I need say little of his parentage, life, and fortunes they are to be found at large in all the changing an e feminine into an e mute, or of dropping it entirely, according to the modern practice. "But nothing will be found of such extensive use for supplying the deficiencies of Chaucer's metre, as the pronunciation of the e feminine; and as that pronunciation has been a long time totally antiquated, it may be proper here to suggest some reasons for believing (independently of any arguments to be drawn from the practice of Chaucer himself) that the final e in our ancient language was very generally pronounced, as the e feminine is at this day by the French. "With respect to words imported directly from France, it is certainly quite natural to suppose, that, for some time, they retained their native pronunciation; whether they were Nouns substantive, as, hoste, ver. 753. face, ver. 1580, &c.—or Adjectives, as, large, ver. 755. strange, ver. 13, &c.—or Verbs, as, grante, ver. 12756. preche, ver. 12327, &c. and it cannot be doubted, that in these and other similar words in the French language, the final e was always pronounced as it still is, so as to make them dissyllables. "We have not indeed so clear a proof of the original pronunciation of the Saxon part of our language; but we know, from general observation, that all changes of pronunciation are usually made by small degrees; and therefore, when we find that a great number of those words, which in Chaucer's time ended in e, originally ended in a, we may reasonably presume, that our ancestors first passed from the broader sound of a to the thinner sound of e feminine, and not at once from a to e mute. Besides, if the final e in such words was not pronounced, why was it added? From the time that it has editions of his works. He was employed abroad, and favoured by Edward the Third, Richard the confessedly ceased to be pronounced, it has been gradually omitted in them, except where it may be supposed of use to lengthen or soften the preceding syllable, as in -hope, name, &c. But according to the ancient orthography it terminated many words of Saxon original, where it cannot have been added for any such purpose, as herte, childe, olde, wilde, &c. In these therefore we must suppose that it was pronounced as an e feminine, and made part of a second syllable; and so, by a parity of reason, in all others, in which, as in these, it appears to have been substituted for the Saxon a. Upon the same grounds we may presume, that in words terminated, according to the Saxon form, in en, such as the Infinitive modes and Plural numbers of Verbs, and a great variety of Adverbs and Prepositions, the n only was at first thrown away, and the e, which became final, continued for a long time to be pronounced as well as written. These considerations seem sufficient to make us believe, that the pronunciation of the e feminine is founded on the very nature of both the French and Saxon parts of our language; and therefore, though we may not be able to trace the reasons of that pronunciation in all cases so plainly as in those which have been just mentioned, we may safely, I think, conclude with the learned Wallis, that what is generally considered as an e mute in our language, either at the end or in the middle of words, was antiently pronounced, but obscurely, like the e feminine of the French, ["This reasoning concerning the final e" (Mr. Tyrwhitt observes in a Note,) " is equally applicable to the same vowel in the middle of words. Indeed (as Wallis has Second, and Henry the Fourth; and was poet, as I suppose, to all three of them. In Richard's observed, Gram. Ling. Ang. c. 1. § 2.) ' vix uspiam in medio dictionis reperitur e mutum, quod non ab origine fuerit finale.' If therefore it was pronounced while final, it would probably continue to be pronounced notwithstanding the addition of a syllable. If it was pronounced in swete, trewe, large, riche, it would be pronounced in swetely, trewely, largely, richely. [See ver. 123, and 3219, ver. 775 and 3692, ver. 2740 and 3034, ver. 1014 and 1913.] In another very numerous set of words (French verbals ending in ment) the pronunciation of this middle e is countenanced not only by analogy, but also by the subsisting practice in the French language. So Chaucer certainly pronounced the words jugement, ver. 780, 807, 820; commandement, ver. 2871, 2981; amendement, ver. 4183; pavement and avisement, ver. 4505, 6. Even Spencer in the same Canto (the 8th of B. v.) uses atonement and avengement as words of four syllables; [St. 21. 8.30. 5.] and Wallis takes notice that the middle e in commandement was pronounced in his time.] "The third kind of irregularity, to which an English verse is liable, is from the Accents being misplaced. The restoring of Chaucer's words to their just number of syllables, by the methods which have been pointed out above, will often be of signal service in restoring his accents also to their proper places; but further, in many words, we must be cautious of concluding too hastily that Chaucer accented the same syllables that we do. On the contrary, I am persuaded that in his French words he most commonly laid his accent according to to the French custom (upon the last syllable, or the last but one in words ending in e feminine), which, as is well known, is the very reverse of our practice. Thus in time, I doubt, he was a little dipped in the rebellion of the Commons; and being brother-in-law ver. 3. he uses licoúr for liquour: ver. 11. coráges for coúrages; ver. 22. again, corage for courage; ver. 37. resőn for réason; ver. 77. viage for voyage; ver. 109, 10. viságe—uságe for vísage, úsage; ver. 140. manére for mánner; ver. 186. laboure for lábour; ver. 204. prelát for prélate; ver. 211. langage for language; ver. 212. mariáge for marriage; ver. 216. contrée for country; and so through the whole work. "In the same manner he accents the last syllable of the Participle Present, as ver. 885, 6. wedding-coming for wedding-coming; ver. 903. living for living; ver. 907, 8. coming—crying for cóming—cry'ing ; ver. 998. brenning for brénning, &c. and as he does this in words of Saxon as well as of French growth, I should suppose that the old Participle of the present tense, ending in and, was originally accented upon that syllable, as it certainly continued to be by the Scottish poets a long time after Chaucer. See Bp. Douglas, Virg. p. 18. ver. 18. Spryngánd; ver. 51. Beránd; p. 27. ver. 49. Fleánd; p. 29. ver. 10. Seand. "These instances are all taken from the riming syllables, (where a strong accent is indispensably necessary,) in order to prove beyond contradiction, that Chaucer frequently accented his words in the French manner. But if he followed this practice at the end of his verses, it is more than probable that he did the same in the middle, whenever it gave a more harmonious flow to his metre; and therefore in ver. 4. instead of vértue, I suppose he pronounced, vertúe; in ver. 11. instead of nature, natúre; in ver. 25. instead of avénture, aventúre; in ver. stead of honour, honoúr, &c. 46. in It may be proper however to observe, that we are not to expect from Chaucer that regularity in the dispo to John of Gaunt, it was no wonder if he followed the fortunes of that family, and was well with Henry the Fourth, when he had deposed his predecessor. Neither is it to be admired, that Henry, who was a wise as well as a valiant Prince, who claimed by succession, and was sensible that his title was not sound, but was rightfully in Mortimer," who had married the heir of York; it was not to be admired, I say, if that great politician should be pleased to have the greatest wit of those times in his interests, and to sition of his accents, which the practice of our greatest poets in the last and present century has taught us to consider as essential to harmonious versification. None of his masters, either French or Italian, had set him a pattern of exactness in this respect; and it is rather surprizing, that, without rule or example to guide him, he has so seldom failed to place his accents in such a manner, as to produce the cadence best suited to the nature of his verse." Essay on the Language and Versfication of Chaucer. C. T. iv. 85-106. I cannot conclude this long extract from the work of my late most learned friend, without recommending to the poetical student the whole of the Essay from which it is taken, as one of the most masterly pieces of criticism in the English language. The grammatical and metrical Analysis of the first eighteen lines of THE CANTERBURY TALES deserves to be particularly studied, previous to the perusal of any of the poems of the venerable bard. 6 After the decease of Richard the Second, the true title to the crown was in the issue of Philippa, the only daughter of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, third son of King Edward III. Edward Mortimer, Earl of March, married Philippa; and Edward, Earl of March, their grandson, |