Take this to the for ful conclusioun.'
This Ypermystra caste hire eyen doun,
And quok as dooth the leefe of aspe grene;
Ded wex hire hewe, and lyke as ashe to sene;
And seyde, 'Lorde and fader, al youre wille,
After my myghte, God wote I shal fulfille,
So hit be to me no confusioun.'

'I nil,' quod he, have noon excepcioun.'
And out he kaughte a knyf as rasour kene.
'Hyde this,' quod he, 'that hyt be not ysene;
And whanne thyn housbonde ys to bedde goo,
While that he slepeth kut hys throte atwoo;
For in my dremes hyt is warned me,
How that my nevywe shal my bane be,
But which I not; wherfore I wol be siker.
Yf thou say nay, we two shal make a byker,
As I have seyde, by him that I have sworne!'
This Ypermystra hath nygh hire wytte forlorne,
And, for to passen harmelesse of that place,
She graunted hym; ther was noon other grace.
And therwithalle a costrel taketh he
And seyde, Hereof a draught, or two, or three
Yife hym to drynke whanne he gooth to reste,
And he shal slepe as longe as ever the leste,

2647. quok, past tense sing. of quake, trembled.

2645

2650

2655

2660

2665

2648. wex, past tense sing. of wexe, grew ;—to sene, to look upon. 2650. after my myghte, according to my power.

2652. nil, ne wil, will not.

2658. bane, destruction.

2659. not, contraction of ne wot, know not;-siker, sure.

2660. byker, bicker, a quarrel; A. S. pycan, Ger. picken, to peck like birds. The word, in this form, is used now only as a verb. 2662. forlorne, lost.

2663. of, off, out of.

2665 costrel, a wine cup.

2668. the leste, it pleases thee.

The narcotikes and opies ben so stronge.

And goo thy way, lest that hym thynke to longe.' 2670
Oute cometh the bride, and with ful sobre chere,
As ys of maidenes ofte the manere,

To chambre broghte with revel and with songe.
And shortly, leste this tale be to longe,
This Lyno and she beth broghte to bedde,

2675

And every wight out at the doore hym spedde.
The nyghte ys wasted and he fel aslepe;
Ful tenderly begynneth she to wepe;

She riste hire up, and dredefully she quaketh,
As dothe the braunche that Zepherus shaketh,
And husht were alle in Argone that citee.
As colde as eny froste now wexeth shee,
For pite by the herte streyneth hire soo,
And drede of dethe doth hire so moche woo,

2680

That thries doune she fil in swiche a were,

2685

She riste hire up and stakereth here and there,

2669. opies, opiates.

2670. hym thynke, it seems to him.

2675. beth, are; this is the old Saxon form of the plural, which Chaucer seldom employs.

2679. riste, pres. tense, 3d sing. of ryse, riseth; see v. 2686. 2685. fil, past tense of falle, fell;-swiche, such ;-were, same as werre, war, or, as it signifies in the text, confusion; from the Fr. guerre, by a common change of g to w. So in The Romaunt of the Rose, 5702:—

"For soth it is, whom it displese,

Ther may no marchaunt lyve at ese,

His herte in sich a were is sett,

That it quyk brenneth to gette,

Ne never shal, though he hath geten,

Though he have gold in gerners yeten,

For to be nedy he dredith sore."

The original of the italicised verse is, "Car son cuer a mis en tel guerre."

2686. stakereth, staggers.

And on hire handes faste loketh she.
'Allas, shal myn handes blody be?
I am a mayde, and as by my nature,
And be my semblaunt, and by my vesture,
Myn handes ben nat shapen for a knyf,
As for to reve no man fro hys lyf!
What devel have I with the knyfe to doo?
And shal I have my throte korve a twoo?
Thanne shal I blede, allas, and be shende!

2690

2695

And nedes coste thys thing mot have an ende;

Or he or I mote nedes lese oure lyf.

Now certes,' quod she, 'syn I am hys wyf,

And hathe my feythe, yet is hyt bet for me
For to be dede in wyfly honeste,

Thanne be a traytour lyvyng in my shame.
Be as be may, for erneste or for game,
He shal awake and ryse and go hys way
Out at this goter, or that hyt be day.'
And wepte ful tenderly upon his face,
And in hire armes gan hym to embrace,
And hym she jeggeth and awaketh softe,
And at the wyndow lepe he fro the lofte,

2700

2705

Whanne she hath warned hym and doone hym bote.
This Lyno swyft was and lyghte of fote,
And from hire ranne a ful goode pace.

2710

This sely womman ys so wayke, allace,

And helples, so that er she ferre wente,
Her crewel fader did hire for to hente.

2690. semblaunt, appearance ;-reve, to reave, take away.

2695. shende, destroyed.

2699. bet, better.

2707. jeggeth, joggeth.

2708. lepe, pres. tense, third sing. of lepe, leaps.

2709. doone hym bote, rendered him help, or service.

2712. sely, simple;-wayke, weak.

2714. did hire for to hente, caused her to be, or had her, caught.

Allas, Lyno, why art thou so unkynde?
Why ne hast thou remembred in thy mynde,
And taken hire, and ledde hire forthe with the?
For whanne she saw that goon away was he,
And that she myghte not so faste go,

2715

Ne folowen hym, she sat hire doune ryghte thoo, 2720 Til she was kaughte and fettred in prisoun.

This tale ys sayde for this conclusioun.

HERE ENDETH THE LEGENDE OF GOODE WOMEN.

OF WORDS EXPLAINED IN THE NOTES.

(The numbers refer to the pages.)