But by thy lif be ne no more so large;

Kepe bet my good; this yeve I thee in charge.
Thus endeth now my Tale, and God us fende
Taling ynough unto our lives ende.

THE PRIORESSES PROLOGUE.
WEL faid, by corpus Domini, quod our Hoste; 13365
Now longe mote thou failen by the cofte,
Thou gentil maister, gentil marinere.

God give the monke a thousand last quad yere.
A ha! felawes, beth ware of swiche a jape.
The monke put in the mannes hode an ape, 13370
And in his wifes eke, by Seint Auftin.

Draweth no monkes more into your in.

But now paffe over, and let us feke aboute

Who fhal now tellen first of all this route
Another Tale: and with that word he faid, 13375
As curteifly as it had ben a maid;

My Lady Prioresse, by your leve,
So that I wift I fhuld you not agreve,
I wolde demen that ye tellen fhold
A Tale next, if fo were that ye wold.

Now wol ye vouchefauf, may Lady dere?

Gladly, quod fhe; and faide as ye fhul here.

13380

v. 13368. a thousand lat quad yere] Laft, in Teut, is onus, farcina, Kilian ; and quaed in the fame language is malus: the meaning therefore is, God give the monke a thoufand iaft (ever fo great a weight) of quad yere (bad years, misfortune.) The Italians ufe mal anno in the fame fenfe.

THE PRIORESSES TALE.

O Lord our Lord! thy name how merveillous
Is in this large world yfprad! (quod fhe)
For not al only thy laude precious
Parfourmed is by men of dignitee,

But by the mouth of children thy bountee
Parfourmed is, for on the breft fouking
Somtime fhewen they thin herying.

13385

Wherfore in laude, as I can beft and may, 13390 Of thee and of the white lily flour

Which that thee bare, and is a maide alway,
To tell a ftorie I wol do my labour;
Not that I may encresen hire honour,
For fhe hirefelven is honour and rote

Of bountee, next hire fone, and foules bote.
O mother maide! o maide and mother fre!
O bushe unbrent! brenning in Moyfes fight,
That ravishedest doun fro the deitee,

13395

Thurgh thin humbleffe, the goft that in thee alight, Of whos vertue, whan he thin herte light,

13401

The Priorefes Tale] A miracle of a Chriftian child murdered by the Jews. Urry.

v. 13383. O Lord our Lord] The Prioreffe begins her legend with the first verses of the 8th pfalm; " Domine, Dominus nofter," &c.

V. 13401. whan be thin herte light] i. e. Lighted, made light or pleasant. So in Tro. b. iii. 1088.;

Whan wroth is he that hold my forrowes light.

Conceived was the fathers fapience,
Helpe me to tell it in thy reverence.

Lady! thy bountee, thy magnificence,
Thy vertue and thy gret humilitee,
Ther may no tonge expreffe in no fcience;"
For fomtime, Lady! or men pray to thee
Thou goft beforn of thy benignitee
And geteft us the light of thy prayere
To giden us unto thy fone fo dere.

My conning is so weke, o blisful Quene !i
For to declare thy grete worthineffe,"
That I ne may the weighte not fuftene;
But as a child of twelf moneth old or leffe,
'That can unnethes any word expreffe,
Right fo fare I, and therfore I you pray
Gideth my fong that I fhal of you say.

Ther was in Afie, in a gret citee,
Amonges Criften folk a Jewerie,
Suftened by a lord of that contree,
For foule ufure and lucre of vilanie

Hateful to Crift and to his compagnie,

13405

13410

13415

13420

And thurgh the strete men mighten ride and wende, For it was free, and open at eyther ende.

A litel fcole of Criften folk ther stood

Doun at the ferther end, in which ther were
Children an hepe comen of Criften blood,
That lerned in that fcole yere by yere

Swiche manere doctrine as men used there;

13425

This is to fay, to fingen and to rede,

As fmale children don in hir childhede.

Among thife children was a widewes fone,
A litel clergion, sevene yere of age,
That day by day to fcole was his wone,
And eke alfo, wheras he fey the image
Of Criftes moder, had he in usage,

As him was taught, to knele adoun, and say
Ave Marie as he goth by the way.

13430

13435

Thus hath this widewe hire litel fone ytaught

Our blisful Lady, Criftes moder dere,
To worship ay, and he forgate it naught,
For fely childe wol alway fone lere.
But ay whan I remembre on this matere.
Seint Nicholas ftant ever in my presence,
For he fo yong to Crift did reverence.

This litel childe his litel book lerning,
As he fate in the fcole at his primere,
He Alma Redemptoris herde fing,

13440

13445

As children lered hir antiphonere,

And as he dorft he drow him nere and nere,
And herkened ay the wordes and the note,

13450

Til he the firfle vers coude al by rote.

.13444. Seint Nicholas] We have an account of the very early piety of this faint in his leffon, Brev. Roman. vi. Decemb. ; "Cujus viri fanctitas, quanta futura eflet, jam ab incunabulis "apparuit. Nam infans, cum reliquas dies lac nutricis frequens fugeret, quartâ et fextâ feriâ (on Wednesdays and Fridays) "femel duntaxat, idque vefperi, sugebat."

Nought wift he what this Latin was to say,
For he fo yonge and tendre was of age;
But on a day his felaw gan he pray

To expounden him this fong in his langage,
Or telle him why this fong was in ufage:
This prayde he him to conftrue and declare
Ful often time upon his knees bare.

13455

His felaw, which that elder was than he, 13460
Answerd him thus; This fong, I have herd fay,
Was maked of our blisful Lady fre,

Hire to falue, and eke hire for to prey
To ben our help and focour whan we dey.
I can no more expound in this matere:
I lerne fong; I can but fmal grammere.
And is this fong maked in reverence
Of Criftes moder? faid this innocent:
Now certes I wol don my diligence
To conne it all or Criftemaffe be went,
Though that I for my primer fhal be fhent,
And fhal be beten thries in an houre,
I wol it conne our Ladie for to honoure.
His felaw taught him homeward prively
Fro day to day til he coude it by rote,
And than he fong it wel and boldely
Fro word to word according with the note:
T'wies a day it paffed thurgh his throte,

13465

13470

13475

To fcoleward and homeward whan he wente;
On Crifles moder fet was his entente.

13480