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His wyf and he, and al his ost, forth wente
To shippe anoon, no lenger they ne stente;
And in the see hit happed hem to mete-
Up goth the trompe-and for to shoute and shete, 635
And peynen hem to sette on with the sonne.
With grisly soun out goth the grete gonne,
And heterly they hurtlen al at ones,

In goth the grapenel so ful of crokes
Among the ropes, and the shering-hokes.
In with the polax presseth he and he;
Behind the mast beginneth he to flee,
And out agayn, and dryveth him over-borde;
He stingeth him upon his speres orde;
He rent the sail with hokes lyke a sythe;

And fro the top doun cometh the grete stones.

(60) 640

645

(70)

650

He bringeth the cuppe, and biddeth hem be blythe;
He poureth pesen upon the hacches slider;
With pottes ful of lym they goon to-gider;
And thus the longe day in fight they spende
Til, at the laste, as every thing hath ende,
Antony is shent, and put him to the flighte,
And al his folk to-go, that best go mighte.

Fleeth eek the queen, with al her purpre sail,
For strokes, which that wente as thikke as hail;
No wonder was, she mighte hit nat endure.
And whan that Antony saw that aventure,
'Allas!' quod he, 'the day that I was born!
My worshipe in this day thus have I lorn!'
And for dispeyr out of his witte he sterte,
And roof him-self anoon through-out the herte
Er that he ferther wente out of the place.
His wyf, that coude of Cesar have no grace,

633. stent; C. stente.

655

(80)

660

632. oost forthe went (C. wentyn). 635. gooth. 637. sovne; gooth. 638. C. Tn. heterly; A. hatirly; F. hertely. hurtelen; attones. 639. dovne. 640. gooth. 641. C. Among; F. Amonge. 642. preseth. 643. By-hynde; maste begyneth. F. A. Add. him; laste; F. last.

646. sayle.

647.

rest hem. 648. slidre. 649. to-gedre. 651. C. Tn. 652. flyght. 653. folke to-goo; goo myght.

ek; queene; sayle.

saw; F. saugh.

654.

655. went; thik; hayle. 656. myght. 657. C. 659. worshippe; lorne. 660. dispeyre.

658. borne.

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To Egipte is fled, for drede and for distresse ;
But herkneth, ye that speke of kindenesse.

Ye men, that falsly sweren many an ooth
That ye wol dye, if that your love be wrooth,
Heer may ye seen of women whiche a trouthe!
This woful Cleopatre hath mad swich routhe
That ther nis tonge noon that may hit telle.
But on the morwe she wol no lenger dwelle,
But made hir subtil werkmen make a shryne
Of alle the rubies and the stones fyne
In al Egipte that she coude espye;
And putte ful the shryne of spycerye,

665

(90)

670

675

And leet the cors embaume; and forth she fette
This dede cors, and in the shryne hit shette.

And next the shryne a pit than doth she grave;
And alle the serpents that she mighte have,

(100)

She putte hem in that grave, and thus she seyde: 680 'Now love, to whom my sorweful herte obeyde

So ferforthly that, fro that blisful houre
That I yow swor to been al frely youre,
I mene yow, Antonius my knight !
That never waking, in the day or night,
Ye nere out of myn hertes remembraunce
For wele or wo, for carole or for daunce;
And in my-self this covenant made I tho,
That, right swich as ye felten, wele or wo,
As ferforth as hit in my power lay,
Unreprovable unto my wyfhood ay,
The same wolde I felen, lyf or deeth.
And thilke covenant, whyl me lasteth breeth,
I wol fulfille, and that shal wel be sene;
Was never unto hir love a trewer quene.'

685

(110) 600

695

666. C. Tn. oth; F. oothe. 668. which. 669. C. Tn. Cleopatre;

665. herkeneth. T. speke; rest speken. 667. C. Tn. wroth; F. wroothe.

F. Cleopatrie. made. 671. C. morwe; F. morowe. 672. werknen (1).

675. C. Tn. putte; F. put.

676. Tn.

673. Tn. rubies; F. rubees. leet; C. F. let. C. cors; F. corps (and in l. 677). 678. C. pet; Tn. pyt F. pitte. dooth. 679. C. alle; F. al. C. myghte; F. myght. 680. C. Tn. putte; F. put. sayde. 682. ferforthely. 683. ben. 688. couenaunt; thoo. 689. T. A. Th. wele; C. F. Tn. wel. 692. life; deethe. 693. couenaunt while.

F. powere.

687. woo. 690. C. power;

694. seene.

And with that word, naked, with ful good herte,
Among the serpents in the pit she sterte,
And ther she chees to han hir buryinge.
Anoon the neddres gonne hir for to stinge,
And she hir deeth receyveth, with good chere,
For love of Antony, that was hir so dere :-
And this is storial sooth, hit is no fable.
Now, er I finde a man thus trewe and stable,
And wol for love his deeth so freely take,

I pray god lat our hedes never ake!

:

Explicit Legenda Cleopatrie, martiris.

(120)

700

705

II. THE LEGEND OF THISBE OF BABYLON.

Incipit Legenda Tesbe Babilonie, Martiris.

AT Babiloine whylom fil it thus,
The whiche toun the queen Semiramus
Leet dichen al about, and walles make
Ful hye, of harde tyles wel y-bake.

Ther weren dwellinge in this noble toun

710

Two lordes, which that were of greet renoun,

And woneden so nigh, upon a grene,
That ther nas but a stoon-wal hem bitwene,

As ofte in grete tounes is the wone.

And sooth to seyn, that o man hadde a sone,
Of al that londe oon of the lustieste.
That other hadde a doghter, the faireste,
That estward in the world was tho dwellinge.
The name of everich gan to other springe
By wommen, that were neighebores aboute.
For in that contree yit, withouten doute,

715

(11)

720

696. C. word; F. worde.

700. C. receyuyth; F. receveth.

704.

F. (only) wolde. 705. oure; neuere. F. take (!); rest ake. 707. tovne;

queene.

grette.

710. tovne. 711. grete.

712. C. nygh; F. neigh. 714.

715. C. hadde; F. had (so in l. 717).

716. C. Tn. Th. of; rest om. 717. Tn. doghter; F. doghtre. 718 esteward; worlde. 719. eueryche.

Maidens been y-kept, for Ielosye,
Ful streite, lest they diden som folye.

This yonge man was cleped Piramus,
And Tisbe hight the maid, Naso seith thus;
And thus by report was hir name y-shove
That, as they wexe in age, wex hir love;
And certein, as by reson of hir age,

Ther mighte have been bitwix hem mariage,
But that hir fadres nolde hit nat assente;
And bothe in love y-lyke sore they brente,
That noon of alle hir frendes mighte hit lette
But prively somtyme yit they mette

By sleighte, and speken som of hir desyr;

As, wry the gleed, and hotter is the fyr;
Forbede a love, and it is ten so wood.

This wal, which that bitwix hem bothe stood,
Was cloven a-two, right fro the toppe adoun,

Of olde tyme of his fundacioun ;

725

(21)

730

735

(31)

But yit this clifte was so narwe and lyte,

740

It as nat sene, dere y-nogh a myte.
But what is that, that love can nat espye?

Ye lovers two, if that I shal nat lye,
Ye founden first this litel narwe clifte;

And, with a soun as softe as any shrifte,
They lete hir wordes through the clifte pace,
And tolden, whyl that they stode in the place,
Al hir compleynt of love, and al hir wo,
At every tyme whan they dorste so.

745

(41)

722. C. been; F. ben.

C. Tn. yonge; F. yong.

724.

723. Tn. som; C. sum; F. somme. 725. All but C. om. And. Tn. A. Tisbe; C. Th.

Tysbe; F. B. Tesbe; T. Thesbe. maide.

727. C. wex, wex; F. T. wex, wax ; Tn. wox, wax; B. wox, wox.

C. Tn. bitwixe; F. betwex.

Tn. priuely; F. preuely.

730.nold.

726. C. report; F. reporte.

729.

733.

731. booth; soore.

734. C. sleyghte; F. sleight. A. speken; Tn. T. Th. spaken; F. C. spoken. Tn. som; F. somme. C. desyr; F. desire. 735. C. wry; F. Tn. wre. glede. C. fyr; F. fire. 736. woode.

bitwixe; stoode.

741. C. A. nas; rest was.
C. soun; F. sovne.
748. woo.

738. a-twoo; adovne.

C. sene; F. seene. deere. 746. leete.

749. soo.

737.

740. C. clyfte; F. clyft.

743. twoo. 745. 747. while. C. stode; F. stoden.

Upon that o syde of the wal stood he,
And on that other syde stood Tisbe,
The swote soun of other to receyve,
And thus hir wardeins wolde they deceyve.
And every day this wal they wolde threte,
And wisshe to god, that it were doun y-bete.
Thus wolde they seyn-'allas! thou wikked wal,
Through thyn envye thou us lettest al!
Why nilt thou cleve, or fallen al a-two?

750

755

(51)

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Our wordes through thy lyme and eek thy stoon.

765

Yit oghte we with thee ben wel apayd.'

(61)

And whan thise ydel wordes weren sayd,
The colde wal they wolden kisse of stoon,

And take hir leve, and forth they wolden goon.
And this was gladly in the even-tyde

770

Or wonder erly, lest men hit espyde;

And longe tyme they wroghte in this manere
Til on a day, whan Phebus gan to clere,
Aurora with the stremes of hir hete
Had dryed up the dew of herbes wete;
Unto this clifte, as it was wont to be,
Com Pyramus, and after com Tisbe,
And plighten trouthe fully in hir fey
That ilke same night to stele awey,

750. F. the; rest that. wale. 754. C. wal; F. walle. threete.

775

(71)

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756. C. Tn. wal; F. walle. 758. C. nylt thou; F. nyltow.

y-bette.

alle.

F. leest.

76o. let; meete.

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761. oones; myght; sweete.
765. Tn. Our; F. Or (!). thurgh; ek.
767. sayde.
770. F. Alle; rest And.

762.

766.

768. walle.

C.

T. A.

771. espyede. 777. F. Come; Tn. Com

772.

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