A single copy of "Aucassin and Nicolette," transcribed in the thirteenth century, and preserved as by miracle, has retained for us not only a charming tale, but also an unique specimen of the minstrel's craft. Without it we could not have gathered that so elaborate a blending of prose and verse was possible to a strolling player of mediæval France. The cante-fable was designed for recitation, with illustrative gesture, to the accompaniment of viol and pipes. In this, and not only in this, it seems to suggest an Eastern origin, and to-day, in any Moorish coffee-house, the tales of the _Arabian Nights_ are delivered in a manner very similar to that witnessed in Provence seven hundred years ago. The peculiar quality of pleasure afforded by "Aucassin and Nicolette" is not to be found in the story itself. That, indeed, is very simple, and, perhaps, a trifle hackneyed. Aucassin, the only son of the Count of Beaucaire, is passionately in love with Nicolette, a beautiful girl of unknown parentage, bought of the Saracens, whom his father will not permit him to marry. The story turns on the adventures of these fond lovers, until at the end their common fidelity is rewarded. Portions have faded sadly, like old tapestry, and the laughter sounds especially hollow, for of all precious things fun dies soonest. But in "Aucassin" the part is emphatically greater than the whole, and its charm must rather be sought in its graceful turns of speech--jewels, five words long--and in the pictorial quality which makes it more a series of pictures than a narrative. Who can forget the still night of May on which Nicolette escapes from her prison, and hurries through the garden, kilting her skirt against the dew; or the ruined tower in whose kindly shadow she remains hidden, whilst the watch march along the moonlit street, their swords beneath their mantles; or that bower of branches, built by her own white hands, through the trellis-work of which her lover looks upon the stars! In such felicitous picture-making the dainty little classic is equalled by no work of its period. May I express the pious wish that every reader may find it all as delightful to read as I have found it to transcribe? EUGENE MASON. NOTE.--The originals of these narratives are to be found in Romania; in the _Fabliaux et Contes des Poètes François_, edited by Barbazan et Méon; in two volumes of the _Nouvelles Françoises en prose_, edited by Moland and D'Héricault; and in _Les Miracles de la Sainte Vierge_, by Gautier de Coinci. CONTENTS PAGE 'TIS OF AUCASSIN AND OF NICOLETTE 1 THE STORY OF KING CONSTANT, THE EMPEROR 39 OUR LADY'S TUMBLER 53 THE LAY OF THE LITTLE BIRD 67 THE DIVIDED HORSECLOTH 75 SIR HUGH OF TABARIE 85