The final _e_, followed by a consonant, is usually sounded, and has its usual grammatical values. Thus we have _think-e_, infin. (15); _bot-e_, old accus. of a fem. sb. (32); _swich-e_, plural (35); _oft-e_, adverbial (35); _soft-e_, with essential final _e_ (A.S. _s[=o]fte_); _find-e_, pres. pl. indic. (43); _com-e_, gerund (45): _gret-e_, pl. (53); _mak-e_, infin. (56); _rod-e_, dat. form used as a new nom., of which there are many examples in Chaucer (57); _blind-e_, def. adj. (138). The endings _-ed_, _-en_, _-es_, usually form a distinct syllable; so also _-eth_, which, however, occasionally becomes _'th_; cf. _comth_ (71). A few common words, written with final _e_, are monosyllabic; as _thise_ (these); also _shulde_ (should), and the like, occasionally. Remember that the old accent is frequently different from the modern; as in _orácles_, _mirácles_ (11, 12): _distaúnc-e_ (18), _aventúres_, _figúres_ (47, 48): _povért_ (88): _málicióus_ (93): &c. The endings _-i-al_, _-i-oun_, _-i-ous_, usually form two distinct syllables. For further remarks on Metre and Grammar, see vol. v. § 7. IMITATIONS. The chief imitations of the House of Fame are The Temple of Glas, by Lydgate[6]; The Palice of Honour, by Gawain Douglas; The Garland of Laurell, by John Skelton; and The Temple of Fame, by Pope. Pope's poem should not be compared with Chaucer's; it is very different in character, and is best appreciated by forgetting its origin. § 8. AUTHORITIES. The authorities for the text are few and poor; hence it is hardly possible to produce a thoroughly satisfactory text. There are three MSS. of the fifteenth century, viz. F. (Fairfax MS. 16, in the Bodleian Library); B. (MS. Bodley, 638, in the same); P. (MS. Pepys 2006, in Magdalene College, Cambridge). The last of these is imperfect, ending at l. 1843. There are two early printed editions of some value, viz. Cx. (Caxton's edition, undated); and Th. (Thynne's edition, 1532). None of the later editions are of much value, except the critical edition by Hans Willert (Berlin, 1883). Of these, F. and B., which are much alike, form a first group; P. and Cx. form a second group; whilst Th. partly agrees with Cx., and partly with F. The text is chiefly from F., with collations of the other sources, as given in the footnotes, which record only the more important variations.