He shal nat thennes ben y-drawe n'ybore.

Or, if yow liste bidde him thennes goon, Trille this pin, and he wol vanishe anoon Out of the sighte of every maner wight,(321) And come agayn, be it by day or night, 330 When that yow list to clepen him ageyn In swich a gyse as I shal to yow seyn Bitwixe yow and me, and that ful sone. Ryde whan yow list, ther is na-more to done.'

Enformed whan the king was of that knight, 335

And hath conceyved in his wit aright
The maner and the forme of al this thing,
Thus glad and blythe, this noble doughty
king

Repeireth to his revel as biforn.

(330)

That in the Ram is four degrees up-ronne;
Noon hyer was he, whan she redy was;
And forth she walketh esily a pas,
Arrayed after the lusty seson sote
Lightly, for to pleye and walke on fote;
Nat but with fyve or six of hir meynee;
And in a trench, forth in the park, goth

she.

The vapour, which that fro the erthe glood, Made the sonne to seme rody and brood; But nathelees, it was so fair a sighte 395 That it made alle hir hertes for to lighte, What for the seson and the morweninge, And for the foules that she herde singe;

For right anon she wiste what they mente
Right by hir song, and knewal hir entente.
The knotte, why that every tale is told,
If it be taried til that lust be cold

Of hem that han it after herkned yore,
The savour passeth ever lenger the more,
For fulsomnesse of his prolixitee. 405
And by the same reson thinketh me,
I sholde to the knotte condescende,
And maken of hir walking sone an
ende.
(400)
Amidde a tree fordrye, as whyt as chalk,
As Canacee was pleying in hir walk, 410
Ther sat a faucon over hir heed ful hye,
That with a pitous voys so gan to crye
That all the wode resouned of hir cry.
Y-beten hath she hir-self so pitously 414
With bothe hir winges, til the rede blood
Ran endelong the tree ther-as she stood.
And ever in oon she cryde alwey and
shrighte,

And with hir beek hir-selven so she
prighte,
(410)

That ther nis tygre, ne noon so cruel beste,

That dwelleth either in wode or in foreste That nolde han wept, if that he wepe coude,

421

For sorwe of hir, she shrighte alwey so loude.

For ther nas never yet no man on lyveIf that I coude a faucon wel discryveThat herde of swich another of fairnesse, As wel of plumage as of gentillesse 426 Of shap, and al that mighte y-rekened be. A faucon peregryn than semed she (420) Of fremde land; and evermore, as she stood,

She swowneth now and now for lakke of blood, 430 Til wel neigh is she fallen fro the tree. This faire kinges doghter, Canacee, That on hir finger bar the queynte ring, Thurgh which she understood wel every thing

That any foul may in his ledene seyn, 435 And coude answere him in his ledene

ageyn,

Hath understonde what this faucon seyde, And wel neigh for the rewthe almost she deyde. (430)

Mot been encheson of your cruel dede,
Sin that I see non other wight yow chace.
For love of god, as dooth your-selven grace
Or what may ben your help; for west nor
eest
(451)

Ne sey I never er now no brid ne beest
That ferde with him-self so pitously. 461
Ye slee me with your sorwe, verraily;
I have of yow so gret compassioun.
For goddes love, com fro the tree adoun;
And, as I am a kinges doghter trewe, 465
If that I verraily the cause knewe
Of your disese, if it lay in my might,
I wolde amende it, er that it were night,
As wisly helpe me gret god of kinde ! (461)
And herbes shal I right y-nowe y-finde
To hele with your hurtes hastily.' 471

Tho shrighte this faucon more pitously Than ever she dide, and fil to grounde

anoon,

And lyth aswowne, deed, and lyk a stoon, Til Canacee hath in hir lappe hir take 475 Un-to the tyme she gan of swough awake. And, after that she of hir swough gan breyde,

Right in hir haukes ledene thus she
seyde:-
(470)

'That pitee renneth sone in gentil herte,
Feling his similitude in peynes smerte, 480
Is preved al-day, as men may it see,
As wel by werk as by auctoritee;

485

For gentil herte kytheth gentillesse.
I see wel, that ye han of my distresse
Compassioun, my faire Canacee,
Of verray wommanly benignitee
That nature in your principles hath set.
But for non hope for to fare the bet, (480)
But for to obeye un-to your herte free,
And for to maken other be war by me,
As by the whelp chasted is the leoun, 491
Right for that cause and that conclusioun,
Whyl that I have a leyser and a space,
Myn harm wol confessen, er I pace.'
And ever, whyl that oon hir sorwe tolde,
That other weep, as she to water wolde,
Til that the faucon bad hir to be stille;
And, with a syk, right thus she seyde hir
wille.
(490) 498
Ther I was bred (allas! that harde
day!)

501

And fostred in a roche of marbul gray
So tendrely, that nothing eyled me,
I niste nat what was adversitee,
Til I coude flee ful hye under the sky.
Tho dwelte a tercelet me faste by,
That semed welle of alle gentillesse; 505
Al were he ful of treson and falsnesse,
It was so wrapped under humble chere,
And under hewe of trouthe in swich
manere,
(500)
Under plesance, and under bisy peyne,
That no wight coude han wend he coude

for ay.

535

But sooth is seyd, gon sithen many a day, "A trew wight and a theef thenken nat oon."

And, whan he saugh the thing so fer y-goon, (530) That I had graunted him fully my love, In swich a gyse as I have seyd above, 540 And yeven him my trewe herte, as free As he swoor he his herte yaf to me; Anon this tygre, ful of doublenesse, Fil on his knees with so devout humblesse,

With so heigh reverence, and, as by his chere,

545

So lyk a gentil lovere of manere,
So ravisshed, as it semed, for the joye,
That never Jason, ne Parys of Troye, (540)
Jason? certes, ne non other man,
Sin Lameth was, that alderfirst bigan 550
To loven two, as writen folk biforn,
Ne never, sin the firste man was born,
Ne coude man, by twenty thousand part,
Countrefete the sophimes of his art;
Ne were worthy unbokele his galoche, 555
Ther doublenesse or feyning sholde ap-
proche,

Ne so coude thanke a wight as he did me!
His maner was an heven for to see (550)
Til any womman, were she never so
wys;

So peynted he and kembde at point-devys As wel his wordes as his contenaunce. 561 And I so lovede him for his obeisaunce, And for the trouthe I demed in his herte, That, if so were that any thing him smerte,

Al were it never so lyte, and I it wiste, 565 Me thoughte, I felte deeth myn herte

twiste.

(559)

And shortly, so ferforth this thing is
went,
That my wil was his willes instrument;
This is to seyn, my wil obeyed his wil
In alle thing, as fer as reson fil,
Keping the boundes of my worship ever.
Ne never hadde I thing so leef, ne lever,
As him, god woot! ne never shal na-mo.

570

This lasteth lenger than a yeer or two, That I supposed of him noght but good. But fynally, thus atte laste it stood, 576 That fortune wolde that he moste twinne Out of that place which that I was inne. Wher me was wo, that is no questioun ; I can nat make of it discripcioun ; 580 For o thing dar I tellen boldely, (573)

I knowe what is the peyne of deth ther-by; Swich harm I felte for he ne mighte bileve.

So on a day of me he took his leve,
So sorwefully eek, that I wende verraily
That he had felt as muche harm as I, 586
Whan that I herde him speke, and saugh
his hewe.

(579)
But nathelees, I thoughte he was so trewe,
And eek that he repaire sholde ageyn
With-inne a litel whyle, sooth to seyn; 590
And reson wolde eek that he moste go
For his honour, as ofte it happeth so,
That I made vertu of necessitee,
And took it wel, sin that it moste be.
As I best mighte, I hidde fro him my
sorwe,

595 And took him by the hond, seint John to borwe,

And seyde him thus: "lo, I am youres al; Beth swich as I to yow have been, and shal."

(590)

What he answerde, it nedeth noght reherce,

Who can sey bet than he, who can do werse? 600

Whan he hath al wel seyd, thanne hath he doon.

"Therfor bihoveth him a ful long spoon That shal ete with a feend," thus herde

I seye.

So atte laste he moste forth his weye, And forth he fleeth, til he cam ther him leste. 605 Whan it cam him to purpos for to reste,

625

He saugh up-on a tyme a kyte flee, And sodeynly he loved this kyte so, That al his love is clene fro me ago, And hath his trouthe falsed in this wyse; Thus hath the kyte my love in hir servyse, (620) And I am lorn with-outen remedye!' And with that word this faucon gan to crye, 630

And swowned eft in Canaceës barme. Greet was the sorwe, for the haukes harme,

That Canacee and alle hir wommen made; They niste how they mighte the faucon

As beth thise tidifs, tercelets, and oules,
Right for despyt were peynted hem bisyde,
And pyes, on hem for to crye and chyde.
Thus lete I Canacee hir hauk keping;
I wcl na-more as now speke of hir ring,
Til it come eft to purpos for to seyn
How that this faucon gat hir love ageyn
Repentant, as the storie telleth us,
By mediacioun of Cambalus,
The kinges sone, of whiche I
yow tolde.
But hennes-forth I wol my proces holde
To speke of aventures and of batailles,
That never yet was herd so grete mer-
vailles.
(652) 660

655

First wol I telle yow of Cambinskan, That in his tyme many a citee wan; And after wol I speke of Algarsyf, How that he wan Theodora to his wyf, For whom ful ofte in greet peril he was, Ne hadde he ben holpen by the stede of bras; 666

And after wol I speke of Cambalo, That faught in listes with the bretheren two

(660) For Canacee, er that he mighte hir winne. And ther I lefte I wol ageyn biginne. 670

Explicit secunda pars.

Incipit pars tercia. Appollo whirleth up his char so hye,

[T. om. Til that the god Mercurius hous the slye[T. om.

(Unfinished.)

Here folwen the wordes of the Frankelin to the Squier, and the wordes of the Host to the Frankelin.

'In feith, Squier, thou hast thee wel y-quit,

And in vertu sende thee continuaunce!
For of thy speche I have greet deyntee.
I have a sone, and, by the Trinitee, (10)
I hadde lever than twenty pound worth
lond,

Though it right now were fallen in myn

hond,

He were a man of swich discrecioun 685
As that ye been! fy on possessioun
But-if a man be vertuous with-al.

I have my sone snibbed, and yet shal,
For he to vertu listeth nat entende;
But for to pleye at dees, and to despende,
And lese al that he hath, is his usage. 691
And he hath lever talken with a page(20)
Than to comune with any gentil wight
Ther he mighte lerne gentillesse aright.'
'Straw for your gentillesse,' quod our
host;
695
'What, frankeleyn? pardee, sir, wel thou
wost

That eche of yow mot tellen atte leste A tale or two, or breken his biheste.' 'That knowe I wel, sir,' quod the frankeleyn;

'I prey yow, haveth me nat in desdeyn
Though to this man I speke a word or
two.'
701
'Telle on thy tale with-outen wordes
mo.'
(30)
'Gladly, sir host,' quod he, 'I wol obeye
Un-to your wil; now herkneth what
I seye.

I wol yow nat contrarien in no wyse 705
As fer as that my wittes wol suffyse;
I prey to god that it may plesen yow,
Than woot I wel that it is good y-now.'