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The Life of St. George

By Alexander Barclay: Edited by William Nelson

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40

Of the lamentable complaynt of the virgyne / whan she was left alone before the dragon. Capitulum. viii.

Hirself alone: this wyse complayned she
O wretchyd Alcyone: who can expres thy wo
(For she by name / was callyd Alcyone)
Why is thy state: and cruell fortune so
That into this dragons / bely thou must go
Alas shall my dayes / no lenger tyme indure
I dye or the day / prefyxed of nature.
My graue approchyth / my body to deuoure
yet I alyue / hole sounde and innocent
By cours of nature / farre from my dethes houre
yet is my deth: and endynge day present
Fye on the fortune: both fals and fraudelent
What haue I done? what gyle conde thou deuyse?
A fautles virgyne: to murder in this wyse?
Why is heuyn erth / and helle to me contrary?
My self se I nowe: hatyd of them echone
Of all the goddes / and mortall men here by
I se no socoure: compassyon haue they none
Before this monstre: here am I left alone
Without all confort / proteccyon or defence
And that before / my faders owne presence.
Are these the festes / of my maryage
So longe abyden / of my father the kynge
O my dere moder / feble and farre in age
Is this your confort: of my fruyt and ofsprynge
Wherin your hope / was set aboue all thynge
O goddes all / if ye haue iyen to se
Beholde my sorowe / in this extremyte.

41

O heuynly goddes / shewe vnto me your face
Whiche by your myght: as men recorde and tell
Haue Aryadna: sauyd in suche case
O goddes of the see: o gouernours of hell
If ye haue iyen / to se this case cruell
If any mercy / can moue you to pyte
Haue mercy nowe / on your Alcyone.
Haue I nat euer / ben lowe in your presence
Before your Auters: both meke and innocent
Prostrate in prayer / with humble reuerence
Than nowe here my mone / to my request assent
If ye be goddes / in heuyn parmanent
As we blynde wretchys / in you suppose and trowe
Declare your myght / shewe forth your power nowe.
With suche wordes / or lyke as we may thynke
This wofull virgyne / complayned all alone
As she that was / at dethes dore or brynke
Whan they on the wallys: harde this carefull mone
To se the case theyr herte was colde as stone
For fere they quakyd: hauynge no tere to wepe
That dolefult syght / persyd theyr herte so depe.
Drede and compassyon / them nere bereft theyr lyfe
Theyr hertes stryken with doloure vyolent
But noble George / had payne moste excessyfe
From the hylle beholdynge: the virgyn innocent
So all his men made mone full euydent
And all the straungers: bewaylyd hyr dystres
Theyr hertes plungyd / in care and heuynes.

42

Styll stode the monstre / with iyen bryght as fyre
Maruaylynge in maner / of the ryche aray
And of the fayre virgyns / precyous attyre
For the other were / put nakyd forth alway
yet by the bondys: she knewe it was hyr pray
Wherfore with Iawes / and throte displayed wyde
Fast to the virgyne: began she for to glyde.
Hyr myghty body: somwhat made slowe hyr pace
So that hyr meuynge / was slake as one myght se
Hyr body semyd a volt / or some great place
If on from farre / behelde hyr quantyte
Hyr tayle came after / with great prolyxyte
Leuynge the prent: behynde hyr in the way
Hyr wynges abrode / she drewe vnto hyr pray.