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 tablish its previous existence. One, in the French prose romance of Lancelot, is of unusual interest. King Bademagus, we read, ‘was seated in an arm-chair of ivory, which was very beautiful, and before him was a harper who played ( notoit ) the lay of Orpheus; and it pleased the king so much to listen that there was no one who dared say a word.’”

I am indebted to Professor W. H. Schofield for permission to quote the foregoing paragraphs and for encouragement in the preparation of this little volume; to Dr. K. G. T. Webster for interpretations of difficult phrases, although the restrictions of metre have occasionally forced me to disregard them; and to Professor L. B. R. Briggs for his kindly critical judgment of the verse. E. E. H. Stoughton Hall, Cambridge, December tenth, 1909.