University of Virginia Library

Bot now the hasty, egyr and wild Dydo,
Into hyr cruell purposs enragyt so,
The bludy eyn rollyng in hir hed,
Wan and ful paill for feir of the neir ded,
With chekis freklyt, and al of tychirris bysprent,
Quakyng throu dreid, ruschit furth, or scho wald stent,
Onto the innar wardis of hyr place,
As wod woman clam on the byng, allace!
And furth scho drew the Troiane swerd, fute hait,
A wapyn was neuer wrocht for syk a nate.
And sone as sche beheld Eneas clething,
And eik the bed bekend, a quhile wepyng,
Stude musyng in hir mynd, and syne, but baid,
Fel in the bed, and thir last wordis said:
“O sweit habyte, and lykand bed,” quod sche,
“So lang as God lyst suffir and destane,
Ressaue my blude, and this sawle that on flocht is,
And me delyvir from thir hevy thochtis.
Thus lang I levyt haue, and now is spent
The term of lyfe that forton heth me lent;
For now my gret gost vndir erth mon go.
A richt fair cite haue I beild alsso,
Myne awyn wark and wallys behald haue I,
My spowss wrokyn of my brothir ennemy,
Fra hym byreft hys tressour, and quyt hym weill.
Happy, allace! our happy, and ful of seyll,
Had I beyn, only gyf that neuer nane
At our cost had arryvit schip Troiane.”
And sayand this, hir mouth fast thristis sche
Doun in the bed: “Onwrokyn sal we de?
De ws behufis,” scho said, “and quhou beheld!”
And gan the scharp sword to hir breist vphald;
“Ȝa, thus, thus lykis ws starve and to depart!”
And with that word, rave hir self to the hart.
“Now lat ȝon cruel Troiane swelly and se
This our fyre funerale from the deip see,
And of our deth turss with hym fra Cartage
Thys takyn of myscheif in hys vayage,”
Quod scho; and tharwith gan hir seruandis behald
Hir fallyn and stekit on the irne cald,
The blude outbullyrand on the nakyt swerd,
Hir handis furthsprent. The clamour than and rerd
Went to the toppys of the large hallys;
The noyss ran wild out our the cite wallis,
Smate all the town with lamentabil murnyng.
Of greting, gowlyng and wyfly womentyng
The ruffis dyd resound, bray and rayr,
Quhil huge bewalyng al fordynnyt the air—
Nane other wyss than thocht takyn and doun bet
War al Cartage, and with ennemyss ourset,
Or than thar natyve cite the town of Tyre,
And furyus flambe, kendillit and byrnand schyre,
Spredyng fra thak to thak, baith but and ben,
Als weil our templis as howsis of othir men.
Hir systir An, spreitles almaist for dreid,
Herand sa feirful confluens thyddir speid,
With nalys ryvand reuthfully hir face,
And smytand with hir nevis hir breist, allace!
Fast ruschis throu the myddis of the rowt,
And on the throwand, with mony sprauch and schout,
Callys by name: “Systir germane,” quod scho,
“Och! was this it thou fenȝeit the to do?
Hess thou attempyt me with syk dissait?
This byng of treys, thir altaris and fyris hait,
Is this the thyng thai haue onto me dycht?
Quhat sall I first compleyn, now dissolate wight?
O deir systir, quhen thou was reddy to de,
Ha! quhy hess thou sa far dyspysyt me
As to reffuss thi systir with the to wend?
Thou suld haue callyt me to the sammyn end,
That the ilk sorow, the sammyn swerd, bath tway,
And the self hour, mycht haue tane hyne away.
Thys funeral fyre with thir handis biggyt I,
And with my voce dyd on our goddis heir cry,
To that effect as, cruel, tobe absent,
Thou beand thus sa duylfully heir schent!
Sistir, allace! with my counsell haue I
The, and my self, and pepill of Sydony,
The heris all, and eik thi fayr cite,
Distroyt and ondeyn for ay,” quod sche.
“Fech hiddir sone the well watir lew warm,
To wesch hir woundis, and hald hir in myne arm;
Syne with my mowth at I may sowk, and se
Gyf spreit of lyve left in hir body be.”
This sayand, the hie byng ascendis onane,
And gan enbrayss half ded hir systir germane,
Culȝeand in hir bosum, and murnand ay,
And with hir wympil wipyt the blude away.
And scho agane, Dydo, the dedly queyn,
Pressyt fortil vplift hir hevy eyn,
Bot tharof falys; for the grysly wound
Deip in hir breist gapis wyde and onsound.
Thryss scho hir self raxit vp to ryss;
Thryss on hir elbok lenys; and als feill syss
Scho fallys bakwart in the bed agane.
With eyn rollyng, and twynkland vp ful fane,
Assays scho to spy the hevynnys lyght,
Syne murmouris, quhen scho tharof gat a sycht.
Almychty Iuno havand reuth, by this,
Of hir lang sorow and tarysum ded, I wyss,
Hir mayd Irys from the hevyn hess send
The throwand sawle to lowyss, and mak ane end
Of al the iuncturis and lethis of hir corss;
Becauss that nothir of fatis throu the forss
Nor ȝit by natural ded peryschit sche,
Bot fey in hasty furour emflambyt hie
Befor hir day had hir self spilt,
Or that Proserpyne the ȝallow haris gilt
From hir fortop byreft, or dubbyt hir hed
Onto the Stygian hellis flude of ded.
Tharfor dewy Iris throu the hevyn
With hir safron weyngis flaw ful evin,
Drawand, quhar scho went, forgane the son cleir,
A thousand cullouris of diuerss hewys seir,
And abufe Dydoys hed arest kan:
“I am commandyt,” said scho, “and I man
Omdo this hayr, to Pluto consecrate,
And lowis thi sawle out of this mortale stait.”
Thys sayand, with rycht hand hess scho hynt
The hair, and cuttis in twa, or that scho stynt;
And tharwithall the natural heyt outquent,
And, with a puft of aynd, the lyfe furthwent.