in England during the middle of Queen Elizabeth's reign ventures on
the following description of the arrangements of the inn at that
period. "On the ground-floor, looking on to the street, was a room
called 'the darke parlour,' a hall, and a general reception-room
called 'the parlour.' This was probably the dining-room of the
house, as it opened on to the kitchen on the same level. Below the
dark parlour was a cellar. On the first floor, above the parlour and
the hall, were three rooms--'the middle chamber,' 'the corner
chamber,' and 'Maister Hussye's chamber,' with garrets or 'cock
lofts' over them. Over the great parlour was another room. There
were also rooms called 'the Entry Chamber' and 'the Newe chamber,'
'the Flower de Luce' and 'Mr. Russell's chamber,' of which the
position is not specified."

[Illustration: TABARD INN, SOUTHWARK, IN 1810.]

When, in 1575, the old Tabard, the inn, that is, of George
Shepherd's water-colour drawing of 1810, was demolished, making way
for the present somewhat commonplace representative of the ancient
hostelry, many protests were made on the plea that it was sheer
vandalism to destroy a building so intimately associated with the
genius of Chaucer. But the protests were based upon lack of
knowledge. Chaucer's inn had disappeared long before. It is
sometimes stated that that building survived until the great
Southwark fire of 1676, but such assertions overlook the fact that
there is in existence a record dated 1634 which speaks of the Tabard
as having been built of brick six years previously upon the old
foundation. Here, then, is proof that the Tabard of the pilgrims was
wholly reconstructed in 1628, and even that building--faithful copy
as it may have been of the poet's inn--was burnt to the ground in