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How she was broght from Athenes in a barge,
And in a cave how that she was broght;
And al the thing that Tereus hath wroght,
She waf hit wel, and wroot the story above,
How she was served for her suster love;
And to a knave a ring she yaf anoon,
And prayed him, by signes, for to goon
Unto the quene, and beren her that clooth,
And by signes swor him many an ooth,
She sholde him yeve what she geten mighte.
This knave anoon unto the quene him dighte,
And took hit her, and al the maner tolde.
And, whan that Progne hath this thing beholde,
No word she spak, for sorwe and eek for rage;
But feyned her to goon on pilgrimage
To Bachus temple; and, in a litel stounde,
Her dombe suster sitting hath she founde,
Weping in the castel her aloon.

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Allas! the wo, the compleint, and the moon
That Progne upon her dombe suster maketh!

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In armes everich of hem other taketh,
And thus I lete hem in hir sorwe dwelle.

The remenant is no charge for to telle,

For this is al and som, thus was she served,
That never harm a-gilte ne deserved
Unto this cruel man, that she of wiste.
Ye may be war of men, yif that yow liste.
For, al be that he wol nat, for his shame,
Doon so as Tereus, to lese his name,
Ne serve yow as a mordrour or a knave,
Ful litel whyle shul ye trewe him have,

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2369. F. Tn. Th. B.

2360. A. C. ywouen; rest wouen (woued). C. T. A. stamyn; rest stames. 2364. C. waf; Tn. B. wafe; rest waue (wave). signe; rest signes. C. swor hym; T. sware she; A. suore; Th. swore; F. B. sworne (!); Tn. sworen (!). 2375. C. Th. on; T. A. in; F. Tn. B. a. 2378. Tn. her; C. here (for her); A. all hir; F. T. Th. B. hir self. 2379. So A.; so T. (omitting 3rd the); C. Allas the compleynt the wo & the mone; F. Th. Allas the wo constreynt (!) and the mone.

2389. C. so; rest om.

2380. So all. 2388. 2390. B. mordrer; F.

C. his; rest om.
morderere; Th. murtherer; C. T. A. morderour; Tn. mordroure.

That wol I seyn, al were he now my brother,
But hit so be that he may have non other.
Explicit Legenda Philomene.

VIII. THE LEGEND OF PHYLLIS.

Incipit Legenda Phillis.

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'God, for his grace, fro swich oon kepe us!'
Thus may thise women prayen that hit here.
Now to theffect turne I of my matere.
Destroyed is of Troye the citee;

This Demophon com sailing in the see
Toward Athenes, to his paleys large;

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With him com many a ship and many a barge
Ful of his folk, of which ful many oon
Is wounded sore, and seek, and wo begoon.
And they han at the sege longe y-lain.
Behinde him com a wind and eek a rain
That shoof so sore, his sail ne mighte stonde,
Him were lever than al the world a-londe,
So hunteth him the tempest to and fro.
So derk hit was, he coude nowher go;
And with a wawe brosten was his stere.
His ship was rent so lowe, in swich manere,

2393. C. T. A. non othir; rest a-nother (!).

2402. F. Tn. Th. B. om. may.

(read seek); rest seke. C. thasege (good).

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2400. F. Tn. Th. B. om. if. 2408. C. his; rest om. 2409. C. sek

2410. A. Th. the sege; F. Tn. B. a sege; T. sege; 2412. C. T. A. ne myghte; rest myght not.

That carpenter ne coude hit nat amende.
The see, by nighte, as any torche brende
For wood, and posseth him now up now doun,
Til Neptune hath of him compassioun,
And Thetis, Chorus, Triton, and they alle,
And maden him upon a lond to falle,
Wher-of that Phillis lady was and quene,
Ligurgus doghter, fairer on to sene
Than is the flour again the brighte sonne.
Unnethe is Demophon to londe y-wonne,
Wayk and eek wery, and his folk for-pyned
Of werinesse, and also enfamyned;
And to the deeth he almost was y-driven.
His wyse folk to conseil han him yiven
To seken help and socour of the queen,
And loken what his grace mighte been,
And maken in that lond som chevisaunce,
To kepen him fro wo and fro mischaunce.
For seek was he, and almost at the deeth;
Unnethe mighte he speke or drawe his breeth,
And lyth in Rodopeya him for to reste.

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Whan he may walke, him thoughte hit was the beste
Unto the court to seken for socour.

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Men knewe him wel, and diden him honour ;

For at Athenes duk and lord was he,

As Theseus his fader hadde y-be,

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That in his tyme was of greet renoun,

No man so greet in al his regioun ;

And lyk his fader of face and of stature,
And fals of love; hit com him of nature;

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2420. A. So wood. C. A. now vp

2418. C. A. ne; T. noon; rest om. now doun; T. now vp and doun; rest vp and doun. T. Thora; rest Thorus (see note). F. Tn. B. om. Triton. vp; rest vp-on.

2422. Th. Chorus ;

2423. F. Th. B.

2425. A. B. Ligurgus; C. Tn. T. Ligurges; Th. Ly

curgus; F. Bygurgus (error for Lygurgus).
C. almost was (better than was almost in the rest).
To; rest And.
2437. C. T. A. his; rest om.

2440. C. T. A. court; rest contree.
C. T. A. of gret; rest grete of.
rest his.

2430. C. That (for And).

2435. C. T. A. 2438. A. om. for. 2443. F. Tn. Th. B. hath. 2444. 2445. C. of (for in). C. the; T. A. that;

As doth the fox Renard, the foxes sone,
Of kinde he coude his olde faders wone
Withoute lore, as can a drake swimme,
Whan hit is caught and caried to the brimme.
This honourable Phillis doth him chere,
Her lyketh wel his port and his manere.
But for I am agroted heer-biforn

To wryte of hem that been in love forsworn,

And eek to haste me in my legende,

Which to performe god me grace sende,
Therfor I passe shortly in this wyse;

Ye han wel herd of Theseus devyse
In the betraising of fair Adriane,

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That of her pite kepte him from his bane.
At shorte wordes, right so Demophon
The same wey, the same path hath gon
That dide his false fader Theseus.
For unto Phillis hath he sworen thus,

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To wedden her, and her his trouthe plighte,

And piked of her al the good he mighte,

Whan he was hool and sound and hadde his reste;
And doth with Phillis what so that him leste.
And wel coude I, yif that me leste so,

Tellen al his doing to and fro.

He seide, unto his contree moste he saile,
For ther he wolde her wedding apparaile
As fil to her honour and his also.

And openly he took his leve tho,
And hath her sworn, he wolde nat soiorne,
But in a month he wolde again retorne.
And in that lond let make his ordinaunce
As verray lord, and took the obeisaunce

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2454.

2459. C. T. A.

2449. C. owene (for olde). 2452. A. phillis; C. Philes; Th. T. quene Phillis; rest quene. 2453. F. B. And; rest Her (Hire, Hir). A. Th. agroted; B. agrotyd; C. agrotyed; F. Tn. agroteyd; T. agroteyed. 2455. C. T. ben in love; A. ar of loue; rest in loue ben. deuyse; F. Tn. B. the nyse (sic); Th. the gyse. 2470, I. T. I couthe ryght well, yef that hyt lykyd me Tell all hys doyng; but hyt ys vanyte. C. T. vnto; A. into; rest to. F. Th. B. him; rest he. 2475. F. B. omit. 2476. C. hath hire sworn; A. hath to hir suorn; Tn. to her sworne; F. T. Th. B. to hir swore. 2477. So C. A.; F. Tn. Th. B. ageyn he wolde.

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Wel and hoomly, and let his shippes dighte,
And hoom he goth the nexte wey he mighte;
For unto Phillis yit ne com he noght.
And that hath she so harde and sore aboght,
Allas! that, as the stories us recorde,
She was her owne deeth right with a corde,

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Whan that she saw that Demophon her trayed.
But to him first she wroot and faste him prayed
He wolde come, and her deliver of peyne,
As I reherse shal a word or tweyne.
Me list nat vouche-sauf on him to swinke,
Ne spende on him a penne ful of inke,
For fals in love was he, right as his syre;
The devil sette hir soules bothe a-fyre!
But of the lettre of Phillis wol I wryte
A word or tweyne, al-thogh hit be but lyte.
'Thyn hostesse,' quod she, 'O Demophon,
Thy Phillis, which that is so wo begon,
Of Rodopeye, upon yow moot compleyne,
Over the terme set betwix us tweyne,
That ye ne holden forward, as ye seyde;
Your anker, which ye in our haven leyde,
Highte us, that ye wolde comen, out of doute,
Or that the mone ones wente aboute.
But tymes foure the mone hath hid her face
Sin thilke day ye wente fro this place,
And foure tymes light the world again.
But for al that, yif I shal soothly sain,

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2480. C. homly; F. T. B. homely; A. huimly; Tn. humble; Th. hombly.

C. let; rest om.

F. Tn. B. yboght.

2482. C. ne; rest om. 2483. A. C. Th. abought; 2484. F. Tn. B. om. as. A. T. stories; rest story (but

2485. C. T. A.

this would require recordeth; indeed, C. has recordith !).
ryght; rest om. 2487. F. Tn. Th. B. But firste wrote she to hym.

C. T. A. hire delyuere; rest delyuer hir.
F. B. 00; Tn. one; rest a; see 1. 2495.
Dispenden.

(badly).

2488. F. pyne (error for peyne). 2489. 2491. C. T. A. Ne spende; rest

2493. C. a fere; T. afyre; A. in fyre; F. Tn. Th. B. on a fire

2496. C. Ostesse thyn. T. A. o thow Demophon.

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2498. 2505. Th. thylke;

C. F. Tn. B. that thilke (!); A. that ilke; T. that. 2506, 7. C. omits. 2506. A. hath lycht this. 2507. T. yef; A. if; F. B. Th. yet (error for yef); Tn. yit (error for yif).

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