First on the wal was peynted a forest, In which ther dwelleth neither man nor best, With knotty, knarry, barreyne trees olde Of stubbes sharpe and hidouse to biholde, In which ther ran a rumbel and a swough, As though a storm sholde bresten every bough; And dounward from an hille, under a bente, Ther stood the temple of Mars armypotente, Wroght al of burned steel, of which the entree Was long and streit, and gastly for to see. The northern light in at the dores shoon, For wyndowe on the wal ne was ther noon Thurgh which men myghten any light discern, The dores were al of adament eterne, Y-clenched overthwart and endelong With iren tough, and for to make it strong, Every pyler, the temple to sustene, Was tonne greet, of iren bright and shene. _The Knight’s Tale_ (_d_) _His Humor and Pathos._ In the literature of his time, when so few poets seem to have any perception of the fun in life, the humor of Chaucer is invigorating and delightful. The humor, which steeps nearly all his poetry, has great variety: kindly and patronizing, as in the case of the Clerk of Oxenford; broad and semi-farcical, as in the Wife of Bath; pointedly satirical, as in the Pardoner and the Summoner; or coarse, as happens in the tales of the Miller, the Reeve, and the Pardoner. It is seldom that the satirical intent is wholly lacking, as it is in the case of the Good Parson, but, except in rare cases, the satire is good-humored and well-meant. The prevailing feature of Chaucer’s humor is its urbanity: the man of the world’s kindly tolerance of the weaknesses of his erring fellow-mortals. Chaucer lays less emphasis on pathos, but it is not overlooked. In the poetry of Chaucer the sentiment is humane and unforced. We have excellent examples of pathos in the tale of the Prioress and in _The Legende of Good Women_. We give a short extract from the long conversation between Chaucer and the eagle (“with fethres all of gold”) which carried him off to the House of Fame. The bird, with its cool acceptance of things, is an appropriate symbol of Chaucer himself in his attitude toward the world.