The faire facture that Nature, for maistrye,
In hir visage wroght had full lufingly.
And quhen sche walkit had a lytill thrawe
Under the suete grene bewis bent,
Hir faire fresche face, as quhite as ony snawe,
Scho turnyt has, and furth hir wayis went.
Bot tho began myn axis and turment,
To sene hir part, and folowe I na myght; Me thoght the day was turnyt into nyght. 1423?
THE TESTAMENT OF CRESSEID
This duleful sentence Saturne tuik on hand,
And passit doun quhair cairfull Cresseid lay;
And on hir heid he laid ane frostie wand,
Than lawfullie on this wyse can he say:
“Thy greit fairnes, and al thy bewtie gay,
Thy wantoun blude, and eik thy goldin hair,
Heir I exclude fra the for evermair.
"I change thy mirth into melancholy,
Quhilk is the mother of all pensivenes;
Thy moisture and thy heit, in cald and dry;
Thyne insolence, thy play and wantones,
To greit diseis; thy pomp and thy riches,
In mortall neid; and greit penuritie
Thow suffer sall, and as ane beggar die.”
O cruell Saturne, fraward and angrie,
Hard is thy dome and to malitious!
On fair Cresseid quhy hes thow na mercie,
Quhilk was sa sweit, gentill, and amorous?
Withdraw thy sentence, and be gracious
As thow was never; so shawis thow thy deid,
Ane wraikfull sentence gevin on fair Cresseid.
Than Cynthia, quhen Saturne past away,
Out of hir sait discendit down belyve,
And red ane bill on Cresseid quhair scho lay,
Contening this sentence diffinityve:
"Fra heil of body I the now depryve,
And to thy seiknes sal be na recure,
Bot in dolour thy dayis to indure.
"Thy cristall ene minglit with blude I mak;
Thy voice sa cleir unplesand, hoir, and hace;
Thy lusty lyre ouirspred with spottis blak,
And lumpis haw appeirand in thy face.
Quhair thow cummis ilk man sall fle the place;
This sall thow go begging fra hous to hous,
With cop and clapper, lyk ane lazarous.”
This doolie dreame, this uglye visioun,
Brocht to ane end, Cresseid fra it awoik,
And all that court and convocatioun
Vanischit away. Than rais scho up and tuik
Ane poleist glas, and hir shaddow culd luik;
And quhen scho saw hir face sa deformait,
Gif scho in hart was wa aneuch, God wait!
Weiping full sair, "Lo, quhat it is," quod sche,
"With fraward langage for to mufe and steir
Our craibit goddis; and sa is sene on me!
My blaspheming now have I bocht full deir;
All eirdlie joy and mirth I set areir.
Allace, this day! Allace, this wofull tyde,
Quhen I began with my goddis for to chyde !"
Be this was said, ane chyld come fra the hall
To warne Cresseid the supper was reddy;
First knokkit at the dure, and syne culd call,
"Madame, your father biddis you cum in hy;
He hes merwell so lang on grouf ye ly,
And sayis, 'Your prayers bene to lang sum deill;
The goddis wait all your intent full weill." "
Quod scho, "Fair chylde, ga to my father deir,
And pray him cum to speik with me anone."
And sa he did, and said, "Douchter, quhat cheir?"
"Allace!" quod scho, "father, my mirth is gone!" "How sa?" quod he; and scho can all expone, As I have tauld, the vengeance and the wraik, For hir trepas, Cupide on hir culd tak.
He luikit on hir uglye lipper face,
The quhilk befor was quhite as lillie-flour :
Wringand his handis, oftymes he said, Allace,
That he had levit to se that wofull hour!
For he knew weill that thair was na succour
To hir seiknes, and that dowblit his pane.
Thus was thair cair aneuch betuix thame twane.
Quhen thay togidder murnit had full lang,
Quod Cresseid, "Father, I wald not be kend;
Thairfoir in secreit wyse ye let me gang
Unto yone hospitall at the tounis end;
And thidder sum meit, for cheritie, me send
To leif upon; for all mirth in this eird
Is fra me gane-sic is my wickit weird."
Than in ane mantill and ane bawer hat,
With cop and clapper, wonder prively,
He opnit ane secreit yet, and out thair at
Convoyit hir, that na man suld espy,
Unto ane village half ane myle thairby;
Delyverit hir in at the spittail-hous,
And daylie sent hir part of his almous.
Sum knew hir weill, and sum had na knawledge
Of hir, becaus scho was sa deformait
With bylis blak, ouirspred in hir visage,
And hir fair colour faidit and alterait.
Yit thay presumit, for hir hie regrait
And still murning, scho was of nobill kin;
With better will thair foir they tuik hir in.
The day passit, and Phebus went to rest;
The cloudis blak ouirquhelmit all the sky.
God wait gif Cresseid was ane sorrowful gest,
Seeing that uncouth fair and harbery.
But meit or drink scho dressit hir to ly
In ane dark corner of the hous allone;
And on this wyse, weiping, scho maid hir mone:
"O sop of sorrow sonken into cair!
O cative Cresseid! for now and ever-mair
Gane is thy joy and all thy mirth in eird;
Of all blyithnes now art thou blaiknit bair;
Thair is na salve may saif the of thy sair!
Fell is thy fortoun, wickit is thy weird;
Thy blys is baneist, and thy baill on breird!
Under the eirth God gif I gravin wer,
Quhar nane of Grece nor yit of Troy micht
heird!" . . . .
Thus chydand with her drerie destenye,
Weiping, scho woik the nicht fra end to end;
Bot all in vane: hir dule, hir cairfull cry
Micht nocht remeid, nor yit hir murning mend.
Ane lipper lady rais, and till hir wend,
And said, "Quhy spurnis thou aganis the wall,
To sla thyself, and mend nathing at all?
"Sen that thy weiping dowbillis bot thy wo, I counsall the mak vertew of ane neid,
To leir to clap thy clapper to and fro,
And live efter the law of lipper leid."
Thair was na buit, bot forth with thame scho yeid
Fra place to place, quhill cauld and hounger sair
Compellit hir to be ane rank beggair.
That samin tyme, of Troy the garnisoun,
Quhilk had to chiftane worthy Troylus,
Throw jeopardy of weir had strikken down
Knichtis of Grece in number marvellous.
With greit tryumphe and laude victorious
Agane to Troy richt royallie they raid
The way quhair Cresseid with the lipper baid.
Seing that companie, thai come all with ane stevin,
Thay gaif ane cry, and schuik coppis gude speid;
Said, "Worthie lordis, for Goddis lufe of hevin
To us lipper part of your almous deid!"
Than to thair cry nobill Troylus tuik heid;
Having pietie, neir by the place can pas
Quhair Cresseid sat, not witting quhat scho was.
Than upon him scho kest up baith her ene,
And with ane blenk it come into his thocht
That he sumtime hir face befoir had sene;
Bot scho was in sic plye he knew hir nocht.
Yit than hir luik into his mynd it brocht
The sweit visage and amorous blenking
Of fair Cresseid, sumtyme his awin darling.
Na wonder was, suppois in mynd that he
Tuik hir figure sa sone, and lo! now, quhy;
The idole of ane thing in cace may be
Sa deip imprentit in the fantasy
That it deludis the wittis outwardly,
And sa appeiris in forme and lyke estait
Within the mynd as it was figurait.
Ane spark of lufe than till his hart culd spring,
And kendlit all his bodie in ane fyre;
With hait fewir ane sweit and trimbling
Him tuik, quhill he was reddie to expyre;
To beir his scheild his breist began to tyre;
Within ane quhyle he changit mony hew,
And nevertheles not ane ane-uther knew.
For knichtlie pietie and memoriall
Of fair Cresseid, ane gyrdill can he tak,
Ane purs of gold, and mony gay jowall,
And in the skirt of Cresseid doun can swak;
Than raid away, and not ane word [he] spak,
Pensiwe in hart, quhill he come to the toun,
And for greit cair oft-syis almaist fell doun.
The lipper folk to Cresseid than can draw,
To se the equall distribution
Of the almous; bot quhen the gold thay saw,
Ilk ane to uther prewelie can roun
And said, "Yone lord hes mair affectioun,
However it be, unto yone lazarous
Than to us all; we knaw be his almous."
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