THE

FLOWER AND THE LEAF.

The argument of this piece, as given by the editors of Chau. cer, runs thus :

“ A gentlewoman, mut of an arbour, in a grove, seeth a great company of knights and ladies in a dance, upon the green grass

. The which being ended, they all kneel down, and do honour to the daisy, some to the flower, and some to the leaf. Afterwards this genilewoman learneth, by one of these ladies, the meaning hereof; which is this : They which honour the flower, a thing fading wik every blast, are such as look after beauty and worldly pleasure ; but they that honour the leaf, which abideth with the root, not withstanding the frosts and the winter storms, are they which follow virtue and during qualities, without regard of worldly respecís."

Some farther allegory was perhaps implied in this poem. Froissart, and other French poets, had established a sort of romantic devotion to the marguerite, or daisy, probably because the homage was capable of being allegorically transferred to any distinguish. ed lady bearing that name. Chaucer might obliquely insinuate the superior valour of the warriors, and virtue of the ladies of Albion, by proposing to them the worship of the laurel, as a more worthy object of devotion than the flower. Nor is this interpretation absolutely disproved by the homage which Chaucer himself pays to the daisy in the Legend of Alcestis.* A poet is no more obliged to be consistent in his mythological creed, than constant in his devotion to one beauty, and may shift from the Grecian to the Gothic creed, or from the worship of Venus to that of Bellona. If every separate poem is consistent with itself, it would be hard to require any farther uniformity.

Mr Godwin has elegantly and justly characterized the present version :

The
poem

of The Floure and the Lefe' is a production of Chaucer, with which Dryden was 'so particularly plea

"

Godwin's Life of Chaucer, Vol. I. p. 346.

racter.

ed, both for the invention and the moral,' as to induce him to transfuse it into modern English. He has somewhat obscured the purpose of the tale, which, in the original, is defective in perspicuity; but he has greatly heightened the enchantment of its cha

He has made its personages fairies, who annually hold a jubilee, such as is here described, on the first of May; Chaucer had left the species of the beings he employs vague and unexplained. In a word, the poem of Dryden, regarded merely as the exhibition of a soothing and delicious luxuriance of fancy, may be classed with the most successful productions of human genius." Life of Chauçer, Vol. I. p. 344.

a

THE

FLOWER AND THE LEAF;

OR, THE

LADY IN THE ARBOUR.

A VISION.

Now turning from the wintry signs, the sun
His course exalted through the Ram had run,
And whirling up the skies, his chariot drove
Through Taurus, and the lightsome realms of love;
Where Venus from her orb descends in showers,
To glad the ground, and paint the fields with flowers:
When first the tender blades of grass appear,
And buds, that yet the blast of Eurus fear,
Stand at the door of life, and doubt to clothe the

year;
Till gentle heat, and soft repeated rains,
Make the green blood to dance within their veins:
Then, at their call embolden'd, out they come,
And swell the gems, and burst the narrow room ;

Broader and broader yet, their blooms display, Salute the welcome sun, and entertain the day. Then from their breathing souls the sweets repair To scent the skies, and purge the unwholesome air. Joy spreads the heart, and, with a general song, Spring issues out, and leads the jolly months along.

In that sweet season, as in bed I lay, And sought in sleep to pass the night away, I turn'd my weary side, but still in vain, Though full of youthful health, and void of pain. Cares I had none, to keep me from my rest, For love had never enter'd in my breast; I wanted nothing fortune could supply, Nor did she slumber till that hour deny. I wonder'd then, but after found it true, Much joy had dried away the balmy dew: Seas would be pools, without the brushing air, To curl the waves; and sure some little care Should weary nature so, to make her want repair.

When Chanticleer the second watch had sung, Scorning the scorner sleep, from bed I sprung; And dressing, by the moon, in loose array, Pass'd out in open air, preventing day, And sought a goodly grove, as fancy led my way. Straight as a line in beauteous order stood Of oaks unshorn, a venerable wood; Fresh was the grass beneath, and every tree, At distance planted in a due degree, Their branching arms in air with equal space Stretch'd to their neighbours with a long embrace : And the new leaves on every bough were seen, Some ruddy-colour'd, some of lighter green. The painted birds, companions of the spring, Hopping from spray to spray, were heard to sing. Both eyes and ears received a like delight, Enchanting music, and a charming sight.

.}

On Philomel I fix'd my whole desire,
And listen'd for the queen of all the quire;
Fain would I hear her heavenly voice to sing,
And wanted yet an omen to the spring.

Attending long in vain, I took the way,
Which through a path, but scarcely printed, lay;
In narrow mazes oft it seem'd to meet,
And look'd as lightly press'd by fairy feet.
Wand'ring I walk'd alone, for still methought
To some strange end so strange a path was wrought:
At last it led me where an arbour stood,
The sacred receptacle of the wood;
This place unmark'd, though oft I walk'd the green,
In all my progress I had never seen;
And seized at once with wonder and delight,
Gazed all around me, new to the transporting sight.
"Twas bench'd with turf, and, goodly to be seen,
The thick young grass arose in fresher green :
The mound was newly made, no sight could pass
Betwixt the nice partitions of the grass ; ;
The well-united sods so closely lay,
And all around the shades defended it from day;
For sycamores with eglantine were spread,
A hedge about the sides, a covering over head.
And so the fragrant brier was wove between,
The sycamore and flowers were mix'd with green,
That nature seem'd to vary the delight,
And satisfied at once the smell and sight.
The master workman of the bower was known
Through fairy-lands, and built for Oberon ;
Who twining leaves with such proportion drew,
They rose by measure, and by rule they grew;
No mortal tongue can half the beauty tell

, For none but hands divine could work so well. Both roof and sides were like a parlour made A soft recess, and a cool summer shade;

a