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against his will, to dismember a beautiful infant who appears in the Ciborium.1 The body breaks like a cake, and it lies on the patine like a piece of bread, but becomes a child again when he puts it to his mouth. "Et quant il le vit si le cuyda traire hors de sa bouche, mais il ne peust. Et quant il eut use cel enfant si luy fut advis que toutes doulceurs que langue d'homme pourroit nommer, ne penser, estoyent en son corps."

22. "Et si nestoyt mye le chastel de hault fielle ne desclos (?) ains estoit tout environne de moult riches murs quarres de marbre vermeil et vert et bis et blanc."

56. "Car celluy seroit plain de trop folle hardiesse qui oseroit monstre mensonge en si haulte chose comme est ceste saincte hystoire que le vray Crucifix fist et escripvit de sa propre main, et pour ce doit il estre tenu en plus grant honneur." He then says that our Saviour only wrote twice in his mortal life, according to the Scriptures, when he composed the Lord's prayer, and when the woman was taken in adultery. "Ja ne trouvons si hardy clerc qui dye que Dieu fist oncques escripture puis la resurrection, ne mais la saincte escripture du Sainct Greaal seullement, et qui vouldroit dire que puis il eust fait autre escripture de auctorite il seroit tenu a menteur, et si dy bien quil seroit de trop folle hardyesse qui mensonge vouldroit mettre en si haulte chose comme est ceste hystoire que le filz de Dieu escripvit luy mesmes de sa propre main, puis que il eust mis la mortelle vie hors et revestu la mageste celestielle !”

Fictions of this kind have obtained authority in the Sanscrit, and things as impuIdent in the Romish Church.

59. The same story of the tree of life as in Lancelot du Lac.

Pierre Celicolen.

84. Sire Robert de Berron "qui ceste histoire translata de latin en françoys."

2 Ciborium, appellant Scriptores Ecclesias tici, quod Ordo Romanus tegimen et umbraculum Altaris."-Du CANGE, in v.-J. W. W.

95. Joseph's wife, soon after her arrival in England, lay in in a richly built castle. He was called Galaad, and when he grew up, Galaad le fort, and therefore the castle in which he was born was called Galleford; which is probably the etymology of Guildford in this romance.

101. "Messire Robert de Bosrou que ceste histoire translata de latin en françoys par le commandement de Saincte Eglise."

This book makes no reference to the legend concerning Glastonbury, though it is in the days of King Luce.

Its dreams and types very much in the manner of the Gesta Romanorum.

145. In the apartment with the S. Greaal appears a chess board with pieces of ivory and gold. Gawain plays the ivory, and the gold play themselves and check mate him.

150. Perceval's uncle, the hermit, has a mule which belonged to Joseph of Arimathea when he was in Pilate's service!

169. Perceval. "En toute le monde neust len sceu trouves ung plus beau chevalier que luy, plus gros, ne mieulx quarre de bras corps et jambes."

Oh the

37. K. Euelach-Pygmalion! difference between a Grecian and a monkish imagination!

47-2. A wild phoenix.

89. Joseph, with 148 companions, sailed from Babylon to Great Britain upon Joseph's shirt, which he took off for that purpose and spread upon the water. The night was fair and serene, and the sea fair and peaceable and without tempest, and the moon shone bright, and it was in the month of April, on Easter eve, when they embarked, or emshirted, to speak more properly, and at break of day they arrived in England, this being in every respect the most remarkable passage that ever was made from the Persian gulf.

The conclusion of the first part refers to Merlin, Lancelot, Tristan, and other books of the Round Table, of which I take this to be one of the latest.

136. A guillotine invented for love of Gawain, Lancelot, and Perceval, by Lor

gueilleuse Pucelle. It was literally for love of them,-for, as she could have no joy of them in life, she was determined to have joy of them in death, and so in her chapel she prepared four magnificent coffins for them and for herself. Gawain was her guest, and by good fortune this pious Pucelle was so proud that she never asked any guest his name; so she took him into the chapel and showed him the coffins, and told him why they were made, and then showing him some relics, she made him observe her device, which was that when she had these knights here she would lead them to adore these relics, and as soon as they had put their heads through the window by which they were to be seen, she would then take out a peg, and a knife, sharp as a razor, would fall upon their necks.

Through great part of this book the name is written Parlevaulx-but at the close Perceval. Is this proof of two authors? Sic opinor.

Ships and sepulchres the favourite objects of the author's fancy.

Few or no moralizations in the second part, which seems to be by a different hand, or perhaps by many. The first is clearly one man's work, and very Gestaish.

"How Parlevaulx had a tub made ready, and made all the knights of the Sire des Mares be beheaded before him, so that their blood should run into the tub; and how he had the Sire des Mares drowned in this tub in the blood of his knights."

Loheant, the only son of Arthur and Guenever, had a custom that whenever he killed a man he lay down to sleep upon his body. He was taking his nap one day upon a giant whom he had just demolished, when Sir Keux, the seneschal came by, and for the sake of getting credit, killed him in his sleep, then cut off the giant's head and carried it to court, to claim the merit of having slain him and revenged Loheac. But a damsel had seen all. 165.

L'Opere Magnanime dei due Tristani, CavaLIERI DELLE TAVOLA RITONDA, Co'l Privilegio del sommo Pontefice et dell' illustriss. Senato Veneto per anni xx. In Venetia per Michele Tramezino 1555. THE first part is made from the French romance, with an interpolation about the birth of the second Tristan, parts of which the author did not bear in mind when he returned to the thread of the original story.

P. 173. So good a journey that she was not more than four months going from Cornwall to Britanny.

Don Chehai, my old acquaintance, is called. 229. Here is the old knight from Giron. The second part is original, and very

worthless.

22. "Ella cavalco su un bonissimo cavallo Armellino come neve, co crini & coda falsi, ch'era maraviglia à vederlo?"

64. A lady who has been long ill grows fat with joy after her recovery, so that in the course of a day it is perceptible, and she is complimented upon it.

114. "La Infanta et l'altre signore le trassero l'elmo di testa, et li nettarono il viso con le maniche delle loro camicie." Had they no handkerchiefs, that shift sleeves were used for this purpose? Again, 171, "cosi cavatoli l'elmo gli ascuigaron il volto con le lor sottili maniche delle camicie."

176. From Cornwall to Camelot a journey of 1000 leagues!

193. King Tristan asks why King Arthur took a castle from a certain Phebus, in which quarrel he is about to fight a combat in the King's cause. "Sire rispose Don Galasso, per due cause principali, la prima perche Phebro era infidele inimico della nostra santa fede catholica. Non me ne dite piu, rispose il Re, che questa basta."

207. Coarse and witless satire upon the Portugueze. The Spanish geography in this book is correct.

236. Elisandro, performing his vigil before knighthood, past the night agreeably,

"nondimeno il peso dell' arme havra fatta l'operation sua su le carni et su l'ossa de Elisandro."

245. "La salsa de S. Bernardo" -a phrase for hunger.

250. All the women fall in love with the inexorable Tristan at first sight, and one of them dies of love in the course of an hour or two.

Perceval le Gulloys.

tement proprement vestue et par especial manches serrees et estroictes portoit, parquoy les aultres la nommerent la pucelle aux manches estroictes."

30. "Le superlatif du tournoy."

44. Arthur's mother turns out to be alive in this romance, living in a castle, where Gavain by great adventure discovers her. Mother and son, however, meet afterwards with great unconcern.

67. Gawain cut off a man's head-" actaignit ung de telle sorte que la teste envoia

fust decollé, que bien petit ne sentit lespee."

THE Preface calls it " ung ancien livre par terre, qui si doulcement et vistement intitule Lhystoire de Perceval le gallois❘ faict en ryme et langaige non usité, lesquelz ilz avoient faict traduyte de ryme en prose et langaige moderne pour imprimer."

The prologue states that Philip, Count of Flanders, gave orders to bring to light the life and chivalrous deeds of Percival "suyvant le chronique diceluy Prince et traictie du S. Graal." Both he and his chronicler died before this could be accomplished; and a long time after Madame Jehanne, Countess of Flanders, seeing the beginning of the Chronicle, and knowing the intention of Count Philip her "ayeul," ordered "ung sien familier orateur" named Mennessier "traduire et achever" this work. The which he did, but because his language and that of his predecessor is not in usage in our common French but "fort non acoustumete estrange," to satisfy the desires, pleasures, and will of the princes, lords, and others following the mother tongue of France, I have employed myself" a traduire et mectre de Rithme en prose" the book, following closely according to my possibility and power the sense of my predecessor-translators.

Was the metrical Romance then in Flemish or in Walloon ?

P. 71-2."Le Roy commande que les mangonneaulx que vault a dire les pionniers."

Perceval in this romance is without one of the virtues which the S. Greall imputes to him.

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ff. 28. A lady at a tournament "fort coin

71. "Tristan qui jamais ne rist."

112. After a long battle,-" il est assez a croire et a considerer que les deux chevalliers furent lors fort foibles et petit vertueux, car tant avoient de sang perdu qua grand peine se soubstenoient."

126. A chapter begins thus-"Icy fine et fault le compte delescu,"-but no tale of a shield has been told.

133. A chess board, where one set play themselves. It seems they were made at London.

146. Fighting with a knight whose sword breaks, Perceval throws away his own sword, and proposes to finish the battle with fists, so they set to and box, knock one another's helmets off (not considering the knuckles), and then hammer away at the face and the teeth, till the knight loses his wind and yields. This is the only boxing match I have met with.

There are no regular squires in these ro

mances.

155. "Ne peult homme estre du Dyable deceu du jour quil le graal veu aura; ne sçauroit telle voye tenir quil puist faire ung peche mortel."

157. A huntsman "bien botté dugnes bottes dengleterre."

175. "Le beau descongneu is Guiglaius," son of Gavain.

177. "Gauchier de Doudain qui ceste hystoire nous a commemoree."

196. Here we have the Dame de Male

hault, whose brother is here made the king of the hundred knights.

196. "Les oysillons chantent en leur latin divers mottetz en leur ramage."

At the end Perceval has a brother called Agloal-the author forgetting that all his brothers had been killed at the beginning. He turns hermit, and when he dies the Graal and the Lana and "le digne tailloir dargent" are carried up to heaven with his soul.

There are some good adventures of Gavan, whose history takes up as great a part of the work as Perceval's. One of these represents him as behaving very ill. This story is grossly inconsistent, strangely so; but on the whole the author considers him as a perfect knight.

Perceval is by no means a hero who attracts the reader; he is far too indifferent to his plighted Blanchefleur.

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The baseness of those things thou prizest so." ""Tis as good forbear, As speak to one that hath no heart to hear." 21. "Stretching their strength, they lay their weakness bare."

"That glittering crown Cn which thou gazest, is not gold, but grief; That sceptre, sorrow."

35. "The whole round earth is not enough to fill

The heart's three corners, but it craveth still.

"TURN in, my mind, and wander not abroad, Only the Trinity, that made it, can Here's work enough at home."

"Self-knowledge 'twixt a wise man and a fool Doth make the difference."

"Hast thou an ear

To listen but to what thou shouldst not hear ?"

No chronological order is observed in these extracts, but they are given as they appear to have been written.--J. W. W.

Suffice the vast triangled heart of man."

40. "And antedate my own damnation by despair."

56. "The stains of sin I see Are oaded all, or dyed in grain."

2 Woaded.-R. S. [I had noted another instance of this word, but as this sheet goes through the press I cannot find it. J. W. W.]

65. "The sacrifice which I like best, is such As rich men cannot boast, and poor men

need not grutch."

72." Some things thou knowest not;
misknowest others;

And oft thy conscience its own knowledge smothers."

96. A stanza describing the lily ends thus, "Can there be to thy sight A more intire delight?"

144." He that doth fear because he loves, will never

Adventure to offend,
But always bend

His best endeavours to content his friend."

151. Play upon vowels, consonants, &c.

154. "And ergos, drawn from trust and confidence,

Twist and tie truths with stronger consequence

Than either sense or reason; for the heart, And not the head, is fountain of this art."

QUARLES. Feast for Worms. 1642.

To the Reader. "My mouth's no dictionary; it only serves as the needful interpreter of my heart."

P. 10. "What mister word is that ?"

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Creates a man (though seeming) fortunate:

13. “Then all was whist, and all to prayer | The blaze of honour, Fortune's sweet ex

went."

24. Charity.

cess,

Do undeserve the name of happiness. The frown of indisposed Fortune makes

"Chill breasts have starved her here, and Man poor, but not unhappy. He that takes

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