The Project Gutenberg eBook, English Satires, by Various, et al, Edited by
William Henry Oliphant Smeaton

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Title: English Satires

Author: Various

Editor: William Henry Oliphant Smeaton

Release Date: June 24, 2005 [eBook #16126]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISH SATIRES***

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ENGLISH SATIRES

With an Introduction by

OLIPHANT SMEATON

London
The Gresham Publishing Company
34 Southampton Street
Strand

TO THE MEMORY OF

ALEXANDER BALLOCH GROSART
D.D., LL.D., F.S.A.

WITH A GRATEFUL SENSE OF ALL IT OWES TO HIS TEACHING
THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR

PREFACE.

In the compilation of this volume my aim has been to furnish a work
that would be representative in character rather than exhaustive. The
restrictions of space imposed by the limits of such a series as this
have necessitated the omission of many pieces that readers might expect
to see included. As far as possible, however, the most typical satires
of the successive eras have been selected, so as to throw into relief
the special literary characteristics of each, and to manifest the trend
of satiric development during the centuries elapsing between Langland
and Lowell.

Acknowledgment is due, and is gratefully rendered, to Mrs. C.S.
Calverley for permission to print the verses which close this book; and
to Messrs. Macmillan & Co. for permission to print A.H. Clough's
"Spectator ab Extra".

To Professor C.H. Herford my warmest thanks are due for his careful
revision of the Introduction, and for many valuable hints which have
been adopted in the course of the work; also to Mr. W. Keith Leask,
M.A.(Oxon.), and the librarians of the Edinburgh University and
Advocates' Libraries.

OLIPHANT SMEATON.

CONTENTS.

Page
INTRODUCTION xiii

WILLIAM LANGLAND
I. Pilgrimage in Search of Do-well 1

GEOFFREY CHAUCER