University of Virginia Library

Quhat thocht thou now, Dydo, seand thir thingis?
Quhou mony sobbys gave thou and womentyngis
Quhen thou, out of thi castell from the hycht,
The large costis beheld thus at a sycht
Ourspred with Troianys, in fervent bissynes
Gan spedely for thar vayage addres,
And of thar clamour befor thine eyn dyd se
Dyn and resoundyng al the large see?
O wytles lufe! quhat may be thocht or do,
At thou constrenys nocht mortell myndis tharto?
Scho is compellit to fal agane to teris
And Eneas assay with new prayeris,
And condiscendyt hir provd hart to submyt
Onto the strenth of lufe thus anys ȝyt:
Less scho onwar, but causs, hir deth purvayt,
Hir list na thyng behynd leif onassayt.
Till hir scho gan hir systir call inhy:
“Annes,” quod scho, “thou seys how byssely,
Our al the cost, for this vayage haist thai,
And now the wynd blawis weil to sail away:
The maryneris glaid lays thar schippis vndyr croys.
O systir! in tyme kouth I haue trowyt this loyss
And sa gret dolour, I had providyt, but weir,
That this displesour suld haue beyn eith to beir.
And netheless, for me, onhappy wight,
Do this a thing, Annes, with al thi mycht,
Sen ȝon ilk faithles man, deir systir, the
Was wont to cheryss and hald in gret dante
And als hys secretis onto the reveill—
Hys sweit entres sum tyme thou knew ful weill,
Nane bot thou only the tyme of hys cummyng.
Pass on, systir, in my name this a thyng
Say lawly to my provd fa and declair
That in the port Aulyda I neuer swair
With the Grekis the Troianys to distroy,
Nor I non navy send to sege Troy,
Nor ȝyt his fader Anchises graf schent—
I nothir the muldis nor banys tharof rent.
Quhy doith he reffuss my wordis and prayeris
To lat entir in his dul ontretabill eris?
Quhidder haistis he sa fast from hys behufe?
Beseik hym grant ontil his wrachyt lufe
This lattir reward, sen algatis he wil fle:
Tary quhil wynd blaw soft, and stabill see.
His ald promys na mair wil I hym crave,
Nor band of wedlok, quhilk he hes dissave,
Nor ȝyt him pray go not to Italy,
Ne leif fair realmys onto him destany:
A litil delay I ask, but othir eyss,
A space my furour to asswage and meyss,
Quhill that my frawart forton and estait
Of my beleve schaw me I am frustrait,
And tech me for to murn mair paciently.
This lattir gift only at hym ask I.
Haue mercy, systir, of thy systir deyr—
Quhilk seruyce quhen thou done hess, without weir,
I sal the recompens weil twentyfald,
And quhil my ded the sam in memor hald.”
With syklyke wordis hir request scho maid,
Hir supplicatioun, with teris ful onglaid,
Reportis hir systir, and answer brocht agane
Quhou al hir prayeris and desyre was invane,
For al thar wepyng mycht not him anys steir;
Nane of thar wordis lykis hym to heir,
Thocht he of natur was tretabill and curtass.
The fatis war contrar thar desyre netheless,
And hys benyng eris the goddis dyttit,
That of thar askyng thar was nocht admittit.
And lyke as quhen the ancyant aik tre,
With hys byg schank, by north wynd oft we se
Is ombeset, to bet hym down and ourthraw,
Now heir, now thar, with the fell blastis blaw,
The swouchand byr quhisland amang the granys,
So that the hyast branchys, al atanys,
Thar croppys bowis towart the erth als tyte,
Quhen with the dynt the maister schank is smyte;
And, netheles, the ilk tre, fixit fast,
Stikkis to the rochis, not doun bet with the blast:
For quhy? als far as his crop heich on breid
Strekis in the ayr, als far hys rute doith spreid
Deip vndir erth, towart the hell adoun—
The sammyn wyss was this gentil baroun,
Now heir, now thar, with wordis ombeset,
And in his stout breist, ful of thochtis het,
Of reuth and amouris felt the perturbance.
Bot euer his mynd stude ferm, for ony chance
Onmovyt, quhar hys fyrst purposs was set,
That al for nocht the teris war furthȝet.
Than suythly, the fey Dydo, al affrayt,
Seand fatis contrar, eftir deth prayt:
Scho irkit of hir lyfe, or to tak tent
Forto behald the hevynnys firmament.
Tharfor, in takyn hir purposs to fulfill,
And leif the lycht of lyfe, as was hyr will,
As on the altaris byrnand ful of senss
The sacrifyce scho offerit, in hir presence,
A grisly thyng to tell, scho gan behald
In blak adyll the hallowyt watir cald
Changyt and altyr, and furthȝet wynys gude
Onon returnyt into laithly blude.
This visioun sche to nane reveil wald,
Nor ȝyt to An, hir deir systir, it tald.
In wirschip eik, within hir palyce ȝet,
Of hir first husband, was a tempil bet
Of marbill, and hald in ful gret reverens,
With snaw quhite bendis, carpettis and ensens,
And festuale burgeonys arrayt, on thar gyss;
Tharin was hard vocis, spech and cryis
Of hir said spouss, clepand hir ful lowd,
Evir quhen the dyrk nycht dyd the erth schrowd.
And oft with wild scryke the nycht owle,
Heich on the rufe, alane, was hard ȝowle
With langsum voce and a ful petuus beir.
And eik bygane the feirful sawis seyr
Of the dyvynys, with terribil monysyngis,
Affrayt hir by mony grysly syngis.
And in hir sleip, wod wroth, in euery place
Hir semyt cruel Eneas gan hir chace;
And evir, hir thocht, scho was left al alane,
And, but cumpany, mony far way had gane,
To seik hir folkis in a wilsum land—
Lyke Kyng Pentheus, in his wod rage dotand,
Thocht he beheld gret rowtis stand in staill
Of the Ewmenydes, fureys infernale,
And in the lyft twa sonnys schynand cleir,
The cite of Thebes gan dowbil to hym appeir;
Or lyke Orestes, son of Agamenon,
On theatreis, in farcis mony one,
Rowpyt and sung how he his moder fled,
With fyre brondis and blak serpentis ourcled,
And saw the furyis, and grisly goddis fed,
Sittand in the tempill port to wrek hir ded.