DAISY, 



The emprise, and floure of floures all, 

 I pray to God, that faire mote she fall, 

 And all that loven floures for her sake : 



#*.*** 



And from a ferre come walking in the mede, 

 The god of love, and in his hand a queene, 

 And she was clad in royal habit greene, 

 A fret of golde she had next her heere, 

 And upon that a white croune she bare, 

 With florouns small, and I shall not lie, 

 For all the world right as a daisie 

 Icrouned is, with white leaves lite, 

 So were the florounes of her croune white, 

 And of a perle fine orientall, 

 Her white croune was imaked all, 

 For which the white croune above the grene 

 Made her like a daisie for to seme, 

 Considred eke her fret of gold above : 

 * # # * # 



Quod Love * * * * 



#*#** 



Hast thou not a book in thy cheste 



The great goodnesse of the Queene Alceste 



That turned was into a daisie, 



She that for her husband chose to die, 



And eke- to gone to hell rather than he, 



And Hercules rescued her parde 



And brought her out of hell again to bliss ? 



And I answerde againe, and said, ' Yes, 



Now I knowe her, and is this good Alceste, 



The daisie, and mine owne hertes rest ?' " * 



Chaucer makes a perfect plaything of the Daisy. Not 

 contented with calling to our minds its etymology as the 

 eye of day, he seems to delight in twisting it into every 

 possible form ; and, by some name or other, introduces it 

 continually. Commending the showers of April, as bring- 

 ing forward the May flowers, he adds : 



" And in speciall one called se of the daie, 

 The daisie, a flower white and rede, 



* See Chaucer's Prologue to the Legend of Good Wome% 



