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She putte hem in that grave, and thus she seyde:

680

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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 her love a trewer quene.'
And with that word, naked, with ful good herte,
Among the serpents in the pit she sterte,
And ther she chees to han her buryinge.
Anoon the neddres gonne her for to stinge,
And she her deeth receyveth, with good chere,
For love of Antony, that was her so dere:—
And this is storial sooth, hit is no fable.

Now, er I fynde a man thus trewe and stable,
And wol for love his deeth so frely take,
I pray god lat our hedes never ake!

ben.

Explicit Legenda Cleopatrie martiris.

680. C. Tn. putte; F. put. sayde. 682. ferforthely. 687. woo. wele; C. F. Tn. wel. deethe.

F. worde.

685

(110)

690

695

(120)

700

705

683.

688. couenaunt; thoo. 689. T. A. Th. 690. C. power; F. powere. 692. life; 693. couenaunt while. 694. seene. 696. C. word; 700. C. receyuyth; F. receveth, 705. oure; neuere.

F. take (!); rest ake.

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

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 wer neighebores aboute.
For in that contree yit, withouten doute,
Maidens been y-kept, for Ielosye,
Ful streite, lest they diden som folye.

This yonge man was cleped Piramus,

710

715

(11)

720

And Tisbe hight the maid, Naso seith thus;

725

707. tovne; queene.

F. neigh. 714. grette.

710. tovne. 711. grete. 712. C. nygh; 715. C. hadde; F. had (so in l. 717).

716.

718.

C. Tn. Th. of; rest om. 717. Tn. doghter; F. doghtre. esteward; worlde. 719. eueryche. 720. were. 722. C. been; F. ben. 723. Tn. som; C. sum; F. somme. 724. C. Tn. yonge; F. yong. 725. Al but C. om. And. Tn. A. Tisbe; C. Th. Tysbe; F. B. Tesbe; T. Thesbe. maide.

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 ;

But yit this clifte was so narwe and lyte,
It nas 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.

Upon that o syde of the wal stood he,
And on that other syde stood Tisbe,

726. C. report; F. reporte. Tn. wox, wax; B, wox, wox. 730. nold. 731. booth; soore.

(21)

730

735

(31)

740

745

(41)

750

727. C. wex, wex; F. T. wex, wax; 729. C. Tn. bitwixe; F. betwex. 733. Tn. priuely; F. preuely. 734. C. sleyghte; F. sleight. A. speken; Tn. T. Th. spaken; F. C. spoken. Tn. som; F. somme. C. desyr; F. desire. wre. glede. C. fyr; F. fire. 736. woode. a-twoo; adovne.

740. C. clyfte; F. clyft.

735. C. wry; F. Tn. 737. stoode. 738. 741. C. A. nas;

rest was. C. sene; F. seene. deere. 743. twoo. 745. C. soun; 746. leete. 747. C. stode; F. stoden.

F. sovne.

749. soo.

750. F. the; rest that. wale.

748. woo.

751. Tesbe.

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 wer 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?

Or, at the leste, but thou woldest so,
Yit woldestow but ones lete us mete,
Or ones that we mighte kissen swete,

755

(51)

760

Than wer we covered of our cares colde.

But natheles, yit be we to thee holde

In as muche as thou suffrest for to goon

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

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,

752. swoote sovne. 754. C. wal; F. walle. dovne. C. Tn. I-bete; F. y-bette. 757. Thurgh. C. Tn. al; F. alle. 759. A. Th. B. leste; C. laste; F. leest.

threete.

[blocks in formation]

756. C. Tn. wal; 758. C. nylt thou; F. nyltow. 76o. let; meete. 761. oones;

sweete. 762. were; oure. 763. the. 765. Tn. Our; F. Or (!). 766. C. oughte; F. oght. the; apayede. 767. sayde. C. kysse; F. kyssen. 769 foorth.

thurgh; ek.

768. walle.

rest And. T. A. euyn-tyde; Th. euentyde; C. F. 771. espyede. 772. C. wroughte; F. wroght.

Tn. Com (twice). Tesbe.

E

770. F. Alle;

777. F. Come;

Tn. B. euetyde.

And plighten trouthe fully in hir fey
That ilke same night to stele awey,
And to begyle hir wardeins everichoon,
And forth out of the citee for to goon;

And, for the feldes been so brode and wyde,
For to mete in o place at o tyde,

They sette mark hir meting sholde be

Ther king Ninus was graven, under a tree;
For olde payens that ydoles heried
Useden tho in feldes to ben beried;
And faste by this grave was a welle.
And, shortly of this tale for to telle,
This covenant was affermed wonder faste;
And longe hem thoughte that the sonne laste,

That hit nere goon under the see adoun.

This Tisbe hath so greet affeccioun

And so greet lyking Piramus to see,
That, whan she seigh her tyme mighte be,
At night she stal awey ful prively
With her face y-wimpled subtilly;

For alle her frendes-for to save her trouthe

She hath for-sake; allas! and that is routhe
That ever woman wolde be so trewe
To trusten man, but she the bet him knewe!
And to the tree she goth a ful good pas,
For love made her so hardy in this cas;
And by the welle adoun she gan her dresse.
Allas! than comth a wilde leonesse

778. C. fey; F. faye.

781. gone. 782. feeldes;

779. steele awaye. broode. 783. meete.

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780. euerychone.

786. C. Idolys;

F. ydoyles; F. heriode (!). 787. thoo; feeldes; beriede. 788. C. Tn.

792. F. (only) om. goon. 793. 794. F. Had (!); rest And. grete lykynge. 796. stale. A. priuely; F. prevely. 803, caas. 804. a-downe. 805.

faste; F. fast. 790. couenaunt.
F. Tn. B. om. hath; greete.
795. C. myghte; F. myght.
802. gooth; goode paas.
Tn. comth; F. comith.

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