propagated many dangerous tenets which he difclaimed. As for Chaucer, he was fo far from abandoning his former notions that he exerted himself to the utmost in 1382 in the support of John Comberton, generally ftyled John of Northampton, Mayor of London, in his endeavours to reform the city, according to the advice given by Wickliffe, which was so much resented by the clergy, that rather than they would let this reformation proceed they had recourse to the most violent methods, and in order to prevent Comberton's being rechofen Mayor of London excited such disturbances as bordered upon a rebellion. The King making use of force upon this occafion, fent Sir Robert Knolles to London, who committed great feverities, put fome to death, made the late Mayor Comberton prifoner, and ufed his utmost endeavours to apprehend Chaucer+; but our Author,

† His utmost endeavours to apprehend Chaucer.] It is very certain that in this whole matter our Author suffered for his attachment to his party, but this is fo darkly represented by fuch as have written his life that it is a very difficult thing to difcover their meaning, and yet after all the fact is no more than this: there were at that time two powerful factions in the City, and as very feldom any thing of this kind happens but religion is drawn into the quarrel, fo the one was fuppofed to be wellaffected to the church, and the other inclined to a reformation. Dr. Courtney, formerly Bishop of London, and now Archbifhop of Canterbury, was protector of the one, and John Duke of Lancaster was esteemed to be the head of the other, and the leading man in his intereft was this John Comberton, or John of Northampton, citizen and draper, on whofe account

having an early forefight of his danger, made his escap into Hainault, and from thence went to France, wher finding himself not so safe as he expected he withdrew

all this difturbance happened for which fome lives were loft: and this unfortunate perfon being carried to Reading, was there tried and convicted, and had judgment given againft him to be imprifoned for life, and to have his goods feized, which we find was accordingly done: and fo ftrong the current ran at that time that he with fome other citizens of his party were excepted out of a pardon which the King granted; and all this was then underfood to be done in fpite and contempt of the Duke of Lancafter, to whom Comberton fteadily adhered, and ealled him bis Lord at his trial. But for all this things came about again not long after, and Mr. Comberton had the ho nour to have his fentence reverted at the prayer of the Commors of England in parliament affembled. We may from all this infor, that how warm and indifcreet foever our Author, Chaucer, might be in fupporting that party to which, he had attached himself, yet beyond all question there was nothing of difloyalty in this, but quite the contrary; for those who had then the management of the King's affairs, and run him into all thefe warm and violent meafures, were the very fame perfons who by their evil counfels brought him at last into that die ftreffed condition which coit him firft his crown and then his life. It is therefore no difcredit to Chaucer that he was a friend to Wickliffe, or that he efpoufed this party in the City, however fome of our hiftorians may have reprefented or rather mifreprefented it; for it is a thing well enough known to all who are converfant in the English hiftory, that many bafe and black calumnies are thrown upon the Duke of Lancaster and his party, merely on account of their oppofing the pride and power of the prelates of thofe times, who under colour of maintaining the King's prerogative really facrificed him to their own Interests, which at the fame time alfo they very ill understood, fince a reasonable compliance had both faved him and done themselves much more good.

into Zealand, and there concealed himself for fome time, with feveral other Londoners, who had fed upon the fame account, and whom he generously fubfifted out of his own private fortune. But while he was in this diftrefs moit of thofe with whom he had been engaged at home had found ways and means to make their peace, and far from confidering the calamities to which Chaucer had expofed himself for their fakes took no care to fupply him, and, which was much worfe, endeavoured to hinder the remittances that might have been made him out of his own fortune, and this in hopes that he might perish in his banishment, and by his death put them out of all fear. Such bafe and barbarous ingratitude though it extremely afflicted him, yet it did not put our Author upon taking any measures to be revenged; on the contrary, he came over privately into England to avoid tarving in a range country, but had not been long here before, either through the vigilance of the government's inquiries or the treachery of fome whom he trufted, he was discovered, fcized, and fent to prifon, where he was treated at firft with great rigour and feverity, but in the end promifed the King's par don and his liberty if he would disclose all he knew, and put it in the power of the government to restore the peace of the City, which at length be did. It does not appear what the confequences were of his confeffion with refped to others, but with regard to himfelf

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they brought upon him an inexpreffible load of ca→ lumnies and flanders. Allthefe circumftances we learn from himfelf in that moft excellent treatife of his entitled The Teftament of Love, which he wrote on purpofe to vent his forrow and to confole himselfunder the heavy burden of his afflictions. This load, which was. already almoft too heavy for him, received however fome very confiderable additions from the concur→ rence of other untoward accidents, fuch as the Duke' of Lancafter's lofing much of his credit at court, and Chaucer not a little of his intereft with the Duke, who finding his reputation very much injured by the liberties taken with his character on account of his amours with the Lady Swynford, he came, though very unwillingly, to a full refolution of parting with her, which he accordingly did; and this for a time affc&ed the concerns of our Author extremely, who' finding himself strongly pushed on one fide by fuck as meant him ill, and little if at all fupported on the other by fuch as had been formerly his friends, was fo much depreffed thereby in his mind and diftreffed in his fortune, as to refolve upon difpofing of his penfions before-mentioned, which he had obtained in the former and had been confirmed to him in the prefent reign ; and this he actually did to one John Scalby, as appears by a license obtained for this purpose on record. In this unexpected and terrible reverfe of fortune he very wifely resolved to quit that bufy fcene

of life in which he had met with fo many troubles, and to feek in retirement that happiness which from experience he knew was not to be met with in courts. The place he chofe for his retreat was Woodstock, which had been the sweet scene of fo much fatisfaçtion to him in the days of his profperity, and there he employed part of his time in revifing and correcting his writings, totally fecluded from the world, and tafting only those calm and folid pleasures which are the refult of a wife man's reflections on the viciflitudes of human life. By this means he became well prepared for a new alteration in his condition, and as anexpected a change in his affairs as he had hitherto met with, for the abfence of the great Duke of Lancafter which had cost him fo dear, gave him the better title to hope his favour and his protection upon his return, which happened towards the end of the year 1389. He had made an expedition into Spain in order to recover the kingdons of Caftile and Leon, of which in right of his wife he had affumed the title; and though his fuccefs in war was at fir various, and at laft difaftrous, yet fo wife and prudent a prince he was, that after difmiffing his army and feeming to relinquish that great defign, for the accomplishment of which he had spent so much, he had notwithstanding fo great addrefs as to be able to extract even from his difappointment almoft, as much as he could have expected from victory; for though he could not make