This  may  be  the  fruit ;  but  epic  poets,  from  Homer  down-
wards, have  been  generally  in  the  habit  of  not  neglecting
the  foliage.  Spenser,  in  particular,  has  that  impartial  co-
piousness which  we  think  it  our  duty  to  admire  in  the  Ionic
epos,  but  which,  if  the  truth  were  told,  has  prevented  gen-
erations of  Englishmen  from  acquiring  an  intimate  per-
sonal acquaintance  with  the  Fairy  Queen.  With  Chaucer
the  danger  certainly  rather  lay  in  an  opposite  direction.
Most  assuredly  he  can  tell  a  story  with  admirable  point
and  precision,  when  he  wishes  to  do  so.  Perhaps  no  bet-
ter example  of  his  skill  in  this  respect  could  be  cited  than
the  Manciple's  Tale,  with  its  rapid  narrative,  its  major  and
minor  catastrophe,  and  its  concise  moral,  ending  thus : —

"  My  son,  beware,  and  be  no  author  new
Of  tidings,  whether  they  be  false  or  true  ;
Whereso  thou  comest,  among  high  or  low,
Keep  well  thy  tongue,  and  think  upon  the  crow."

At  the  same  time,  his  frequently  recurring  announcements
of  his  desire  to  be  brief  have  the  effect  of  making  his  nar-
rative appear  to  halt,  and  thus,  unfortunately,  defeat  their
own  purpose.  An  example  of  this  may  be  found  in  the
Knight's  Tale,  a  narrative  poem  of  which,  in  contrast  with
its  beauties,  a  want  of  evenness  is  one  of  the  chief  defects.
