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Thus quhen Dydo had caucht this frenasy,
Ourset with sorow and syk fantasy,
And determyt fermly that scho wald de,
The tyme quhen and maner quhou it suld be
Compasyng in hir breist, but mair abaid
Onto hir dolorus systir thus scho sayd,
Hir purposs by hir vissage dissymuland,
Schawand by hir cheir gude hope and glad sembland:
“Systir germane,” quod scho, “away ȝour smart;
Beys of ȝour systeris weilfar glaid in hart.
I haue the way fundyn, quharby ȝone syre
Salbe to me rendryt at my desyre,
Or me delyvir from hys lufe al fre.
Neyr by the end of the gret occiane see,
Thar as the son declynys and goys doun,
At the far syde of Ethiope regioun,
A place thar is, quhar that the huge Atlas
On schuldyr rollys the round speir in cumpass,
Full of thir lemand starnys, as we se:
Thar dwellys, systir, as it is schaw to me,
Ane haly nun, a ful gret prophetess,
Born of the pepill of Massylyne, I gess,
And wardane of the ryal tempil, thai sa,
Set in the gardyngis hecht Hesperida,
And to the walkryfe dragon mete gave sche,
That kepyt the goldyn apyllis in the tre,
Strynkland to hym the wak hunny sweit,
And sleipryfe chesbow seyd, to quykkyn his spreit.
This woman hechtis, with hir enchantmentis,
From luffis bandis to lowss al thar ententis
Quham so hir lyst, and bynd other sum alsso
In langsum amouris vehement payn and wo.
The rynnand fludis thar watir stop kan scho mak,
And eik the starnys turn thar courss abak,
And on the nycht the ded gastis assemmyll:
Vndir thi feyt the erd rayr and trymmyll
Thou most se, throw hir incantatioun,
And from the hillys treys discendyng down.
To wytnes the gret goddis draw I heyr,
And thy sweit hed, myne awyn systir deir,
Agane my wil, ful sayr constrenyt am I
Art magyk to excers or sossary.
Richt secretly intil our innar closs,
Vndir the oppyn sky, to this purposs
Pass on, and of treys thou byg a byng
Tobe a fyre, and tharapon thou hyng
Ȝon mannys sword, quhilk that wikkyt wight
Left stykand in our chawmyr this hyndir nyght,
Hys cote armour, and othir clethyng all,
And eik that maist wrachit bed coniugall,
Quharin I perychit and wes schent, allace!
For so the religyus commandyt hass,
To omdo and distroy al maner thyng
Quhilk may ȝon wareit man to memor bring.”
This sayd, scho held hir tong; and tharwithall
Hir vissage wolx als pail as ony wall.
Thocht Annes wenyt not hir systir wald
Graith sacryfice for hir ded body cald,
Nor that syk fury was in hyr breist consavyt;
For by na resson dred sche, nor persavyt
Now mor displesour or harmys apperand
Than for Sycheus ded, hir first husband:
Quharfor, scho hes hir command done ilk deill.
Bot quhen the gret byng was vpbeildit weill
Of ayk treys and fyrryn schydis dry,
Within the secrete closs, vndyr the sky,
The place with flowris and garlandis stentis the queyn,
And crownys about with funerale bewis greyn.
Abuf the mowe the forsaid bed was maid,
Quharin the figur of Ene scho layd,
Hys clethyng and hys sword at he had left,
Ramembring weill the thyng that followyt eft.
Feill altaris stude about the fyre funerale,
And the religyus nun, with hair down skaill,
Thre hundreth goddis with hir mouth rowpyt sche—
Herebus, the grysly of the deyp hellys see,
Chaos, confoundar of elymentis, alssua,
And the thrynfald goddes Proserpina,
The thre figuris of the virgyn Dyan.
And evir the watir strynklis scho onan,
Contyrfait tobe of Avernus the well,
Quhilk lowch is situate at the mouth of hell.
Spryngand herbys eftir the courss of the moyn
War socht, and with brasyn hukis cuttit soyn,
To get thar mylky sap and vennom blak.
Thai seik alsso, and owt gan rent and tak
The lump betwix the new born folys eyn,
And fra the moder byreft the lufe sa greyn,
The queyn hir self fast by the altar standis,
Haldand the meldyr in hir devote handis,
Hir ta fute bayr, and the bandis of threyd
Nocht festynnyt, bot hung by hyr lowyss weyd;
And, remembring scho was in poynt to de,
The goddis all onto wytnes drew sche,
The starnys and planetis, gydaris of fatis,
And gif thar ony deite be, that watis
Or persavys luffaris inequale of behest,
To have in memor hir iust causs and request.