The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-01-21

fG Pp F ri, h !. Living w:! Cy !, ayns,
IIFa Then dream II while you may.
Itt ' JUSTIN MCCARTHY.
sCRAPSFROm ENGLtsh LlTERATURI
-ystal ne Es{ cuAUCxa. .l,0 ~ IA
for TIE lnseltgeaor. f -t uN.l.saNI
Looking back through the long line Of
names that adorp the books written in oul
mother tongue, that Of Godfrey Chaucel
stands out pre-eminent. s6.a !. aa5. n
Adored by Milton and Spsnser, inflated
ny Dryden, Pope, Wordsworth and Tenny.
son, 1t Is aaid that hs became to others
what no one had been 10 him, a standard,
De was the first to shape the heterogeneous
mass derived from tho Anglo.Saxon and
Norman French Languages. :
The English language may be said to
begin with the Norman conquest, 1905,
when King Harold, the hero OF William
Leighton, Jr's drama, 1.-THE Sons Of God.
win,' fell at the battle OF Hastings. and
the three Norman lions' kept watch over
the field, as his followers searched for bis
dead body among the slain. M
The conquerors spoke Norman French,
and the conquered Anglo-Saxou. The
former was the language OF the court, the
nobility and clergy Of the realm, as soon
as William the Conqueror could displsce
them for his Norman favori.es
Dickens Child's History OF England
gives a graphic account Of those early times,
and SCOTS 1vanhoe depicts the condition
u England when the two races and
languages were not yet assimilated. In
lvanhoe, Cedric the Saxon ia the type OF
bis race. Previous to the time Of Chaucer
there were works OF some merit written in
q kind OF semi.Saxon, but he is known as
the father OF English poetry.
Chaucer was born in 1928, and died in
l4O0. This period embraced the reign OF
Edward ILL.,, made brilliant by tbs war
with France, in which he and his son the
Black Prince, distinguished themselves,
the reign and assassination OF Richard IL,
son OF the Black Prince, and short period
Of the reign Of Henry W., son of John Of
Gaunt. In those days humanity was on
sliding scale that reached very high and
sank very low as to the elegancies and com.
iorts Of life. The upper classes lived in
grand castles with bands Of armed retain.
era. Feudalism and chiyalry had reached
their height. Though the Crusades were
past, the wave Of plumes and the glitter OF
sword and lance were still the pride Of the
knights as they went forth to the joust and
tournament. ~ i
The middle classes lived in some com.
'ort, but the masses Of the people were
almost on level with the brutes They
lived IN huts without windows or chin
neys, the floor WAS the ground, covered
with rushes, straw or sand. A hole in the
roof was the chimney; rude stools served
the purpose OF chairs, a pile Of straw or
PUSHES in the place Of beds, and fingers in.
stead OF forks. Among people living ia
this manner, cleanliness OF personal habits
was rare, and purity Of thought even more
80. Remembering this, we should not be
surprised 10 find the literature lacking the
refinement Of the writings Of the present
day. Z - ,..,a. J! 81. - -,'''1''
II ia supposed that Chaucer belonged TO
the higher classes, and took no iaconsid.
cradle part In all their show and pageant
ry. Some authority states that his father
was wine merchant; according to bis owA
testimony he was born in London, for he
calls himsella Londoner. Some think he
was educated at Oxford, others at Cam
bridge, and others etrike the golden
mean: and say he attended both these
universities. 2sa7'.!E =,
At sixteen years Of age be was in the ser
vice Of Lionel, Duke OF Clarence, and at
the age Of nineteen he eerved in the cam.
paign Of Edward III. against France. Ia
was taken prisoner and must have lost his
military ardor, and preferred roaming free
through the beautiful parks and tislds,
gazing at the starry daisy, Of which he was
30 fond that to this day it is called Chau-
GERS flower. John Of Grant, fourth son Of
Edward III, was always his friend and
patron, and Tor him Chaucer wrote some
Of bis most beautiful poems. They mar
RED sisters, the daughters of Sir Philip de
Ronet. Chaucer's wife, Philippa, was
maid OF honor to Queen Philippa, wife Of
Edward I'LL John Cover was his init
mate friend and associate; it is SAID they
we're fellow students at Oxford, and their
friendship remained unbroken during
their lives. Chaucer admired and loved
him very much. 1t was he who gave
him the name Of "Moral Cover" = II. !.
CHANGER WAS sent on gwen diplon q q
and political missions, three Of them in
Italy. 4 On one OF theee, in 1872, he met
Petrarch and Boccaocio, the two greatest
living Italian authors; from the latter he
borrowed largely, both as to the plan and
plots in several Of the Canterbury tales.
His most famous contemporary in bis native
land was .Wickliffe. How far Chaucer sym.
pathized with him and believed in his doc.
trines is difficult to tell; authorities differ.
In 1889, after the death Of Edward I'LL,
and in the absence Of John OF Gaunt,
CHANGER fell into disgrace with the Govern
ment; bis office vas taken from him, and
he was forced to fly the country for time
he WAS even imprisoned in the tower. He
lived during his exile in Denmark and
Franco, and while there continued to
write. Some say that his Punishment was
on account Of his believing tbs doctrines Of
Wicklitte. Others that it Was caused by his
taking part In urit concerning the Mayor
ship Of London. About this time his wife
died, and he seems to have been very
much alone. fStS4 ~ %5}' $50
When Richard II. was depoaed and
Henry Of Lancaster came to the throne,
one Of the first acts OK The new reign was to
improve poor Ohaucer's conditions. TIL;
The new king, Henry X, wss the son Of
John Of Gaunt, and consequently was a
kind Of nephew to Chaueer. He was now
given pension and a cottage at Woodstock
which was long pointed out rs the poets
house. He died ut Westminster, and was
the first poet buried in the now famous
Abbey. Although he was 80 highly con.
nectod, he was often embarrassed for lack
Of money, and fame says that tho history
More than hundred years after his death
a monument was erected to bis memory in
Westminster Abbey, on which the i in.
scription still EXISTS, but the statue Of the
poet is 80 deiaced that even the dress can.
not be distinguished !rl alSg 2r4G|gs s5:l;i
y, His greatest work is the Canterbury
Tales, written in the latter part OF his lie.
They arc supposed to be told by com.