Page:The Canterbury tales of Geoffrey Chaucer.djvu/55

 as the flame. And to the grove of which I told you he held his way by chance, to make him a garland, were it of woodbine or of hawthorn-leaves; and loud he sang in the face of the bright sun: "May, with all thy flowers and thy green, welcome be thou, May, the fair and fresh—I hope that I shall find some green." With a lusty heart he leaped from his courser into the grove, and in a path he roamed up and down, where by adventure this Palamon was in a bush, that no man might see him, for sore afeared of his death was he. And he knew not that it was Arcite: God wot he would have trowed it full little. But sooth is said many years agone that "field hath eyes and wood hath ears." It is full fair if a man can bear him steady, for every day he meeteth men unlocked for. Little wist Arcite that his fellow was so nigh, to hearken all his words, for in the bush now he sitteth full still.

When that Arcite hath roamed his fill and sung lustily all the roundel, suddenly he falleth into a study, as do these lovers in their odd turns, now in the tree-tops, now down among the briars ; now up, now down, as a bucket in a well. Right as on the Friday, soothly for to say, now it shineth, now it raineth, so can fickle Venus overcast the hearts of her folk; right as her day is fickle, so changeth she her mind. Seldom is the Friday like all the week.

When Arcite had sung he began to sigh, and sat him down. "Alas!" quoth he, "alas, that day that I was born! How long through thy cruelty, Juno, wilt thou war against Thebes city? Alas! the blood royal of Amphion and Cadmus is brought to confusion. Cadmus, that was the first man that built Thebes or began the town and was first crowned king,—of his lineage am I and his offspring by true line, and of the royal stock ; and