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795. C. myghte; F. myght. 796. stale. A.
priuely; F. prevely. 802. gooth; goode paas. 803. caas. 804. a-downe. 805.
Tn. comth; F. comith. 806. woode. 807. strangelynge. 812. moone; saugh.
813. ranne. 814. tooke; hede; soore. 815. eke. T. of; _rest om._ 816. C.
sit; F. sytte 817. T. leones; F. lyonesse. 821. don. 822. woode. 824. home.
825. moone shoone; well. 826. C. weye; F. wey. C. com; F. come. 827. Hise
eighen; adovne. 828. behelde a-dovne. 829. broode. T. leoun; F. lyoune.
832. Tn. neer; C. ner; F. nere. C. Tn. com; F. come. C. fond; F. founde. C.
torn; F. torne. 833. C. born; F. borne. 834. oo; wole; boothe. 836. slayne.
837. C. as; _rest om._ 839. F. a; _rest_ as. 840. slowe. 841. yee. 843. F.
T. B. _om._ he. _All_ renten (rente, rent) _wrongly; read_ renden. 846.
_From_ C. (_which has_ wep _for_ weep); F. _om. this line_. 848. feele;
blode. 849. bledynge; Tesbe. 852. Tn. Th. conduyt; F. conduyte; C. A.
condit. 853. C. wiste nat of this; F. wyst nat this. 854. C. thoughte; F.
thought. 855. F. B. _om._ hit. 856. C. I-fynde; F. fynde. 857. ek. 858.
comith. 859. hert; eighen. 861. Booth. Tn. leonesse; F. lyonesse. 863. Tn.
Betyng; F. Betynge. helis. 866. F. Th. boxe; _rest_ box. T. wexed (_for_
wex); A. wox; Th. B. woxe; C. F. Tn. P. was (_error for_ wax). F. B. _om._
and. 868. C. herte; F. hert. 869. dedely. 870. Tesbe; heere. 873. Tn. weep;
C. wep; F. wepe. 876. C. Tn. cors; F. corps. 877. dooth; Tesbe. 878.
mouthe; colde. 879. ben; bolde. 880. leefe. C. Tn. spek; _rest_ speke
(_wrongly_). F. Tn. Th. B. _om._ my. 881. Tesbe. 884. C. Th. herde; _rest_
herd. Tesbe. 885. dedely. Tn. B. P. yen; F. eyn; _rest_ eyen. 886. dovne;
gooste. 887. vpp; booste. 888. saugh. 889. eke; swerde. 890. C. spak; F.
spake. C. myn (_for_ my); _rest_ thy (!). hande. 891. werke. 892. F.
(_only_) _puts_ me _before_ give. 894. wole; folowen deede. 895. eke. 897.
the; trewly. 898. F. shal; C. schat (!); _rest_ shalt. C. A. Th. departe
now; Tn. departe trewlie; F. T. B. now departe. 899. deth; goo. 900. F.
Ielouse; C. gelos. 901. whilome. 903. oo. T. I-fere; _which the rest omit_
(!). 904. C. T. A. brought vs to; F. vs broght (!). pitouse. 906. moore.
907. C. euere [gh]it hade; T. euer had yet; _rest omit_ [gh]it (yet). 908.
noo gentile. 909. puten. 911. Ben. 912. parte. 913. swerde. 914. warme;
hoote. 915. smoote (!). 916. Tn. T. ar; F. are; C. A. is. C. I-go; _rest_
a-goo (a go). 917. moo. 918. bookes. 919. therfore.

III. THE LEGEND OF DIDO, QUEEN OF CARTHAGE.

INCIPIT LEGENDA DIDONIS MARTIRIS, CARTAGINIS REGINE.

 Glory and honour, Virgil Mantuan,
 Be to thy name! and I shal, as I can, 925
 Folow thy lantern, as thou gost biforn,
 How Eneas to Dido was forsworn.
 In thyn Eneïd and Naso wol I take
 The tenour, and the grete effectes make.
 Whan Troye broght was to destruccioun 930
 By Grekes sleighte, and namely by Sinoun,
 Feyning the hors y-offred to Minerve,
 Through which that many a Troyan moste sterve; (10)
 And Ector had, after his deeth, appered,
 And fyr so wood, it mighte nat be stered, 935
 In al the noble tour of Ilioun,
 That of the citee was the cheef dungeoun;
 And al the contree was so lowe y-broght,
 And Priamus the king fordoon and noght;
 And Eneas was charged by Venus 940
 To fleen awey, he took Ascanius,
 That was his sone, in his right hand, and fledde;
 And on his bakke he bar and with him ledde (20)
 His olde fader, cleped Anchises,
 And by the weye his wyf Creusa he lees. 945
 And mochel sorwe hadde he in his minde
 Er that he coude his felawshippe finde.
 But, at the laste, whan he had hem founde,
 He made him redy in a certein stounde,
 And to the see ful faste he gan him hye, 950
 And saileth forth with al his companye
 Toward Itaile, as wolde destinee.
 But of his aventures in the see (30)
 Nis nat to purpos for to speke of here,
 For hit acordeth nat to my matere. 955
 But, as I seide, of him and of Dido
 Shal be my tale, til that I have do.
 So longe he sailed in the salte see
 Til in Libye unnethe aryved he,
 With shippes seven and with no more navye; 960
 And glad was he to londe for to hye,
 So was he with the tempest al to-shake.
 And whan that he the haven had y-take, (40)
 He had a knight, was called Achates;
 And him of al his felawshippe he chees 965
 To goon with him, the contre for tespye;
 He took with him no more companye.
 But forth they goon, and lafte his shippes ryde,
 His fere and he, with-outen any gyde.
 So longe he walketh in this wildernesse 970
 Til, at the laste, he mette an hunteresse.
 A bowe in honde and arwes hadde she,
 Her clothes cutted were unto the knee; (50)
 But she was yit the fairest creature
 That ever was y-formed by nature; 975
 And Eneas and Achates she grette,
 And thus she to hem spak, whan she hem mette.
 'Sawe ye,' quod she, 'as ye han walked wyde,
 Any of my sustren walke yow besyde,
 With any wilde boor or other beste 980
 That they han hunted to, in this foreste,
 Y-tukked up, with arwes in her cas?'
 'Nay, soothly, lady,' quod this Eneas; (60)
 'But, by thy beaute, as hit thinketh me,
 Thou mightest never erthely womman be, 985
 But Phebus suster artow, as I gesse.
 And, if so be that thou be a goddesse,
 Have mercy on our labour and our wo.'
 'I nam no goddes, soothly,' quod she tho;
 'For maidens walken in this contree here, 990
 With arwes and with bowe, in this manere.
 This is the regne of Libie, ther ye been,
 Of which that Dido lady is and queen'-- (70)
 And shortly tolde him al the occasioun
 Why Dido com into that regioun, 995
 Of which as now me lusteth nat to ryme;
 Hit nedeth nat; hit nere but los of tyme.
 For this is al and som, it was Venus,
 His owne moder, that spak with him thus;
 And to Cartage she bad he sholde him dighte, 1000
 And vanished anoon out of his sighte.
 I coude folwe, word for word, Virgyle,
 But it wolde lasten al to longe a whyle. (80)
 This noble queen, that cleped was Dido,
 That whylom was the wyf of Sitheo, 1005
 That fairer was then is the brighte sonne,
 This noble toun of Cartage hath begonne;
 In which she regneth in so greet honour,
 That she was holde of alle quenes flour,
 Of gentilesse, of freedom, of beautee; 1010
 That wel was him that mighte her ones see;
 Of kinges and of lordes so desyred,
 That al the world her beaute hadde y-fyred; (90)
 She stood so wel in every wightes grace.
 Whan Eneas was come un-to that place, 1015
 Unto the maister-temple of al the toun
 Ther Dido was in her devocioun,
 Ful prively his wey than hath he nome.
 Whan he was in the large temple come,
 I can nat seyn if that hit be possible, 1020
 But Venus hadde him maked invisible--
 Thus seith the book, with-outen any lees.
 And whan this Eneas and Achates (100)
 Hadden in this temple been over-al,
 Than founde they, depeynted on a wal, 1025
 How Troye and al the lond destroyed was.
 'Allas! that I was born,' quod Eneas,
 'Through-out the world our shame is kid so wyde,
 Now it is peynted upon every syde!
 We, that weren in prosperitee, 1030
 Be now disslaundred, and in swich degre,

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