"By my thrift!" quoth he, "Madáme,
I wouldë fain have had a name
As other folk had in the town;
Although they were of great renown
For their virtue and their thews,1
Thought I, as great fame have shrews
(Though it be naught) for shrewdeness,
As good folk have for goodëness;
And since I may not have the one,
The other will I not forgo'n.2
So for to gettë famë's hire,3
The temple set I all afire.

Now do our los be blowen swithe,
As wisly be thou ever blithe."5
"Gladly," quoth she; "thou Æolus,
Hear'st thou what these folk prayen us?"
"Madame, I hear full well," quoth he,
"And I will trumpen it, pardie!
And took his blackë trumpet fast,
And gan to puffen and to blast,
Till it was at the worlde's end.

With that I gan aboutë wend,
For one that stood right at my back
Me thought full goodly7 to me spake,
And saidë, "Friend, what is thy name?
Art thou come hither to have fame?"
"Nay, for soothë,8 friend!" quoth I;
"I came not hither, grand mercy,9
For no such cause, by my head!
Sufficeth me, as I were dead,

That no wight have my name in hand.
I wot myself best how I stand,
For what I dree, 10 or what I think,
I will myself it allë drink,
Certain, for the more part,

As far forth as I know mine art."
"What doest thou here, then," quoth he.
Quoth I, "That will I tellë thee;
The cause why I standë here,
Is some new tidings for to lear, 11
Some newë thing, I know not what,
Tidings either this or that,
Of love, or suche thingës glad.
For, certainly, he that me made
To come hither, said to me
I shouldë bothë hear and see
In this place wondrous things;
But these be not such tidings

As I meant of." "No?" quoth he.
And I answered, "No, pardie!

For well I wot ever yet,
Since that first I hadde wit,
That some folk have desired fame

Diversely, and los, and name;
But certainly I knew not how
Nor where that Fame dwelled, ere now;
Nor eke of her description,
Nor also her conditión,

Nor the order of her doom, 12
Knew I not till I hither come."
"Why, then, lo! be these tidíngs,'
That thou nowë hither brings,

That thou hast heard?" quoth he to me. "But now no force; 13 for well I see

What thou desirest for to lear.11

Come forth, and stand no longer here.
And I will thee, withoutë dread,14

Into another place lead,

Where thou shalt hear many a one."

Then gan I forth with him to go'n
Out of the castle, sooth to say.
Then saw I stand in a valley,
Under the castle faste by,
A house, that domus Dædali,
That Labyrinthus 15 callëd is,
N' as 16 made so wondrously, y-wis,
Nor half so quaintly 17 was y-wrought.
And evermore, as swift as thought,
This quaintë 17 house aboutë went,
That nevermore it stillë stent; 18
And thereout came so great a noise,
That had it stooden upon Oise, 19
Men might have heard it easily
To Rome, I trowë sickerly. 20
And the noise which I heard,
For all the world right so it far'd
As doth the routing" of the stone
That from the engine 22 is let go'n.
And all this house of which I read 23
Was made of twigges sallow,24 red,
And green eke, and some werë white,
Such as men to the cages twight,25
Or maken of 26 these panniers,

Or elles hutches or dossers; 27

That, for the swough 28 and for the twigs,

This house was all so full of gigs, 29
And all so full eke of chirkings, so
And of many other workings;
And eke this house had of entries
As many as leaves be on trees,
In summer when that they be green,
And on the roof men may yet see'n
A thousand holes, and well mo',
To let the soundës outë go.
And by day in ev'ry tide 31
Be all the doorës open wide,

And by night each one unshet;1
Nor porter there is none to let 3
No manner tidings in to pace;
Nor ever rest is in that place,
That it n' is fill'd full of tidings,
Either loud, or of whisperings;
And ever all the house's angles
Are full of rownings and of jangles,4
Of wars, of peace, of marriages,
Of rests, of labour, of voyages,
Of abode, of death, of life,

Of love, of hate, accord, of strife,
Of loss, of lore, and of winníngs,
Of health, of sickness, of buildings,
Of faire weather and tempésts,
of qualm of folkës and of beasts;
Of divers transmutatións

Of estates and of regións;
Of trust, of dread," of jealousy,
Of wit, of cunning, of follý,
Of plenty, and of great famíne,
Of cheap, of dearth,7 and of ruín;
Of good or of mis-government,
Of fire, and diverse accident.

And lo! this house of which I write,
Sicker be ye, it was not lite ;9
For it was sixty mile of length,

All 10 was the timber of no strength;

Yet it is founded to endure,
While that it list to Adventúre,11
That is the mother of tidíngs,
As is the sea of wells and springs;
And it was shapen like a cage.
"Certes,"quoth I, "in all mine age, 12
Ne'er saw I such a house as this."

13

And as I wonder'd me, y-wis, Upon this house, then ware was I How that mine eagle, fastë by, Was perched high upon a stone; And I gan straightë to him go'n, And saidë thus; "I prayë thee That thou a while abidë me, 1 For Godde's love, and let me see What wonders in this place be; For yet parauntre 14 I may lear 15 Some good thereon, or somewhat hear, That lefe me were,16 ere that I went." "Peter! that is mine intent," Quoth he to me; "therefore I dwell; 17 But, certain, one thing I thee tell, That, but 18 I bringë thee therein, Thou shalt never can begin 19 To come into it, out of doubt, So fast it whirleth, lo! about. But since that Jovis, of his grace, As I have said, will thee solace

Since that Fortúne hath made amiss
The fruit of all thy heartë's rest
Languish, and eke in point to brest; 23
But he, through his mighty meríte,
Will do thee ease, all be it lite,24
And gave express commandement,
To which I am obedient,

To further thee with all my might,
And wiss 25 and teache thee aright,
Where thou may'st mostë tidings hear,
Shalt thou anon many one lear."

And with this word he right anon
Hent 26 me up betwixt his tone,27
And at a window in me brought,
That in this house was, as me thought;
And therewithal me thought it stent,23
And nothing it aboutë went;
And set me in the floorë down.
But such a congregatioún

Of folk, as I saw roam about,
Some within and some without,
Was never seen, nor shall be eft,20
That, certes, in the world n' is 30 left
So many formed by Natúre,
Nor dead so many a creatúre,
That well unnethës 31 in that place
Had I a footë breadth of space;
And ev'ry wight that I saw there
Rown'd 32 evereach in other's ear
A newë tiding privily,

Or ellës told all openly

Right thus, and saidë, "Know'st not thou

What is betid,33 lo! rightë now?"

"No," quoth he; "tellë me what."

And then he told him this and that,

And swore thereto, that it was sooth;34
"Thus hath he said," and "Thus he do'th,"
And "Thus shall 't be," and "Thus heard I say,"
"That shall be found, that dare I lay ;' "35

That all the folk that is alive
Have not the cunning to descrive 36
The thingës that I heardë there,
What aloud, and what in th' ear.
But all the wonder most was this;
When one had heard a thing, y-wis,
He came straight to another wight,
And gan him tellen anon right
The same tale that to him was told,
Or it a furlong way was old,37

Than it was erst.5 Thus north and south
Went ev'ry tiding from mouth to mouth,
And that increasing evermo',

As fire is wont to quick and go
From a spark y-sprung amiss,"
Till all a city burnt up is.

13

And when that it was full up-sprung,
And waxen 8 more on ev'ry tongue
Than e'er it was, it went anon
Up to a window out to go'n;
Or, but it mightë 9 thereout pass,
It gan creep out at some crevass, 10
And fly forth fastë for the nonce.
And sometimes saw I there at once
A leasing, and a sad sooth saw,11
That gan of adventúrë 12 draw
Out at a window for to pace;
And when they metten in that place,
They were checked both the two,
And neither of them might out go;
For other so they gan to crowd, 15
Till each of them gan cryen loud,
"Let me go first!"-"Nay, but let me !
And here I will ensure thee,
With vowes, if thou wilt do so,
That I shall never from thee go,
But be thine owen sworen brother!
We will us medle 14 each with other,
That no man, be he ne'er so wroth,
Shall have one of us two, but both
At onës, as beside his leave, 15
Come we at morning or at eve,
Be we cried or still y-rowned." 16
Thus saw I false and sooth, compouned,17
Together fly for one tidíng.

Some to wax and wanë soon,
As doth the fairë whitë moon;
And let them go. There might I see
Winged wonders full fast flee,
Twenty thousand in a rout,19
As Eolus them blew about.
And, Lord! this House in allë times
Was full of shipmen and pilgrímes, 20
With scrippes bretfull of leasings,21
Entremedled 22 with tidings 23
And eke alone by themselve.
And many thousand times twelve
Saw I eke of these pardoners,24
Couriers, and eke messengers,
With boistës 25 crammed full of lies
As ever vessel was with lyes. 20
And as I altherfastë 27 went
About, and did all mine intent
Me for to play and for to lear, 28
And eke a tiding for to hear
That I had heard of some country,
That shall not now be told for me ;-
For it no need is, readilý;
Folk can sing it better than I.
For all must out, or late or rath,29
All the sheaves in the lath ;-

26

-30

I heard a greatë noise withal
In a corner of the hall,
Where men of love tidings told;
And I gan thitherward behold,
For I saw running ev'ry wight
As fast as that they hadde might,
And ev'reach cried, "What thing is that?"
And some said, "I know never what."
And when they were all on a heap,

Those behindë gan up leap,
And clomb upon each other fast,31
And up the noise on high they cast,
And trodden fast on others' heels,
And stamp'd, as men do after eels.
But at the last I saw a man,
Which that I not describe can;
But that he seemed for to be
A man of great authority.
And therewith I anon abraid 32
Out of my sleepë, half afraid;
Rememb'ring well what I had seen,
And how high and far I had been
In my ghost; 33 and had great wonder
Of what the mighty god of thunder

24 Of whom Chaucer, in the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, has given us no flattering typical portrait 25 Boxes. (page 24). 27 With all speed.

26 Lees (of wine, &c.)

28 To amuse and instruct myself. 29 Late or soon.

30 Barn; still used in Lincolnshire and some parts of the north, The meaning is, that the poet need not tell what tidings he wanted to hear, since everything of the kind must some day come out-as sooner or later every sheaf in the barn must be brought forth (to be threshed).

31 A somewhat similar heaping-up of people is described in Spenser's account of the procession of Lucifera ("The Faerie Queen," book i. canto iv.), where, as the royal dame passes to her coach,