tion of a garden and temple, from ver. 183 to ver. 287, is almost entirely taken from Boccace's description of the temple of Venus in the 7th book of The Thefeida. See the n. on ver. 1920. I have found no reason to retract the fufpicion there intimated as to the date of this poem, nor can I confirm it by any external evidence.

VII. The Complaint of the Black Knight, in mff. Bodl. Fairf. 16, and Bodl. 638, is entitled Complaint of a Lover's Life. I do not wish much confidence to be given to the conjecture in App. to the Pref. (C.) n. (e) that this poem relates to John of Gaunt.

VIII. Chaucer's A, B, C, was first printed in Mr. Speght's fecond edit. in 1602. It is faid in the title to have been compofed at the request of the Ducheffe Blanche: if that be true it ought to be placed before

IX. The Booke of the Ducheffe, which Chaucer himfelf has mentioned by the title of The Deth of Blaunche the Ducheffe, L. W. 418. See an account of this poem in the n. on ver. 4467.

X. The Houfe of Fame is mentioned by Chaucer himfelf in L.W. 417.: it was probably written while he was Comptroller of the Cuftom of Wools, and confequently not earlier than 1374. See the paffage from b. ii. quoted in the App. to the Pref. (C.) n. (e.) It is extant in mff, Bodl. Fairf. 16, and Bodl. 638.

XI.Chaucer's Dreme was firft printed in Mr.Speght's edit. of his Works in 1597. Bayle feems to speak of it under the title De Caftello Dominarum, lib. i. The fuppofed plan of this poem, prefixed to it by Mr. Speght, is a mere fancy, but there is no ground for doubting the authenticity of the poem itself.-When I imagined that a paffage in this Dreme [ver. 1820-1926,1 was probably copied from the lay of Elidus, [Dif courfe, c. n. 24,] I did not recollect that the incident there related is very fimilar to one in the Grecian fa

bulous history, [See Hyginus, fab. 136, de Polyido,Jand therefore might easily have come to Chaucer through fome other channel.

XII. The Flour and the Lefe was also printed for the first time in the edit. of 1597, but I do not think its authenticity fo clear as that of the preceding poem; the fubject at least is alluded to by Chaucer in L. W. 188-194.

XIII. The Legende of Goode Women is extant in mss. Bodl. Arch. Seld. B. 24, and Fairf. 16. For the time of its compofition fee the Difcourfe, &c. n. 3. See alfo the n. on ver. 4481. An additional argument for believing that the number intended was nineteen may be drawn from The Court of Love, ver. 108, where, speaking of Alcefte, Chaucer fays

To whom obeyed the Ladies gode ninetene.

XIV. The Complaint of Mars and Venus is faid, in the conclufion, to have been tranflated from the French of Graunfon, probably that Otho de Graunfon who was retained in the military service of Richard II. with an annuity of 200 marks, [Pat. 17 R. II. p. 1, m. 6, ap. Rymer.] Mr. Speght mentions a tradition (if I underftand him right) that this poem was originally made of the Lady Elizabeth, daughter to John of Gaunt, (whom he calls King of Spaine) and her husband the Lord John Holland, half-brother to Richard II. I cannot fee any thing in the poem itself that countenances this particular notion, though I have little doubt that it was intended to defcribe the fituation of fome two lovers under a veil of myftical allegory.-This poem is extant in mff. Bodl. Arch. Seld, B. 24, and Fairf. 16.; in mf. Harl. 7333 it is entitled The Broche of Thebes as of the Love of Mars and Venus, which inclines me to believe that it is the poem mentioned by Lydgate, and from him by Bayle, which has of late been fupposed to be loft. Lydgate's words arc

Of Annelida and of falfe Arcite

He made a Complaynt dolefull and piteous,
And of the broche which that Vulcanus

At Thebes wrought, full divers of nature.

Prol. to Trag. fign. A ii. b

From this paffage Bayle, as I suppose, deceived by the ambiguous fenfe of the word broche, has attributed to Chaucer a poem De Vulcani veru, of Vulcan's fpit; he fhould have faid De Vulcani gemmâ, or monili.-It feems to have fignified originally the tongue of a buckle or clafp, and from thence the buckle or clasp itself, 3265, 8131. T. v. 1660. But fee ver. 160.-It probably came by degrees to fignify any fort of jewel. Broche. Fuell. Monile. Armilla. Prompt. Parv. See Nouche. This broche of Thebes, from which the whole poem is here fuppofed to have taken its title, is defcribed at large in the Complaint of Mars, ver.93-109.The first idea of it seems to have been derived from what Statius has faid of the fatal necklace made by Vulcan for Harmonia, Theb.ii. 265-305.Lydgate refers us to Ovide, but I cannot find any thing in him upon the subjec.

XV.The Cuckory and the Nightingale,in mf. Fairf. 16, is entitled The boke of Cupide god of Love: it is extant alfo in mf. Bodl. 638, and as far as ver. 235 in Arch. Seld. B. 24, and might be much improved and augmented with fome lines from thofe mff. The ballade of three ftanzas with an envoye, which feems to belong to this poem in the editt. does not appear at all in mf. Bodl. 638.; in mf. Fairf. 16, it is at the end of The booke of the Ducheffe. I cannot believe that it was written by Chaucer.

Befide thefe more confiderable works, it appears from L. W. 422, 430, that our Author had composed many Balades, Roundels, Virelayes; that he had made many a Lay and many a Thing. A few pieces of this fort Volume XIV.

B

are ftill extant, but hardly any I think of fo early a date as the Legende. I will fet them down here as they ftand in the editt.

1. L'envoy de Chaucer à Bukton, beginning-My Maifer Bukton, whan of Chrift, &.So this little poem is entitled in ms. Fairf. 16. It has always been printed at the end of The booke of the Ducheffe, with anc. in the first line instead of the name of Bukton ; and in Mr Urry's edit. the following most unaccountable note is prefixed to it, “This seems an envoy to "the Duke of Lancaster after his lofs of Blanch.". From the reference to The Wife of Bathe, ver. 29, I fhould fuppofe this to have been one of our Author's later compofitions, and I find that there was a Peter de Buketon, the king's Efcheator for the county of York in 1397, [pat. 20 R. II. p. 2, m. 3, ap. Rymer,] to whom this poem, from the familiar style of it, is much more likely to have been addressed than to the Duke of Lancaster.

2. Balade fent to King Richard, begian. Sometime the world, &c.So this poem is entitled in mf. Harl. E. it is extant alfo in Fairf. 16, and in Cotton, Otho, A. xviii.

3. Balade, beginning-Fle fro the prefe, c. In mf. Cotton, Otho, A. xviii, this balade is faid to have been made by Chaucer upon his death-bed, lying in bis anguife; but of fuch a circumstance some further proof fhould be required: it is found without any fuch a note in ms. Arch. Seld. B. 24, and Fairf. 16.

4. Balade of the village-beginning, This wretched worldes, &c.—It is extant in ms. Fairf. 16, and Bodl. 638. In mf. Afbmol. 59, it is faid to have been tranflated from the French. Tanner, in v. Chaucer.

5. L'envoy de Chaucer à Skogan-beginn. To brokin ben the ftatutes, &c.—So this poem is entitled in mf. Tairf. 16. Among a number of people of all forts who

had letters of protection to attend Richard II. upon his expedition to Ireland in 1399 is Henricus Scogan Armiger. This jocofe expoftulation was probably addreffed to him by our Author fome years before, when Scogan's intereft at court may be supposed to have been better than his own.

6. Chaucer to his emptie purfe,-beginn. To you, my purfe, c.-This balade is extant in mf. Fairf. 16, and in Cotton, Otho, A. xviii. The envoy appears to be addreffed to Henry IV.

7. Balade-beginning, The firfte flock, Sc.-Thefe three stanzas have been preferved in A moral balade by Henry Scogan, of which fome notice will be taken below.

8. Proverbes by Chaucer beginning, What foal thefe clothes, c.-So this little piece is entitled in mf. Harl. 7578. it evidently contains two diftinct proverbs or moral admonitions.

9. Chaucer's vordes to his Scrivenere-beginn. Adam Scrivenere, &c.-A proof of his attention to the correctness of his writings. See alfo T. v. 1794, 5.

The Works of Chaucer in profe are,

I. A tranflation of Boethius De Confolatione Philofophiæ, which he has mentioned himself in L. W. ver. 425.

II. A treatife on the Aftrolabe, addreffed to his fon Lowis in 1391. It is plain from what is faid at the beginning of this treatise that the printed copies do not contain more than two of the five parts of which it was intended to confift.

III. The Teftament of Love is evidently an imitation of Boethius De Confolatione Philofophiæ: it seems to have been begun by our Author after his troubles, in the middle part of the reign of Richard II.and to have been finished about the time that Gower published his Confeffio Amantis, in the 16th year of that reign; at least