But there is also the UNSTABLE vowel in the M.E. _y-s[=e]ne_, visible. Of this word the A.S. forms are various; we find _ges[=i]ene_, _ges[=y]ne_, _ges[=e]ne_, all three. Of these, _ges[=i]ene_ is the earlier spelling of _ges[=y]ne_, and may be neglected; but _ges[=y]ne_ and _ges[=e]ne_ still remain. _Ges[=y]ne_ is the usual A.S. (Southern) form, whilst _ges[=e]ne_ is Midland and Northern. From the Midland _ges[=e]ne_ came M.E. _ys[=e]ne_ (is['e]['e]n[*e]), with close _e_, regularly; and this is the form which Chaucer usually adopts. The A.S. _ges[=y]ne_ would have developed regularly into M.E. _ys[=y]ne_ (isiin[*e]), just as the A.S. _m[=y]s_ answers to M.E. _m[=y]s_, mod. E. _mice_. But the _y_-sound was difficult of treatment, as the true sound (yy) was lost; and Ten Brink has observed a corresponding variation in the development of A.S. short _y_, which became sometimes short _i_ and sometimes short open _e_ in M.E. In the same way, I should suppose that this A.S. long _y_ corresponded to a Kentish long open _e_; thus producing M.E. _ys[=e]ne_ (is[`e][`e]n[*e]), in which the _e_ was open. There is a remarkable example of such a variety in the development of the A.S. _f[=y]r_, fire. This usually became M.E. _fyr_ (fiir), with long _i_; but in Troilus, i. 229[32], we have the remarkable form _afere_ (af[`e][`e]r[*e]), on fire, riming quite regularly with _were_ (w[`e][`e]r[*e]), were (from A.S. _w[=ae]ron_), and with _stere_, to stir (from A.S. _styrian_). Indeed _stere_, to stir, is really another example of the like development, since the _e_ in it is merely lengthened from an A.S. short _y_. s. 34. SUMMARY. As this investigation has run to some length, I here give a summary of all the above results. OPEN AND CLOSE [=O]. 1. The M.E. open and close _[=o]_ have resulted in mod. E. sounds which are still kept apart; cf. M.E. _st[`o][`o]n_ and M.E. _d['o]['o]m_ with the mod. E. _stone_ and _doom_. 2. A.S. _[=a]_ produced M.E. open _[=o]_. A.S. _o_, when lengthened, also produced M.E. open _[=o]_. But the two M.E. sounds somewhat differed, and Chaucer avoids riming them together. The few exceptions are noted above; the commonest of these being due to the variable treatment of the words _m[=o]re_ and _before_. 3. A.S. and Icel. _[=o]_ produced M.E. close _[=o]_. Chaucer avoids riming the close _[=o]_ with the open one; the chief exceptions being when the vowel-sound is final, and in other cases where rimes are scarce. 4. The different spellings of the mod. E. _sea_ and _see_, now pronounced alike, answer to the different sounds of the M.E. form _see_. If the _ee_ was open, it meant the _sea_; if it was close, it was part of the verb to _see_. 5. The A.S. _[=e]a_ produced M.E. open _[=e]_. 6. The A.S. _[=ae]_, if answering to Gothic _ai_, produced M.E. open _[=e]_. But if answering to Goth. _[=e]_, the M.E. _[=e]_ was close in the Midland dialect, but was allowed to rime with open _[=e]_ in Southern; giving Chaucer a choice of forms.