University of Virginia Library

Quhill Turnus on this wyss, about all partis,
In the Rutilyanys rasys hardy hartis,
Alecto towart Troianys, but mair tary,
With hir infernall weyngis furth can cary.
By ane new slycht a place spyit hes sche,
Quhar, for the tyme, by the cost of the see,
The ȝyng semly Ascanyus at solace
Dyd hunt the wild deir, followyng the chace.
Thar suddanly this hellis wench infest
Ane hasty fury on his hundis kest;
Thar ness thirlys with a sover sent
Scho fillis so, that bissely thai went
Eftir the fute of a taym hart, quhilk thing
Was the first causs of weirfar and fechtyng,
And first sterit the wild fosteris fell
To move debait, or mak thame for batell.
This hart of body was baith gret and squar,
With large hed, and tyndis burnyst far,
Quham childir of ane Tyrrheus thame amang,
Reft from his moderis pap, had nurysit lang;
Tyrrheus thar fader was fee master and gyde
Of studis, flokkis, bowis and heirdis wide,
As storour to the kyng, dyd kepe and ȝym,
Of the large plane all trast was gevin to hym.
Full dantit and full taym at thar command
Was so becum this best, that, but demand,
Siluya thar sister with all diligens
Arrayt hym of flowris sweit as sens;
Oft plet scho garlandis for his tyndis hie;
The deir also full ofttyme kem wald sche,
And feil syss wesch intil a fontane cleir.
Full weil sufferit hir handis the tame deir,
And was accustomyt so quhen he list eyt,
At his awin masteris burd to seik his meyt.
Our all the woddis wald he raik ilk day,
And at evin tide return hame the strecht way
Till hys lugyng weilbekend, fute hait,
All by him self, war the nycht neuer so lait.
This hart, errand far from hys resset,
Ascanyus wod hundis ombeset,
As that, per cace, for the hait sonnys gleme,
He held doun swymmand the cleir ryver streme,
To cuyll hys heyt vnder a gresy bra.
Ascanyus the child hym self alssua,
Byrnyng in desire of sum notable renown,
With nokkyt bow ybent all reddy bown,
Wenand hym wilde, leyt sone ane arow glide;
The goddes was all reddy fast besyde,
That can hys hand address but waveryng;
The flane flaw fast with a spang fra the stryng;
Throw owt the wame and entrellis all, but stynt,
The scharp hedit schaft duschit with the dynt.
The deir, so dedly woundit and to laym,
Onto his kynd resset can fleyng hame,
And entrys in his stall, and that onon,
All blude besprent, with mony grank and gron,
And like a man besocht help and supple;
With hys plenyng all the howss fillis he.
Siluya, the eldast sister, with a schowt,
Hir handis clappyng fast hir schulderis abowt,
Cryis efter help, and can togidder call
The landwart folkis and dowr foresteris all.
Thai tho assemblit to the fray in hy
And flokkis furth rycht fast onwarnystly,
For the ilk fury pestilenciall that hour
Full prevely in the dern wod dyd lowr
To cast on thame slely hir feirfull rage,
That furth vpstartis bath wife, man and page,
He with a burdon of ane lang stif tre,
The poynt scharpit and brynt a litill we,
He with a knotty club and knorry hed;
Quhat ilk man fand first reddy in that sted,
Sekand a swerd, new rynnand fra the pleuch,
Thar greif maid that thing wapyn gud eneuch.
Tyrrheus, the master storour, in a rowt
The churlys all assemlyt hym abowt,
Quhar as, per cace, byssy with weggis he
Stude schidand a four squarit akyn tre,
With mony pant, with fellon hauchis and quakis,
Als oft the ax rebundit of the strakis.
This cruell goddes, feirful Alecto,
Fortill ennoy hir tyme espyit tho,
And spelis vp ful sone, as scho war wod,
Apon a heich stabill quhar that bestis stude.
Right bustuusly apon the rufe on hie
The hyrdys ensenȝe lowd vp trumpis sche,
And in a bowand horn, at hir awin will,
A feyndlich hellis voce scho liltis schill,
At quhais sovnd all trymlyt the forest,
The dern woddis resondit est and west,
The blast was hard thens mylis mony ane
At the deip lowch of Triuia or Dyane;
The dyn was hard eik ellis quhar ful far
At the sulphuryus quhite ryvar callit Nar,
And at the laik or fontane of Velyne.
Baith to and fro our all the cuntre syne
Wemen and moderis, effrayt of this cace,
Thar ȝyng childring fast to thar brestis dyd brace.
Than spedely, with haste and bissy far,
The laubouraris ondantit heir and thar
Hynt wapynnys, and assemlyt on euery side
Towart the sovnd, quhar as the trump that tyde
With dedly voce blew this feirfull syng:
The Troiane power alsso can furth thring
With haill rowtis, Ascanyus to reskew.
The batalis war adionyt now of new,
Nocht in maner of landwart folkis bargane
With hard blokkis raschand all ourane,
Nor blunt steyngis of the byrsillit tre,
Bot with scharp scherand wapynnys maid melle.
The grond blaknyt and feirfull wolx alssua:
Of drawyn swerdis sclentyng to and fra
The brycht mettale, and othir armouris seir,
Quharon the sonnys blenkis betis cleir,
Glitteris and schane, and vnder bemys brycht
Castis ane new twynklyng or a lemand lycht.
This stour sa bustuus begouth to ryss and grew,
Lyke as the sey changis first hys hew
In quhite lippiris by the wyndis blast;
Syne peiss and peys, the flude boldnys so fast,
Quhill finaly the wallis vprysis mar,
That fra the grund it warpis vp in the air.
At the first cuntre into this bargane
Almon, Tyrrheus eldast son, was slane,
A fair ȝyng springald, quhilk caucht dedis wond
Throw dynt of arrow schot with felloun sound,
That smate hym rycht evin in at the halss bone;
The loppirrit blude stoppyt hys aynd onone,
And closyt in of lyfe the tendir spreit.
Abowt hym fell down ded, and lost the sweit,
Mony of the hyrdmen, amangis quham was ane,
The eldar Galesus, as that he allane
Offerit hym self amyd the ostis tway,
To treit concord of pess and of the fray,
Quhilk was the iustast of a rurall man
And mychtyast in hys tyme levyng than;
Our all the boundis of Ausonya
Hys fyve flokkis pasturyt to and fra,
Fyve bowis of ky ontil his hame reparit,
And with ane hundreth plewis the land he aryt.