Yet faw I brent the shippes hoppefteres, Under the wheel ful low he lay adoun. Ther were alfo of Martes divifion Th' armerer and the bowyer, and the smith, 2020 2025 the termination fire or fier was used to denote a female, like trix in Latin. As therefore a female baker was called a bakefter, a female brewer a brewefter, a female webbe or weaver a webbefter, fo, I conceive, a female hopper or dancer was called an hoppefter. It is well known that a ship, in most languages, is confidered as a female.---Though the idea of a thip dancing on the waves be not an unpoetical one, the adjunct hoppefters does not feem fo proper in this place as the bellatrici of The Thefeida, l. vii.; Vedevi ancor le navi bellatrici, In voti carri e li volti guaftati. In another respect Chaucer has improved upon his original, by reprefenting the thips on fire. It thould be obferved that the principal circumftances in Boccace's defcription of this temple of Mars are copied from Statius, 1. vii. . 2020. The hunte] The huntfman, from the Sax. hunta. See before, ver. 1680, and below, ver. 2630. I know not what to think of the two following lines. Was Chaucer ferious, or did he mean, in this and fome other fimilar paffages, to ridicule the minute and often incongruous defcriptions of the old romancers? The lines are in all the mfl. . 2017. Th' armerer and the boyer] The editions, and all the mff. except Dr. Afkew's, read-The barbour and the bocher. I was glad to avail myfelf of the authority of those two And all above depeinted in a tour 2030 All be that thilke time they were unborne, 2035 Yet was hir deth depeinted ther beforne, By manacing of Mars, right by figure, 2040 2045 A wolf ther flood beforne him at his fete With eyen red, and of a man he ete: 2050 mff. to infert the armerer inflead of the barbour, and in confequence of that emendation I have ventured (from conjecture only) to fubftitute the boyer for the bocher. . 2031. With thilke sharpe fewerd] Thilke is from conjec. ture only. The mil. read-the. Sharpe is a diffyllable in other places. See ver. 2028, 2605, 9033.----In the next line I have alfo put rhanging inflead of banging. With fubtil penfil peinted was this florie, Thus was it peinted, I can fay no ferre ; I mene not hire the goddeffe Diane, 2055 2060 2065 But Peneus daughter, which that highte Dane. For vengeance that he faw Diane all naked: J faw how that his houndes have him caught, And freten him, for that they knew him naught. Yet peinted was a litel forthermore How Athalante hunted the wilde bore, 2071 And Meleagre, and many another mo, For which Diane wroughte hem care and wo. This goddeffe on an hart ful heye fete, With fmale houndes all aboute hire fete, 2075 And undernethe hire feet fhe hadde a mone, 2080 A woman travailling was hire beforne, 2085 But for hire childe fo longe was unborne Ful pitoufly Lucina gan fhe call, And fayed; Helpe, for thou mayeft befte of all. That everich fhuld an hundred knightes bring, And til Athenes hir covenant for to hold, 2ICO Hath everich of hem brought an hundred knightes And fikerly, ther trowed many a man 2105 N'as of fo fewe fo noble a compagnie ; And wold his thankes han a paffant name, Hath praied that he might ben of that game, 2110 And right fo ferden they with Palamon. 2115 2120 2125 Ther maist thou fe coming with Palamon 2130 Licurge himself, the grete King of Trace; Blake was his berd, and manly was his face; .2128. Armed they weren] This is upon the authority of ed. M: The mff, read-Armed were they. |