And eke his swerde, that him hath doon to dethe.
Than spak she thus:-Thys woful hande,' quod she, 890
'Ys strong ynogh in swiche a werke to me;

For love shal me yeve strengthe and hardynesse,
To make my wounde large ynogh, I gesse.

I wol the folowen deede, and I wol be
Felawe, and cause eke of thy deeth,' quod she.
'And thogh that nothing save the deth only,
Myghte the fro me departe trewely,
Thou shal noo more now departe from me
Than fro the deth, for I wol goo with the.

895

'And now ye wrecched jelouse faders oure,
We that weren whylome children youre,
We prayen yow, withouten more envye,
That in oo grave we moten lye,

900

Syn love hath us broght this pitouse ende.
And ryghtwis God to every lover sende,
That loveth trewely, moore prosperite
Than ever hadde Piramus and Tesbe.
And let noo gentile woman hire assure,
To putten hire in swiche an aventure.

905

But God forbede but a woman kan
Ben as trewe and lovynge as a man,

910

And for my parte I shal anoon it kythe.'

And with that worde his swerde she tooke swithe,

That warme was of hire loves blood, and hoote,

And to the herte she hire selven smoote.

915

And thus are Tesbe and Piramus agoo.

Of trewe men I fynde but fewe moo
In al my bookes, save this Piramus,
And therfore have I spoken of hym thus.

892. yeve, give.

905. ryghtwis, righteous.

912. kythe, show, make known.

913. swithe, quickly.

916. agoo, for ygoo, past part. gone.

For yt is deyntee to us men to fynde
A man that kan in love be trewe and kynde.
Here may ye seen, what lover so he be,
A woman dar and kan as wel as he.

EXPLICIT LEGENDA TESBE.

920

INCIPIT LEGENDA DIDONIS, CARTHAGINIS REGINE.

G

LORIE and honour, Virgile Mantuan,

Be to thy name! and I shal as I kan Folowe thy lanterne as thou goste byforne, How Eneas to Dido was forsworne,

925

In thyne Eneyde. And of Naso wol I take

And Ector had after his deeth appered;

And fire so woode, it myghte nat been stered,

935

In al the noble tour of Ylion,

That of the citee was the cheef dungeon;

920. deyntee, of value, serviceable.

Explicit legenda Tesbe: Here endeth the Legend of Thisbe. Incipit legenda Didonis, Carthaginis Regine: Here beginneth the Legend of Dido, Queen of Carthage. This legend is taken from Virgil's Eneid, and Ovid's Heroides, epist. vii.

931. Synon; the treachery of Sinon and the consequent destruction of Troy, are related in the 2d book of the Æneid.

933. sterve, die; see note on sterve, v. 605.

935. woode, mad, furious, raging; see note on woode, v. 624; stered, controlled, quelled.

And al the countree was so lowe ybroghte,
And Priamus the kyng fordoon and noghte;
And Eneas was charged by Venus

940

To fleen away; he tooke Ascanius

That was his sone, in his ryght hande and fledde,

And on his bakke he baar, and with him ledde
His olde fader, cleped Anchises;

And by the wey his wyfe Creusa he lees,

945

And mochel sorwe hadde he in his mynde,

Er that he koude his felawshippe fynde.

But at the last, whanne he hadde hem founde,
He made him redy in a certeyn stounde,

And to the see ful faste he gan him hye,
And sayleth forth with al his companye
Towarde Ytayle, as wolde destanee.
But of his aventures in the see,

950

Nys nat to purpos for to speke of here,
For it acordeth nat to my matere.
But as I seyde, of hym and of Dydo
Shal be my tale, til that I have do.
So long he saylled in the salte see,
Til in Lybye unneth arryved he,

955

So was he with the tempest al to-shake.

960

And whanne that he the havene had ytake,

939. fordoon, past part. of fordo, undone, ruined;—and noghte, and brought to nought.

945. lees, past tense of lese, lost.

946. mochel, much, great.

949. stounde, a short space of time, a moment;-a stounde,

awhile:

"Blisse of the briddes broughte me a-slepe,

And under a lynde upon a launde lened I a stounde,

To lythe the layes tho lovely foweles made."

Piers Ploughman, v. 5029.

959. unneth, lit., uneasily, i. e., with difficulty.

960. al to-shake, shattered to pieces; see note on al to-rente,

820.

961. ytake, past part. of take, taken, reached.

He had a knyghte was called Achates,
And him of al his felawshippe he ches
To goon with him, the contree for tespye.

He tooke with him na more companye,

965

But forth they goon, and lafte hise shippes ride,
His fere and he, withouten any guyde.

So longe he walketh in this wildernesse,

Til at the last he mette an hunteresse,

A bowe in hande, and arwes hadde she;

970

Hire clothes knytte were unto the knee.
But she was yit the fairest creature
That ever was yformed by nature;

And Eneas and Achates she grette,

And thus she to hem spak whanne she hem mette. 975 'Sawe ye,' quod she, as ye han walked wide,

Any of my sustren walke yow besyde,
With any wilde boor or other beste,
That they han hunted to in this foreste,
Ytukked up, with arwes in her cas?'

'Nay soothly, lady!' quod this Eneas;
But by thy beaute, as yt thynketh me,
Thou myghtest never erthely woman be,
But Phebus suster artow, as I gesse.
And yf so be that thou be a goddesse,

980

985

Have mercy on oure labour and oure woo.'

'I nam no goddesse soothely,' quod she thoo;

963. ches, past tense sing. of chese, chose.

964. tespye, to espy; the particle to is often thus incorporated with

verbs beginning with a vowel.

966. lafte, past tense pl. of leve, left.

967. fere, companion.

974. grette, past tense of grete, greeted, saluted.

980. ytukked, past part. of tukke, tucked.

982. yt thynketh me, it seems to me; same as methynketh; see

note on hem thoghte, v. 134.

984. artow, art thou.

987. nam, contraction of ne am, am not;-thoo, then.

'For maydens walken in this contree here,
With arwes and with bowe, in this manere.
This is the regne of Libie ther ye been,
Of which that Dido lady is and queene.'
And shortly tolde al the occasion
Why Dido come into that region,

990

Of which as now me lusteth nat to ryme;

It nedeth nat, it nere but los of tyme.

995

For this is al and somme; it was Venus
His owene moder, that spak with him thus;

And to Cartage she bad he sholde him dighte
And wanysshed anoon out of his sighte.
I koude folwe worde for worde Virgile,

1000

But it wolde lasten al to longe while.

This noble queene, that cleped was Dido,
That whylom was the wife of Sicheo,
That fairer was than the bryghte sonne,
This noble toune of Cartage hath begonne;
In which she regneth in so grete honoure,
That she was holde of alle quenes floure,
Of gentillesse, of fredome, of beautee,

1005

That wel was him that myght her oones see.
Of kynges and of lordes so desired,

1010

That al the worlde hire beaute hadde yfired,
She stoode so wel in every wyghtes grace.
Whanne Eneas was come unto that place,

990. regne, kingdom;-ther, where.

994. me lusteth nat, it pleaseth me not.

995. it nedeth nat, it is not necessary;-nere, ne were, were not, would be.

996. this is al and somme, this is the whole matter in general and in particular.

998. dighte, dress, address.

1007. was holde of alle quenes floure, was held or regarded as the flower of all queens.

1009. him, dative case; wel was him, well was it for him ;—oones,

once.