sposal of the editor, as I deemed
the subject somewhat too indelicate, for pure taste, to be offered to
the world at this time of day. Mr. Horne has much hurt this publication
by not abstaining from the "Reve's Tale;" this, after making all
allowance for the rude manners of Chaucer's age, is intolerable, and by
indispensably softening down the incidents, he has killed the spirit of
that humour, gross and farcical, that pervades the original. When the
work was first mentioned to me, I protested as strongly as possible
against admitting any coarseness or indelicacy; so that my conscience is
clear of countenancing aught of that kind. So great is my admiration of
Chaucer's genius, and so profound my reverence for him as an instrument
in the hands of Providence for spreading the light of literature through
his native land, that, notwithstanding the defects and faults in this
publication, I am glad of it, as a mean for making many acquainted with
the original who would otherwise be ignorant of everything about him but
his name.'[9]

[9] Extract: January 13th, 1841 (_Memoirs_, ii. p. 374-5).

488. _The Prioress's Tale_.

'Call up him who left half told
The story of Cambuscan bold.'

In the following Poem no further deviation from the original has been
made than was necessary for the fluent reading and instant understanding
of the Author: so much, however, is the language altered since Chaucer's
time, especially in pronunciation, that much was to be removed, and its
place supplied with as little incongruity as possible. The ancient
accent has been retained in a few conjunctions, as _also_ and _alway_,
from a conviction that such sprinklings of antiquity would be admitted,
by persons of taste, to have a graceful accordance with the subject. The
fierce bigotry of the Prioress forms a fine back-ground for her
tender-hearted sympathies with the Mother and Child; and the mode in
which the story is told amply atones for the extravagance of the
miracle.

XXIII. POEMS REFERRING TO THE PERIOD OF OLD AGE.

489. _The Old Cumberland Beggar_. [I.]

The class of Beggars to which the Old Man here described belongs will
probably soon be extinct. It consisted of poor, and mostly old and
infirm persons, who confined themselves to a stated round in their
neighbourhood, and had certain fixed days, on which, at different
houses, they regularly received alms, sometimes in money, but mostly in
provisions.

490. *_Ibid._