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LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT

LEAD, kindly light, amid th' encircling gloom.
Lead Thou me on;

The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead Thou me on;

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;

I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on!

I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!

So long Thy Power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,

And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!

JOHN HENRY NEWMAN.

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GOD of our fathers, known of old—
Lord of our far-flung battle-line-
Beneath Whose awful Hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine-
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies-
The captains and the kings depart-
Still stands Thine ancient Sacrifice,

An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we forget!

Far-called our navies melt away

On dune and headland sinks the fire

Lo, all our pomp of yesterday

Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, Lest we forget - lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe —
Such boastings as the Gentiles use

Or lesser breeds without the Law
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget-lest we forget!

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For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard
All valiant dust that builds on dust,

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NOTES

GEOFFREY CHAUCER

THE selections in this volume are taken from the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales. These tales are a collection of stories supposed to be told by a group of pilgrims who are journeying on horseback to the shrine of Thomas à Becket at Canterbury. Becket was at one time Chancellor to Henry II, and later was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by the king. A violent quarrel arose between them, and the king finally became so angered that he exclaimed in a fit of rage: "Of the cowards who eat my bread, is there not one who will free me from this turbulent priest?" Four of the king's knights straightway went to Canterbury and murdered Becket in the cathedral where he had taken refuge.

This act so aroused popular indignation that the king was forced to kneel at Becket's tomb at Canterbury and ask the monks to flog him as a punishment for the crime. Becket was canonized as a martyr, and it was a common thing for crowds to go to Canterbury to pray at his tomb. Many went with the hope of being healed of disease, both of the body and of the soul; others made the journey in a holiday mood.

Chaucer's pilgrims, twenty-nine in number, start on horseback from the Tabard Inn at Southwark, a suburb of London. They represent every station in life, in the party were a knight, a monk, a scholar, a parson, a miller, a shipman, and a cook, and they were united by one common tie, religion. Then, too, the comradeship of the highway largely brushed away whatever feeling of class distinction there may have been among the travelers. At any rate, it was a merry gathering. The jolly host of the Tabard suggests that each member of the company tell two stories, both going and coming, and that the pilgrim who tells the best story shall have a supper at the inn on their return at the cost of all the rest. The host also offers to go along and act as judge. The red-bearded miller leads the company out of town with his bagpipe.

In the Prologue, Chaucer gives a series of vivid and lifelike pictures of these twenty-nine pilgrims, portraying with a deft touch both their physical and moral qualities. As might be expected, the first picture is that of the Knight. It was an age of feudalism, and in that age the soldier was the central figure. Chaucer had lived on friendly terms with high-bred men of arms, and he here shows us his conception of a perfect knight, brave, honorable, clean-minded, courteous and generous, modest and gentle. The Knight's son, the young Squire, is described in a more playful manner, yet with entire sympathy. In addition to youthful gayety and high spirits, he has all the accomplishments of a well-born and well-bred young man who aspires to distinction in arms.

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The Shipman was a man of wholly different type; but he was a representative of a class common in Chaucer's day. He was a sturdy sailor, a master of his trade, half pirate, not troubled with a scrupulous conscience; yet Chaucer calls him "a good felawe."

The portrait of the Parson is, by common consent, the best picture of its kind in literature. Dryden admired it and paraphrased it, and Goldsmith no doubt had it in mind when he described the country parson in The Deserted Village. Chaucer's parson is modestly but genuinely pious, conscientious, industrious, unselfish, kind, preaching no less eloquently by example than by word. The portrait was meant by Chaucer as a rebuke to the more selfish and worldly monks of the religious orders, many of whom were notorious for the profligacy of their lives.

THE KNIGHT

LINE 1. Knight, a title of rank generally conferred upon men of gen. tle birth for bravery in battle. worthy, worthy of honor, distinguished. 4. fredom, generosity.

5. his lordés werré, God's wars, the Crusades. It may refer to the king of England's wars.

6. no man ferré, no man further.

9. Alisaundre, Alexandria, in Egypt.

10. the bord bigonné, sat at the head of the table. This place was often assigned to him at banquets out of respect for his bravery.

11. naciouns. Men from all nations came to Prussia to aid the Teutonic knights in their wars against the surrounding heathen. — Prucé, Prussia.

13. Tramissené, Tramessen, a Moorish kingdom in Africa The Moors were Mohammedans

14. listés, lists, inclosed places for combats or tournaments.

16. Palatyé, Palathia, a strip of country in Asia Minor which was taken from the Turks by the Christian knights.

18. a sovereyn prys, very great fame.

21. vileinye, "any language unbecoming a gentleman."

22. no maner wight, no sort of person.

25. hors, horses. It is an old neuter plural. he was nat gay, was not gaudily dressed.

he

26. fustian, a coarse twilled cloth. — gipoun, a tight-fitting, sleeveless

coat.

27. Al bismotered with his habergeoun, stained with rust from his coat of mail.

28. viagé, voyage, travels abroad.

THE SQUIRE

LINE 1. Squyér, a knight's attendant and armor-bearer.

2. bacheler, a candidate for knighthood.

3. crulle, curled.

5. of evene lengthé, of average height.

6. wonderly delivere, extremely quick and active.

7 chivachyé, cavalry raids.

8. Flaundrés, Artoys, Picardyé, Flanders, Artois, Picardy, districts in northern France, where many battles between the French and English were fought.

9. as of so litel spacé, in consideration of his youth.

10. his lady gracé, his lady's favor.

II. Embrouded, embroidered.

13. floytinge, playing on a flute.

17. endyté, compose.

18. Iuste, joust or just, to thrust with the lance at an opponent in single combat on horseback. - purtreye, draw.

19. nightertalé, night-time.

22. The ability to carve at table was considered one of the accomplish. ments of a candidate for knighthood.

THE SHIPMAN

LINE I. woning fer by westé, dwelling far to the westward.

2. Dertemouthé, Dartmouth, a seaport town in the southwest of England. In Chaucer's day it was an important shipping center.

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