1-487 of the Franklin's Tale, p. 354-5 below, Harl. paging), render it less fitted for the basis of a complete edition of The Canterbury Tales than the fine illuminated Ellesmere MS.1 Moreover, Harl. 7334 sticks 8 spurious lines-2004 b, c; 2012 b, c; 2037 b, c; 2048 b, c,p. 49, into the Summoner's Tale, and one, l. 592 (p. 44) into the Squire's Tale. It also has not 2 lines, A 252 b, c, in the General Prolog, p. 8; 2 in the Cook's Tale, A 4375-6, p. 127; and 8 at the end of the Cook's Tale, A 4415-4422, p. 128; 7 lines in the Knight's Tale, A 2013-18, p. 58, A 2958, p. 84; 2 lines in the Miller's Tale, A 3721-2, p. 106; 2 in the Reeve-Cook Link (A 4355, 4358, p. 125-6; 4 lines alterd into two); one line in the Man of Law's Tale, B 417, p. 13, and five at the end of the Man of Law's End-Link, B 1186-1190, p. 163; thirty lines in the Wife's Preamble, D 575-584, 605-612, 619-626, 717-720, p. 418-41, 4; eight in the Second Nun's Tale, G 155, 210-216, p. 4, 4; the 8 genuine Ellesmere lines in the Franklin's Tale, 1455-6, 1493-8, p. 43, besides leaving out 2 lines (2356-7, p. 31) in the Merchant's Tale,3 four (299-300, 305-6, p. 2) in the Doctor-Pardoner Link, two in the Pardoner's Tale, C 478-9 (p. 118); five in the Shipman's Tale, B 1355 (p. 3) and B 1376-9 (p. 34); one in Sir Thopas, B 1995 (p. 1); about a dozen of prose (trebles) in Melibe, one stanza of 8 in the Monk's Tale, B 3213-20 (p. 7), four lines in the Nun's Priest's Tale, 4136-7 (p. 5), 4478-9 (p. 329), and all its End Link, 16 lines, (for which see p. 694,) and about 23 treble ones in the Parson's Tale: see the gaps in pages 389-898 as you 593-684 1 The Ellesmere has not the Man-of-Law-Shipman Link which Harl. 7334 has. 2 No other MS yet examind by me has these 8 lines. 3 Lines like these, due to the scribe's jumping from one 'sight' to the other, might well have been dotted differently in the print, so as to show the jump. 496-7 4 B 2252-3 (p. 283), 2264 (p. 288), 2432, 2444 (p. 212-22, 2623-4 (p. 23o), part of 2646-7 (p. 3), 2708 (p. 244), part of 2726, 2730, 2741 (p. 31), part of 2851 (313), 3034 (p. 49). 511 turn over the leaves. Altogether, at least, 760 lines are wanting in Harl. 7334: a serious loss.1 But on the other hand, this Harl. 7334 puts lines 1307-8 of Group D, the Friar's Tale, in their right place, on p. 3 instead of their wrong one as lines 1293-5 of the Wife-Friar Link, on p. 1. That in some cases the Harl. readings are not so good as those of the Ellesmere, I showd in my article 'Recent Work at Chaucer' in Macmillan's Magazine for March 1874; but I admitted that in other instances the Harleian readings were the better. Of the MSS which contain the spurious 'Tale of Gamelyn'-the A-type ones don't-Prof. Skeat found Harl. 7334 much the best. See his 1s. 6d. edition of Gamelyn for the Clarendon Press. I once hoped to have edited the Tales and all Chaucer either with Mr. Bradshaw or alone; but alas, what with the Philological Soc., and occasional work for its Dictionary, Early English Texts and Wyclif, Shakspere and his Quartos and Folios, Browning and Shelley Societies, Sculling-Fours, Kangaroo bicycles, evenings out, and general laziness, I fear that edition must be left for some more learned and energetic person than myself. Let it suffice that the Chaucer Society has cleard the way for the coming man. I am due now at our Rowing-Club Dance. British Museum, Friday, Jan. 8, 1886, 7.30 p.m., under the Electric Light. 1 The Harl. 7334 also has not the (?) original but rejected EndLink to the Clerk's Tale, p. 47. of the Ellesmere MS. 2 The epithet of Sir G. Grove, the then Editor. I wanted 'late. ix CONTENTS OF THE HARLEIAN MS 7334. ... ... Six Text Harl. pages pages § 4. Miller's Tale (of Nicholas, Absolon and § 6. Reeve's Tale (of the Trumpington Miller and Cambridge Clerks) ... ... 92 92 111 111 113 113 ... 1 It has not the Friar lines 252 b, c of the Hengwrt MS. D. § 1. Wife of Bath's Preamble (of her 5 Hus- ... ... 334 194 359 219 § 2. Clerk's Tale (of Grisilde) (Pt. II, p. 48%; 405 264 442 301 § 4. Franklin's Tale (of Dorigen, Arviragus, and Aurilius; less the Proem and 479 337 514 355 1 The ordinary lines G. 1295-6 of this Link which are wrongly 2 Eight spurious lines, D. 2004 b, c; 2012 b, c; 2037 b, c ; 3 The stanzas of this are in their right order. 4 The end of what there is, is out of the Harl. MS, as 8 leaves G. § 1. Second Nun's (Proem and) Tale (of St Second-Nun-Canon's-Yeoman Link 547 387 552 392 560 400 § 10. Chaucer's Tale of Melibe (prose: englisht 1 Four lines, 299-300 and 305-6, are left out in this. 2 Dr Richard Morris was the first to track this to its source in 3 For B § 1-3 see Man-of-Law's Head-Link, Tale and End- The four modern instances '-1. Peter (the Cruel) of Spain, |