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Be this hass al the pepil, euery hyne,
The feste continewit fully days nyne,
And on the altaris, as was tho the gyss,
Thar offerandis endit and hie sacrifice.
The stabil ayr hass calmyt weill the see,
And sowtht pipand wyndis fair on hie
Challancis to pass on burd and tak the deip.
Bot quhen thai moste depart, lord, quhou thai weip!
Quhat huge waling rayss all the costis bay!
Brasand and halshand thai dwel al nycht and day.
And now thai moderis and thai onweldy men,
Quhom til, vmquhile, forto behald and ken
The seys figur was abhominabill
And eyk the forss tharof intollerabill,
Now wald thai wend, for all the seys rage,
Reddy to thoill al travale in vayage;
Quhom curtas Eneas with wordis frendly
Comfortis, and syne, wepand full tendirly,
Betaucht ontil Acest his cousing deir.
Thre velys tho, as was the auld maneir,
In wirschip of Erix he bad down quell,
And a blak ȝowe to god of tempestis fell;
Syne chargit hail thar cabillis vp belyve.
Hys awin hed warpit with a snod olyve,
Heich in a schippis forcastell dyd stand,
Haldand a cowpe of gold intil hys hand,
The bestis entralis in the see can swak,
And ȝet the cleir wyne furth in fludis brak.
From the eft schip vprays onone the wynd
And followit fast the see fararis behynd;
Eyk al the flote smate fast with arys the flude,
Kempand to welt our wallys as thai war wode.
In the meyn sesson Venus, al onflocht,
Amyd hir breist reuoluand mony a thocht,
Spak to Neptune with sik petuus regrate:
“Neptune,” quod scho, “the fel ire and consate
Of Queyn Iuno, with mynd insaciabill,
Constrenys me to condiscend thus stabill
In all maner of request and prayeris;
The quhilk Iuno nowdir lang days nor ȝeris,
Nor na divyne sacrifice, may appless;
Scho restis nevir, nor may scho leif at eyss,
Albeit the power and charge of Iupiter
Resistis scho wait, and fatis ar hir contrar.
Scho thinkis it nocht eneuch and sufficient
By wikkit malice to downbet and schent
And for euer put to distructioun
Master of the pepil of Frigia, Troys town,
And fortobe wrokin, be alkin panys,
Apon thar sary levingis and remanys;
Bot euer in ane ȝit stil persewis sche
The ded banys and cald assys to spulȝe
Of silly Troy, quhilk is to rewyne brocht.
A wondyr quhou scho may, intil hir thocht,
Of sa gret furour half the causys consaue!
Thi self is witnes quhou, laitly, our the laif,
Sa masterful storm amyd the Libiane see
Scho rasit sone, quhil vp to hevynnys hie
The fludis kachit war, and sair opprest,
Throu help of Eolus wyndis and tempest—
Sa gret wrang in thi realme durst scho excerss!
O this detestabil wikkitnes to reherss!
Lo, hes scho nocht, newlingis, sa schamefully,
The Troiane matronys maid byrn thar navy,
By hir wod rage? and ar, for falt of schippis,
In onkouth land left from thar falloschippis?
In tyme cummyng, I the beseik,” quod sche,
“Schaw thi mychtis, that salfly throu the see
It may be leifful thai thar salys set:
Grant at thai may alsso atteyn, but let,
The flude Tybir, throu Lawrent feildis slydis,
Admyt myne askyn, gif so the fatis gydis,
Or gif that my desyre may grantit be,
Or ȝit werd sisteris list geif thame that cuntre.”
Saturnus son Neptunus tho, I wyss,
That of the deip see fludis dantar is,
Ansuerit and said: “Citherea the fair,
It is resson, and ganand euermair,
Thou be assurit to rest at thi lyking
In my boundis and throw out al my ryng,
Quharfra thou hess thi first original,
As thi kynd grund and cuntre natural.
In othir placis als, furth of my land,
I haue deseruit thankis at thi hand,
And oft tyme hess sa gret curage, thou knawis,
Dantit baith of see and bustuus wynd at blawis.
To witnes draw I of this at I say,
Exanth and Symois, Troiane fludis tway,
That I na less cuyr tuke of thine Ene,
To salue him on the land, than on the see.
For quhen the ferss Achil persewit sair,
Chasand affrayt Troianys heir and thar,
The gret rowtis to the wallis thrymland,
Tofor his face half ded for feir trymland,
And mony thousandis on the grund layd ded,
The ryveris dittit with ded corpsys wolx rede,
Vndir bodeis bullyrrand; for sik multitude
Of slauchtir he maid, quhil Exanthus the flude
Mycht fynd na way to ryn onto the see;
Than, apon cace, with Achillis Ene
Matchit in fecht, nowdir of strenth or mycht
Equale be far, nor ȝit sa weil at rycht
Favorit of the goddis as Achillis, perfay,
By a dyrk clowd I staw thi son away;
Quhoubeit, the ilk tyme, my desyre was set
Law fra the grond al Troy forto down bet,
Tha maynsworn wallis biggit with my handis.
As twichand Ene, quhou evir the chance standis,
The sammyn wyss ȝit perseueris my mynd:
Haue thou na dreid, I salbe ȝit als kynd.
Onto tha havynnys he sal cum sovirly,
As thou desyris, and furthir him eyk sal I
Ontil Avern, clepit the louch of hell.
Ane sal alanerly be loste, I the tell,
Quham thou sal seik amang the fludis, dede;
For help of mony thar salbe gevin a hede.”
Eftir that with sik wordis Neptunus
Had mesit the mude of the goddes Venus,
Tho kan this fader of the see, but mair,
Hys horssis ȝok to draw his cart or chair,
With fomy bridill danting tha ferss bestis;
Thar renȝeis and thetys, at thame arestis,
With hys awin handys leit do slyp and slakkis,
And lichtly our the fludis croppis frakkis
Hys watry chair, furth fleand with a sownd,
Quhil al the wallis dowkis to the grownd;
Vndir the brayand quhelis and assiltre
The fludis strekis plane our al the see;
The bubbis and wyndy clowdis, heir and thar,
Gan fle onon furth of the large ayr.
Than of his court apperit figuris seir;
The hydduus quhalys, and al the rowtis in feir
Of agit Glaucus with his cannos hair,
And Palemon, Inoes son and ayr,
The swift Tritones with trump playand thar spryng,
Phorcus with al his falloschip and ofspryng,
And on hys left hand furth haldis Thetis,
With al the Nymphis hait Nereidis,
Sik as Melite, Spyo, Penopea,
Cymodoce, Nyse and Thalia.