But sooth is seyd, gon sithen many a day,
"A trew wyght and a theef thenken nat oon."
And, whan he sey the thing so fer ygon,
That I had graunted him fully my loue,
In swich a gyse as I haue seyd aboue,
And yiuen him my trewe herte, as fre
As he swoor that1 he yaf his herte to me;
Anon this tygre, ful of doublenesse,
Fil on his knees with so deuout humblesse,
With so hey reuerence as 2 by his chere,
So lyk a gentil louere of manere,
So rauisshed, as it semed, for the Ioye,
That neuer Iason, ne Paris of Troye,
Iason? certes, ne non other man,
Sin Lameth was, that alderfirst bigan
To louen two, as wryten folk biforn,
Ne neuer, sin the firste man was born,
Ne coude man, by twenty thousand part,
Countrefete the sophimes of his art;
Ne were worthy vnbokele his galoche,
Ther doublenesse or feyning sholde approche,
Ne so coude thanke a wyght as he did me!
His maner was an heuen for to see
Til any womman, were she neuer so wys;
So peyntede he and kembde at point-deuys
As wel his wordes as his contenance.
And I so louede him for his obeisance,
And for the trewthe I demede in his herte,
That, if so were that any thing him smerte,
Al were it neuer so lyte, and I it wiste,
1 Hl. that; which the rest omit.
3 E. Cm. Troilus; the rest Iason; see note.
2 Cm. Hl. as; the rest and as. 4 E. Cm. omit so.
Me thoughte I felte deth myn herte twiste.
And shortly, so ferforth this thing is went,
That my wil was his willes instrument;
This is to seyn, my wil obeyede his wil
In alle thing, as fer as reson fil,
Keping the boundes of my worshipe euer.
Ne neuer hadde I thing so leef, ne leuer,
As him, god wot! ne neuer shal namo.
This lasteth lenger than a yeer or two,
That I supposed of him nought but good.
But fynally, thus atte laste it stood,
That fortune wolde that he moste twinne
Out of that place which that I was inne.
Wher me was wo, that is no questioun ;
I can nat make of it discripcioun ;
For o thing dar I tellen boldely,
I knowe what is the peyne of deth ther-by;
Swich harm I felte for he1 ne myghte bileue.
So on a day of me he took his leue,
So sorwefully eek, that I wende verraily
That he had felt as muche harm as I,
Whan that I herde him speke, and sey his hewe.
But natheles, I thoughte he was so trewe,
And eek that he repaire sholde ageyn
With-inne a litel whyle, soth to seyn;
And reson wolde eek that he moste go
For his honour, as ofte it happeth so,
That I made vertu of necessitee,
And took it wel, sin that it moste be.
As I best myghte, I hidde fro him my sorwe,
And took him by the hond, seint Iohn to borwe,
And seyde him thus: "lo, I am youres al;
Beth swich as I to yow haue ben, and shal."
What he answerde it nedeth nat reherce,
Who can seyn bet than he, who can do werse?
Whan he hath al wel1 seyd, thanne hath he doon.
"Therfor bihoueth him 2 a ful long spoon
That shal ete with a feend," thus herde I seye.
So atte laste he moste forth his weye,
And forth he fleeth, til he cam ther him leste.
Whan it cam him to purpos for to reste,
I trowe he hadde thilke text in mynde,
That "alle thing, repeiring to his kynde,
Gladeth him-self"; thus seyn men, as I gesse;
Men louen of propre kynde newfangelnesse,
As briddes doon that men in cages fede.
For though thou nyght and day take of hem hede,
And strawe hir cage faire and softe as silk,
And yiue hem sugre, hony, breed and milk,
Yet ryght anon, as that his dore is vppe,
He with his feet wol spurne adoun his cuppe,
And to the wode he wol and wormes ete;
So newefangel ben they of hir mete,
And louen nouelries of propre kynde;
No gentillesse of blood ne1 may hem bynde.
So ferde this tercelet, allas the day!
Though he were gentil born, and fresh and gay,
And goodly for to seen, and humble and free,
He sey vp-on a tyme a kyte flee,
1 Hn. Cp. Pt. Ln. Hl. wel seyd; Cm. I-seyd; E. seyd.
2 E. Hn. Cm. hire; the rest him.
3 E. nouelrie; the rest have the plural, except Ln. none leueres; Hl. non
leueres, both corruptions of nouelries.
Hn. Hl. and; which the rest omil.
Hl. ne: which the rest omit.
And sodeynly he loued this kyte so,
That al his loue is clene fro me ago,
And hath his trewthe falsed in this wyse;
Thus hath the kyte my loue in hir seruyse,
And I am lorn with-outen remedye !'
And with that word this faucon gan to crye,
And swowned eft in Canaceës barme.
Greet was the sorwe, for the haukes harme,
That Canacee and alle hir wommen made;
They nisten how they myghte the faucon glade.
But Canacee hom bereth hir in hir lappe,
And softely in plastres gan hir wrappe,
Ther as she with hir beek had hurt hir-selue.
Now can nat Canacee but herbes delue
Out of the grounde, and make salues1 newe
Of herbes precious, and fyne of hewe,
To helen with this hauk; fro day to nyght
She doth hir bisynesse and al hir2 myght.
And by hir beddes heed she made a mewe,
And couered it with velouettes blewe,
In signe of trewthe that is in wommen sene.
And al with-oute, the mewe is peynted grene,
In which were peynted alle thise false foules,
As beth thise tidifs, tercelets, and oules;
And pyes, on hem for to crye and chyde,
Ryght for despyt were peynted hem bisyde*.
Thus lete I Canacee hir hauk keping;
I wol namore as now speke of hir ring,
Til it come eft to purpos for to seyn
How that this faucon gat hir loue ageyn
1 E. Hn. saues; the rest salues. 2 E. hire fulle; the rest al hir.
3 E. ther were ypeynted; the rest were peyn:ed.
The MSS. transpose ll. 649, 650; the correction was made by Tyrwhitt.
Repentant, as the storie telleth vs,
By mediacion of Cambalus,
The kinges sone, of which that1 I yow tolde.
But hennes forth I wol my proces holde
To speke of auentures and of batailles,
That neuer yet was herd so grete meruailles.
First wol I telle yow of Cambynskan,
That in his tyme many a citee wan;
And after wol I speke of Algarsyf,
How that he wan Theodora to his wyf,
For whom ful ofte in greet peril he was,
Ne hadde he ben holpen by the stede of bras;
And after wol I speke of Cambalo,
That faught in listes with the bretheren two
For Canacee, er that he myghte hir winne.
And ther I lefte I wol ageyn biginne.
Explicit secunda pars. Incipit pars tercia.
Appollo whirleth vp his char so hye,
Til that the god Mercurius hous the slye 2—
Heere folwen the wordes of the Frankelyn to the Squier, and the wordes of the hoost to the Frankelyn.
In feith, Squyer, thou hast thee wel yquit, And gentilly I preise wel thy wit,'
1 Hl. that, which the rest omit; Hn. of which I to yow tolde.
"Here the MSS. fail. Hl. omits 11. 671, 672, and Ln. has eight spurious lines in their place.
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