Chaucer calls his book A Treatise on the Astrolabe, Bread and Milk for Children.  “Little Lewis, my son,” he says in the beginning, “I have perceived well by certain evidences thine ability to learn science touching numbers and proportions; and as well consider I thy busy prayer in special to learn the treatise of the astrolabe.”  But although there were many books written on the subject, some were unknown in England, and some were not to be trusted.  “And some of them be too hard to thy tender age of ten years.  This treatise then will I show thee under few light rules and naked words in English; for Latin canst thou yet but small, my little son. . . .

“Now will I pray meekly every discreet person that readeth or heareth this little treatise, to have my rude inditing for excused, and my superfluity of words, for two causes.  The first cause is for that curious inditing and hard sentence is full heavy at one and the same time for a child to learn.  And the second cause is this, that soothly me seemeth better to write unto a child twice a good sentence than he forget it once.  And Lewis, if so be I shew you in my easy English as true conclusions as be shewn in Latin, grant me the more thank, and pray God save the King, who is lord of this English.”

So we see from this that more than five hundred years ago a kindly father saw the need of making simple books on difficult subjects for children.  You may never want to read this book itself, indeed few people read it now, but I think that we should all be sorry to lose the preface, although it has in it some long words which perhaps a boy of ten in our day would still find “full heavy.”

It is interesting, too, to notice in this preface that here Chaucer calls his King “Lord of this English.”  We now often speak of the “King’s English,” so once again we see how an everyday phrase links us with the past.

Chapter XXIII CHAUCER—­“THE CANTERBURY TALES”

CHAUCER rose in the King’s service.  He became an esquire, and was sent on business for the King to France and to Italy.  To Italy he went at least twice, and it is well to remember this, as it had an effect on his most famous poems.  He must have done his business well, for we find him receiving now a pension for life worth about 200 pounds in our money, now a grant of a daily pitcher of wine besides a salary of “71/2d. a day and two robes yearly.”

Chaucer’s wife, too, had a pension, so the poet was well off.  He had powerful friends also, among them John of Gaunt.  And when the Duke’s wife died Chaucer wrote a lament which is called the Dethe of Blaunche the Duchess, or sometimes the Book of the Duchess.  This is one of the earliest known poems of Chaucer, and although it is not so good as some which are later, there are many beautiful lines in it.