He said that Arthur's end should be And truly saith, that still his fame Should last, and foemen dread his name." Although, in point of spirited description, the "Brut d'Angleterre" falls greatly below his other work, there are yet some passages in his descriptions of battles, which are almost as graphic as those of the Roman du Rou: this is spirited, and bears a strong resemblance to a passage in the excellent English romance of "Kynge Alysaundre :" "So each his good steed took, and then Returned deliverly agen ; With shield at neck, and lance poized low, De la viendra, encore poet vivre, Indeed the caution which Maistre Wace displays on this and similar occasions, is quite edifying, and doubtless went far to prove him a great philosofre" among his all-believing hearers at the court of Plantagenet. Encouraged by the patronage he received, Wace, in the year 1160, set about his second work, which, it appears, was patronized by Plantagenet,—the Chronicle of the Dukes of Normandy, from the invasion of Rollo to the thirty-fourth year of Beauclerc, and which has been handed down to us under the title of the "Roman du Rou."* In this work, Wace affords us so many characteristic traits, and picturesque details, that it seems rather a collection of spirited ballads, than a metrical chronicle. The first part is composed in the fourteen syllable, or what may be called ballad measure; and ten, twenty, sometimes even a greater number of lines, present the same termination. In the following extracts, while the rhythm has been preserved, the writer has found it impossible to adopt the other peculiarity, and has therefore rhymed in couplets. The following account, how William Long Espée was scolded into valour, is curious. He is besieged in Rouen by Rioulf: "Then Duke William was right sorrowful, and strength and power had none, For he thought that in the battel he should well nigh stand alone; He knew not who would fight for him, or who would prove a foe: Why should we linger here,' quoth he, 'I into France will go.' • Some readers may probably wonder how a chronicle of past events could be called a romance. It is, therefore, as well to remark, that, at this period, the name had reference to the language in which the work was composed; the "langue Romaine," as this branch of the ancient French dialect was frequently called, and not to the subject. The The poem under review is the only one of the list that has ever been printed: it was edited by M. Pluquet, and published at Rouen, in 1825. Then said Boten-' Duke William, thou hast spoke a coward's word, 'That thou'rt a coward,' said Boten, “St. Fiacre well doth know; I never can, by my soul I swear, drive them from this countrie; Then spake Bernart- Duke, know this well, we will not follow thee. “‹ Bernard,' said William, 'well methinks thou hast reviled me, Offence enow to me hast given, enow of villainye; But thou shalt see me bear myself even as a man right wode, Who felt its edge, and vain were lance and brand 'gainst him, I trow, The following description of the prowess of duke Richard reads not unlike some of the episodes in the venerable Chronicle of the Cid. "Now at Rouen Richard was, and thro' the town set watch and ward, Then to the minster he repaired, and solemn service heard, When by a byeway hastily, a spy came driving on ;— Who cried to him aloud, for time for whispering it was none— For in warfare still the usage is, and in other things also, Who in one fight is vanquished, from the next may victor go. "Now these German knights were evermore most gallant and most To give defiance blithe were they, tho' ne'er in vaunting loud. fair, But the Normans could not this endure, and swore with burning zeal, That their good town they would defend, with stout iron and with steel. "Now with the Normans there came forth full many a gallant knight, Well armed, and firm on his destrere, in readiness for the fight; And glad were they, when in fair array the foe appeared in view, And oft they set a turneying; but the Germans backward drew, For turneying was not their way of fight, to them 'twas new ; So close together o'er the plain, towards the gates they prancing went. The Normans then fled backwards, as with sore astonishment, As they would fly away they seemed, and made a goodly feint ;— Then those who in Rouen remained, now hurried boldly out, And hailed their brethren in the fight with many a gladsome shout, And flung abroad their ensigns, that their foemen might them know, Of all the host that rushed out, not one for the fight was slow, Then might ye see the gallant press of the Norman chivalry, And many a shivered lance, and many a glittering brand ye'd see Ybroke, and many a shining helm, and shields both red and brown, And many a foaming steed rush by, with reins all trailing down; And in the fields and highways too, lay many a brave knight dying, Struck down by axes, and by clubs of peasant churls when flying, For all the common folk came forth, their ready aid supplying.” The second part is in the octo-syllabic measure, that most favourite metre of the AngloNorman trouvères. Many portions are very spirited; the following will afford a fair specimen of the minute touches of nature which Wace so frequently gives. "At Rouen in his park, e'en now Taking the pastimes of the wood, Who straight had come across the sea, Drew nigh the duke. Then swiftly he Flung to a youth who stood beside, His bow, and led the man aside; (For there were many folk about, And knights and squires a numerous route), So therefore led he him apart ; And then the man with heavy heart, |