Bellmour, meantime, in despair and rage at his misery plunges into reckless debauchery, and in company with Sir Timothy visits a bagnio, where they meet Betty Flauntit, the knight's kept mistress, and other cyprians.

And who so gloomy and thoughtful as Beltane, unmindful of the youthful knight who went beside him, and scarce heeding his soft-spoke words until his gaze by chance lighted upon the young knight's armour that gleamed in the sun 'neath rich surcoat; armour of the newest fashion of link, reinforced by plates of steel, gorget and breast, elbow and knee, and with cunningly jointed sollerets.

Now would he have called a greeting, but the words died upon his lips, his breath stayed, and he stared at something that had caught in the links of the young knight's mail-coif, something that stirred light and wanton, kissed by the breath of early morna lock of bright hair that glowed a wondrous red-gold in the new-risen sun.

Of a sudden, shouted he joyously, for, flashing high in air, down came Beltane's long blade strong and true upon the knight's helma fell, deep-dinting stroke that drave the stranger reeling back.

Then sprang grim Roger, dagger aloft, but swifter than he, the knight's sword swung; flat fell that long blade on Roger's bascinet, wielded by an arm so strong that Roger, staggering aside, rolled upon the ling, and thereafter, sat up, round-eyed and fearful: "O master!"

"By Our Lady of Hartismere!" panted Sir Brian, "but thy left arm serves thee well, Benedict!" "'Tis fair, Brian, 'tis fair, God be thanked!" sighed Sir Benedict, eyeing his reeking blade, "though I missed my thrust 'neath yon gentle knight's gorget" "Yet shore clean through his helm, my lord!"

" Then, when he had done speaking, Robin stretched out his hand and grasped the Knight's palm.

It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the extent of a knight's fee was determined by rent or valuation rather than acreage, and that the common quantity was really expressed in the twenty librates, the twenty pounds' worth of annual value which until the reign of Edward I was the qualification for knighthood.

I do confess, Were these good deeds done in sincerity Pity of mine, thine or this knight's distress, Without vain bragsit were true charity: But to relieve our fainting bodies' wants, And grieve our souls with quips and bitter 'braids, Is good turns overturn'd: no thanks we owe To any whatsoever helps us so.

[and it was reprinted under the title of "A Knight's Conjuring."

They grew famous for the breeding of horses according to the exacting taste of the day, learned in the various species of palfreys and sumpter horses and knight's chargers and horses for ambling or for trotting.

Henry, son of Arthur, gave ten dogs to have a recognition against the Countess of Copland for one knight's fee [q].

No greater misery than for a lord to have a knight's living, a gentleman a yeoman's, not to be able to live as his birth and place require.

We will not have the custody of an heir, nor of any land which he holds of another by knight's service, by reason of any petty serjeanty by which he holds of us, by the service of paying a knife, an arrow, or the like.

Chaucer, Canterbury Tales ("The Knight's Tale," 1388).

The incident is precisely like Palamon's first sight of Emily in Chaucer's Knight's Tale, and almost in the very words of Palamon the poet addresses his lady: Ah, sweet, are ye a worldly crëatúre Or heavenly thing in likeness of natúre? Or are ye very Nature, the goddéss, That have depainted with your heavenly hand This garden full of flowrës as they stand?

The account of the procession of the Fairy Chivalry in the "Flower and the Leaf;" the splendid description of the champions who came to assist at the tournament in the "Knight's Tale;" the account of the battle itself, its alternations and issue,if they cannot be called improvements on Chaucer, are nevertheless so spirited a transfusion of his ideas into modern verse, as almost to claim the merit of originality.

It was two hours after noon when a party of De la Marck's banditti appeared, and shortly after a body of men-at-arms under a knight's pennon.

ROBINSON, F. N. The Prologue, the Knight's tale, and the Nun's priest's tale.

The young rival of Le Frain was distinguished like her sister, by a sylvan appellation; her name was Le Codre (Corylus, the Hazel), and the knight's tenants had sagaciously drawn a most favourable prognostic of his future happiness, from the superiority of nuts to vile ash-keys; but neither he nor any of his household were disposed to augur favourably of a marriage which tended to deprive them of the amiable orphan.

The good knight's servitors had already told the surgeon the great desire he had to be at the battle, for every day he had news from the camp of the French, how that they were getting nigh the Spaniards, and there were hopes from day to day of the battle, which would, to his great sorrow, have been delivered without him.

Several other of the old Knight's Particularities break out upon these Occasions:

The Man of the House had it seems been formerly a Servant in the Knight's Family; and to do Honour to his old Master, had some time since, unknown to Sir ROGER, put him up in a Sign-post before the Door; so that the Knight's Head had hung out upon the Road about a Week before he himself knew any thing of the Matter.

[Footnote A: This erratum has been suffered to remain in the edition of the Knight's plays now before us, published in 1692.]

I was pretty well acquainted with the contents of Mr. Knight's first edition; and knowing that the subsequent work of Mr. Collier contained nothing bearing upon the point, I did not think of referring to an edition published, as I understood, rather for the variation of form than on account of the accumulation of new matter.