Our forefathers, like their Gotho-German kindred, regulated their verse by the number of accents, not of syllables. The foot, therefore, as we term it, might consist of one, two, three, or even four syllables, provided it had only one strongly marked accent. Further, the accent of a word might be varied, chiefly by throwing it on the last syllable, as _natúre_ for _náture_, _honoúr_ for _hónour_, etc. (the Italians, by the way, throw it back when two accents come into collision, as, _Il Pástor Fido_[62]); they also sounded what the French call the feminine e of their words, as, _In oldè dayès of the King Artoúr_; and so well known seems this practice to have been, that the copyists did not always write this _e_, relying on the skill of the reader to supply it.[63] There was only one restriction, namely, that it was never to come before a vowel, unless where there was a pause. In this way the poetry of the middle ages was just as regular as that of the present day; and Chaucer, when properly read, is fully as harmonious as Pope. But the editors of our ancient poems, with the exception of Tyrwhitt, seem to have been ignorant or regardless of this principle; and in the Canterbury Tales alone is the verse properly arranged. We will now proceed to the analysis of the romance of Sir Launfal. Sir Launfal was one of the knights of Arthur, who loved him well, and made him his steward. But when Arthur married the beautiful but frail Gwennere, daughter of Ryon, king of Ireland, Launfal and other virtuous knights manifested their dissatisfaction when she came to court. The queen was aware of this, and, at the first entertainment given by the king, The queen yaf (_gave_) giftès for the nones, Gold and silver, precious stones, Her courtesy to kythe (_show_): Everiche knight she yaf broche other (_or_) ring, But Sir Launfal she yaf no thing, That grieved him many a sythe (_time_). Launfal, under the feigned pretext of the illness of his father, takes leave of the king, and retires to Karlyoun, where he lives in great poverty. Having obtained the loan of a horse, one holyday, he rode into a fair forest, where, overcome by the heat, he lay down under the shade of a tree, and meditated on his wretched state. In this situation he is attracted by the approach of two fair damsels splendidly arrayed. Their faces were white as snow on down, Their rode[64] was red, their eyne were brown; I saw never none swiche. That one bare of gold a basín, That other a towel white and fine, Of silk that was good and riche; Their kerchevès were welè skire (_clear_) Araid (_striped_) with richè goldè wire-- Launfal began to siche-- They comè to him over the hoth (_heath_), He was curteís, and against them goeth, And greet them mildeliche.