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Be this Aurora, leifand the purpour bed
Of hir lord Titan, heth the erd ourspred
With new days licht, and quhen the queyn
The first grekyng of the day hes seyn
And fra hir hie wyndoys gan espy,
With bent sail furth caryand, the navy,
The costis and the schor al desolate
Behaldis eik but owthir schip or bate,
Hir fayr quhite breist, thar as scho dyd stand,
Feil tymys smate scho with hir awyn hand,
And ryvand hir bricht haris petuusly,
“Iupiter,” quod scho, “sal he depart, ha, fy!
And leful tyll a vavengeour stranger
Me and my realm betrump on this maner?
Sal not my menȝe to harnes ryn in hy
Our al the town, and follow bissely?
Speid, tak ȝon schippys! on burd fast to the raid!
Haist sone, and kast on thame fyre blesis braid!
Schute dartis thik, and qwel thame with ȝour glavys . . .
Quhat said I or quhar am I? Now thou ravys;
Quhat wodness, fey Dydo, movis thi mynd?
Now art thou hyt with frawart werdis onkynd?
Sa til haue done than had bene mair ganand
Quhen thou hym gave the ceptour of thi land.
Ha! now behald hys gret prowes,” quod sche,
“Hys reuthful piete and faith! Is not ȝon he
Quham, as thai say, the goddis of hys land
In hys navy careis our sey and sand?
Is not ȝon he quhom on his schulderis, thai say,
For reuth his agit fader bair away?
Mycht I not caucht and rent in pecis his corss,
Syne swak the gobbettis in the sey by forss
Of hym and all hys fallowys? Weill I mocht!
And eik ȝone sam Ascanyus mycht I nocht
Haue trynschit with a sword, and maid a meyss
To his fader tharof to eyt at deyss?
Forsuyth, in cace the aventur of bataill
Had beyn doutsum, wald God it war assaill!
Quham sall I dreid, now reddy forto de?
Wald God I mycht, in ȝon navy I se,
The hait fyre brandis set, and euery boyr
Fyll all with flambys red, and forthirmor
Baith fader and son, with hail generacioun,
That I had brynt, distroyit and bryttnyt doun,
And thame abuf syne ded my self had laid!
O thou brycht son, that, with thi bemys glayd,
All erdly laubour clengis, circuland about;
And thou Iuno, mediatrix, but dout,
Of al thir hevy thochtis, and weill thame knawis;
And thou Proserpyne, quhilk, by our gentile lawys,
Art rowpit hie and ȝellyt lowd by nyght,
In forkyt ways, with mony mudy wight;
And ȝe infernale fureys, that wrekis al wrang;
And ȝe goddis eik, quham now amang
Dido standis reddy tocum in poynt to de;
Ressaue thir wordis quhilkis I sal say,” quod sche,
“Withdraw fra hyme ȝour gret mychtis, quharby
Schrewis aucht be punyst for thar cryme, and not I;
And thir our prayeris accept, we ȝou beseik.
Gyf it be necessar and determyt eik
Ȝon wikkit hed in portis of Itale
To entir and cum or to thai boundis saill,
And gyf the fatis and Iove wil it be so
And hess decreit he fynaly thyddir go,
Ȝit, at the lest, thar mot he be assail,
With hardy pepill ay trublyt in bataill,
By forss of armys expellyt hys boundis eik,
Far from Ascanyus help, constrenyt beseik
Ayd and supple, and als that he behald
Feil cayrfull corsys of hys folk ded and cald,
And quhen alsso hym self submyt hes he
Vndir payce and lawis of iniquite,
That he bruke nowthir realm, nor gude lyfe led,
Bot fal fey or his day, and sone be ded,
And ly onerdyt in myddis of the sandis.
Thys I beseik ȝou hevand vp my handis;
Thys is my lattir word at I conclude,
Furthȝettand it togiddir with my blude.
And forthirmor, O ȝe my Tyrianys,
Quhilk now in Affrik at Cartage remanys,
Ȝon clan, with thar successioun and kynrayd,
Persew with haitrent perpetual, and invaid;
Onto my assys grant this a gift,” quod sche.
“Nevir luf nor payce betwix thir pepill be.
Of our levingis sum revengar mot spryng,
With fyre and sword to persew and doun thryng
The lauboreris discend from Dardanus.
Now fra thyne furth, all that succedis til ws,
Quhen euer thai may fynd tyme, with strenth and mycht
Batail to batail mot thai debait in fyght;
Thir costis mot be to tharis contrar ay,
And to thar stremys our seys frawart, I pray,
Thar ofspring eik amang thame self mot debate.”
Thus said scho, and with that word, God wate,
Hir faynt spreit in al partis writhis sche,
Sekand the way, alssone as it mycht be,
Forto bereif hir self the irksum lyve,
Tho callys scho to hyr Barcen belyve,
Nuryss vmquhile to Sychey hir husband,
For hir awyn nuryss in hir native land
Was beryit in to assis broun or than.
“Deir nurys,” quod scho, “fech my sister An;
Byd hir in haist with watir of a flude
Hir body strynkil; the bestis, and the blude,
And clengyng graith scho knawis, with hir bring.
Se on this wyss scho cum, forȝet na thyng;
And thou thy self thine halffettis als array
With haly garland. My will is to assay
And now perform the sacryfyce in hy
That onto Pluto dewly begun haue I,
To mak end of my dolorus thochtis all,
And byrn ȝon Troiane statw in flamb funeral.”
Thus said Dido, and the tother, with that,
Hychit on furth with slaw payss lyke a trat.