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Onon thai held enarmyt furth thar way,
Quham all the nobillys ȝyng and ald, perfay,
Convoyt to the portis, na thyng fayn,
Prayand full oft Iove bryng thame weil agane.
Bot principaly the fresch Ascanyus ȝyng,
Abufe al otheris in hys commonyng
Schawand the wysdome, consait and forsyght
Of agit man, and eik the curage wight,
Gave thame feill chargis and commandmentis
To beir hys fader, twychand hys ententis;
Bot with the wynd tha skatterit war on raw,
And all for nocht amang the clowdis flaw.
Furth ischit thai, and by the fowcyis went is,
In silens of the dyrk nycht, amangis the tentis
And perellus pailȝeonys, to thame ennemy,
Thai entrit ar, and caucht gret harm tharby
(Bot netheless, or ony skaith thai hynt,
The ded of mony was thar douchty dynt).
Apon the gyrss, ourset witht sleip and wyne,
Fordoverit, fallyn down als drunk as swyne,
The bodeys of Rutylianys heir and thar
Thai dyd persaue; and by the cost alquhar
The cartis stand with lymowris bendyt strek,
The men lyggyng, the hamys abowt thar nek,
Or than amangis the quhelys and the thetis;
All sammyn lay thar armour, wyne and metys,
Baith men and cartis myddillyt all our ane.
With ane bass voce thus Nysus spak agane:
“Ewrialus, the mater now thus standis,
Fortobe stowt and forcy of our handis.
Thys is our passage, quhilk way we mon wend.
Thy part salbe to kepe and to defend
That nane onset cum on ws at the bak;
Spy far about, tharto gude tent thou tak.
I sall befor mak voyd passage and way,
And the convoy throu a large streit away.”
Rehersand this, onon he held hym closs,
So that na noys mycht thar be hard or voce,
And tharwith eik with drawyn swerd in press
He can assail the pompus Rhamnetes,
Quhilk lay, percace, slepand soft and sownd
On prowd tapetis spred apon the grond;
A kyng he was, and a spa man, suyth to sayn,
To Turnus kyng mast trast auguriane,
Bot with hys diuinatioun nor augury
The trake of deth ne cowth he not put by.
Thre of hys seruandis, that fast by hym lay,
Ful raklesly he kyllyt, all thocht thai
Amang thar speris lyggyng war infeir;
And quellyt ane to Remus was squyer.
The cartar syne, luggyng apon the streit,
He hynt onon amang the horssis feyt,
And with hys swerd hys nek, hyngand on syde,
In twane hes hakkyt; and the sammyn tyde
Thar lordis hed, I meyn this said Rhamneyt.
Of smytis he, quhill all the bed wolx weyt;
Lyke a ded stok the corps wantand the hed
Lay bullerand, al besprent with sprayngis red,
And als the erth grew warm with teppet blude.
Attour he stekit hes eik, quhar he stude,
Twa forcy men, Lamus and Lamyrus,
And als the lykly ȝong child, Serranus,
That all the fornycht in ryot and in play
Had spendyt as he lyst, and now he lay
With membris strekit, and plesand vissage brycht,
Ourset with god Bachus mekill of myght:
Ful happy and weill fortunat had he be,
In sport and gam on the sam wyss gif he
All the remanent of that nycht had spent,
Quhil the lycht day, and tyl hym self tane tent.
Lyke as the empty lyoun, lang onfed,
Be nychtis tyde quhen all folk sleip in bed,
Trubland the fald full of silly scheip,
The wod rage of hys hungir is so deip
That he constrenyt is sik wyss to fair;
He ryvis and he harlys heir and thar
The tendir bestis, that for awfull feir
Of hys presens dar nowder bleyt nor steir;
He rummysis with bludy mowth and brays—
So dyd Ewrilly, and none other ways,
And na less slauchter maid he in the plane,
Of ire inflambyt in his wod brane.
A multitude of commonys of birth law,
By quhilk resson thar namys ar onknaw,
He ombeset and put to confusioun,
And Fadus syne with Hesebus dang he down,
And Arabys also onwarnystly,
And Rhetus eik, lay walkand hard thame by
Behaldand all thar sterage and deray,
Bot, of the stowt Ewrialus for affray,
Behynd a wyne bote or a pype hym hyd,
Quham Eurialus, as the cace betyd,
Keppyt on hys swerdis poynt, that all the blaid
Hyd in hys cost vp to the hyltis glaid—
To ded he duschis down bath styf and cald,
And vp the purpour spreit of lyf he ȝald,
And blude and wyne mixt he can furth schaw,
At he last drank owt ȝeskis in the ded thraw.
And, by sik slyght full brym, thus he enforcis
To mak huge slauchtir of onweldy corpcis,
Etlyng wightly to the nixt stude fast by.
Thar as Mesapus feris all dyd ly,
And the last fyris almaste quynchit owt,
The horss, per ordour, tyit weill abowt,
Etand thar meit he mycht behald and se;
Quham schortly Nysus bad sess and lat be,
For he persauyt Eurialus by his feris
Had our gret lust to slauchter, and dangeris
Persauyt nocht quhilkis war apperand eft.
“Desist,” quod he, “this mater mon be left,
For the day lycht, quhilk is to ws onfrend,
Approchis neir, we may na langar lend.
Gret harm is done, eneuch of blude is sched,
Throw owt our fays a patent way is red.”
And sayng thus, thai sped thame on thar way:
Behynd thame, for vptakyng quhar it lay,
Mony brycht armour richly dyght thai left,
Cowpys and goblettis, forgyt far, and beft
Of massy syluyr, lyand heir and thar,
Prowd tapysry, and mekill precyus war;
Salf that Eurialus with hym tursyt away
The rial trappouris, and myghty patrellys gay,
Quhilkis war Rhamnetes stedis harnessyng,
And, for the mair remembrance in takynnyng,
Ane rych tysche or belt hynt he syne,
The pendentis wrocht of burnyst gold maste fyne
(Quhilk gyrdill ane Cedicus, that was than
Duryng his tyme ane the myghtyast man,
Bereft a strang Rutiliane, as thai tell,
Quham he venquyst in singular batell,
And send it syne to ane Remulus hes he,
That duke was of the Tiburtyne cite,
In syng of frendschip and ferm acquentans:
Thus athir absent ionyt allyans;
Syne this ilk prynce, into hys legacy,
That tyme apon hys ded bed dyd he ly,
This gyrdill left to ȝongar Remulus,
Hys tendyr nevo, that is heir slane thus);
Euryll, as said is, hess this iowell hynt,
Abowt hys sydis it brasyng, or he stynt—
Bot all for nocht, supposs the gold dyd gleit.
Mesapus helm syne, for him wondir meit,
With schynand tymbret and with crystis hie,
Apon hys hed onon buklyt hes he.
Furth of the tentis with this bownyt thai,
And fra thar fays held the sovyr way.