The Flower and the Leaf is chiefly famous for having been versified by Dryden. The version is a free one, in a manner all his own, and is finer than the original, which can hardly be said of his 'versions' of Palamon and Arcite and The Cock and the Fox. It is doubtless from this version that many critics have formed exaggerated ideas of the poem's value; otherwise, it is difficult to understand for what reasons it was considered worthy of so great a master as Geoffrey Chaucer. § 60. It will be seen, from the Notes, that the authoress was well acquainted with the Prologue to The Legend of Good Women; and it can hardly be questioned that she took the main idea of the poem from that source, especially ll. 188-194 of the later text. At the same time she was well acquainted with Gower's lines on the same subject, in the Conf. Amantis, iii. 357, 358; see vol. iii. pp. xlii, 297. Gower has:-- 'Me thoughte I sigh to-fore myn hede Cupide with his bowe bent, And like unto a parlement Which were ordeined for the nones, With him cam al the world atones[27] Of gentil folk, that whylom were Lovers; I sigh hem alle there ... Her hedes kempt, and therupon Garlondes, nought of o colour, Some of the Lefe, some of the Flour,[28] And some of grete perles were.[29] ... So loude that on every syde It thoughte as al the heven cryde[30] In such accorde and suche a soun Of bombard and of clarioun ... So glad a noise for to here. The grene Leef is overthrowe[31] ... Despuiled is the somer fare,' &c. (p. 371). § 61. XXI. THE ASSEMBLY OF LADIES. This has already been discussed, in some measure, in considering the preceding poem. Both pieces were written by the same authoress; but the former is the more sprightly and probably the earlier. With the exception of the unusual rime of _tree_ with _pretily_ (discussed above), nearly all the peculiarities of the preceding poem occur here also. The Chaucerian final _-e_ appears now and then, as in _commaund-e_ (probably plural), 203; _red-e_, 215; _countenanc-e_, 295; _pen-ne_ [or else _seyd-e_], 307; _chayr-e_, 476; _tak-e_, 565; _trouth-e_, 647; _liv-e_, 672; _sem-e_ (pr. s. subj.), 696. But it is usually dropped, as in _The fresh_ for _The fres-she_, 2; &c. In l. 11, Thynne prints _fantasyse_ for _fantasyes_; for it obviously rimes with _gyse_ (monosyllabic); cf. 533-535. _Hew-e_ and _new-e_ are cut down to _hew_ and _new_, to rime with _knew_, 67. _Bold_ rimes with _told_, clipped form of _told-e_, 94; and so on. So, again, _trewly_ appears in place of Chaucer's _trew-e-ly_, 488. It is needless to pursue the subject. The description of the maze and the arbour, in ll. 29-70, is good. Another pleasing passage is that contained in ll. 449-497; and the description of a lady's dress in ll. 519-539. As for the lady herself-- 'It was a world to loke on her visage.' There is a most characteristic touch of a female writer in lines 253-254:--