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Thus quhil the portar in sleip sowpit lyis,
The entre tho Eneas occupyis,
And owr the fludis bank ful swyftly sprent,
Quhais passage is onreturnabill went.
Onon thai hard seir vocis lamentabill,
Gret walyng, quhympring, sprachis miserabill.
In the first cyrkill, or the vtyr ward,
Ȝong babbys sawlys weping sor thai hard,
Quhom the hasty and blak duylful day
Sowkand thar moderis pap had reft away,
From the swete lyfe twynnyt ontymusly,
As cayrful corps plungit in grave gart ly.
Nixt thame, the secund place tha folkis hess
Wrangwysly put to ded for cryme sakless.
Nor, sykkyrly, thir settis to ilke wight
War nocht assignyt but iuge, doym and rycht,
For Kyng Mynos, inquistour and iustice,
The fatale vrne and ballance at device
Rewlys equaly, and be discretioun steris
To consale and to iugement as efferis;
The silly gostis callys in that secret cage,
Baith of thar life and crymys takkand knawlage.
Syne eftir thir, al sory and full of cayr,
The thryd place haldis, and sal evir mayr,
Giltles folk, that for disdene, wo or fed,
With thar awin handis wrocht thar self to ded,
And irkit of the life at thai war in,
Thar sweit sawlys maid fra the body twyn.
O, quhat penuryte and hard distres infeir
Wald thai now suffir tobe in this warld heir!
Bot the fatis and goddis decrete gaynstandis
That thai may nevir return onto thir landis:
The woful puyl with watyr onlufly
Withhaldis thame, so at thai may nocht go by,
And Stix, the flude, bylappis thame abowt
Nyne tymys, sa closs at thai sal nevir wyn owt.
Nocht far from thens, wide quhar on euery syde,
Thai mycht behald the large fieldis wyde
And boundis of Complaynt, all voyd of lycht
(Sa beyn thai clepit properly at rycht),
Quharin war all by strang lufe in thar days
With sik crewel infectioun wastit away is,
The hydlys held thai and the roddis darn,
A myr tre wod about thame lowkyt ȝarn;
Thar paynfull musyng and thar hevy thocht,
Eftir thar ded alsso, forȝet thai nocht.
Thar was Phedra, the spowss of Theseus,
And Procrys eyk, the wyfe of Cephalus;
In that ilke sted was trist Eryphyle—
Hir crewell sonnys wondis schawys sche;
Evadne he beheld, and Laodomya,
And Pasyphe in falloschip with tha,
And Ceneus, first a wench and syne a man,
In hyr ald schap eftir ded changit than.
Amang otheris the Phenyssyane Dido
Within the gret wod walkis to and fro,
The greyn wound gapand in hir breist all new,
Quhom as the Troiane barroun nerrer drew,
And throw the dyrk schaddowis first dyd knaw—
Sikwyss as quha throw clowdy skyis saw,
Or, at the leist, wenys he heth do se,
The new moyn quhen first vpwalxis sche.
The terys leyt he fall, and tendyrly
With hartly lufe begrat hir thus in hy;
“O fey Dido, sen I persave the heyr,
A sovir warnyng, now I knaw ful cleir,
Was schawin me, at thou with swerd was slaw,
Byreft thi self the lyfe, and brocht of daw.
Allace, I was the causar of thy ded!
By al the starnys schynys abone our hed,
And be the goddis abone, to the I swer,
And be the faith and lawte, gif ony heir
Trewth may be fund deip vndir erd,” quod he,
“Malgre my wyl, Prynces, sa mot I the,
From thy costis depart I was constrenyt.
Bot the commandment of the goddis onfenyt,
Quhais gret mychtis hess me hyddir dryve,
To pass throwout thir dirk schaddowis belyve,
By gowsty placis, welch savorit, must and hair,
Quhar profund nycht perpetual doith repar,
Compellit me from the forto dissevir;
Nor in my mynde ymagyn mycht I nevir,
For my departing or absens, I wyss,
Thou suldist kaucht sa gret dyseyss as this.
Do stynt thy payss! Abide, thou gentil wight,
Withdraw the not sa sone furth of my sight!
Quham fleist thou? This is the lattir day,
By werdis schape, that with the speke I may.”
With sik wordis Eneas, full of wo,
Set him to meyss the sprete of Queyn Dido,
Quhilk, all inflambit, ful of wreth and ire,
With acquart luke glowand hait as fyre,
Maid him to weip and sched furth teris wak.
All fremmytly frawart hym, as he spak,
Hir eyn fixit apon the grond held sche,
Moving na mair hir curage, face nor bre,
Than scho had bene a statu of marbil stane,
Or a ferm rolk of Mont Marpesyane.
Bot finaly, full swyft scho wiskis away,
Aggrevit fled in the darn woddis gray,
Quhar as Sycheus, hir first spowss, ful suyr
Corespondis to hir desyre and cuyr,
Rendring in lufe amouris equiualent.
And, netheless, fast eftir hir furth sprent
Ene, perplexit of hir sory cace,
And weping gan hir follow a weil lang space,
Regratand in his mynd, and had piete
Of the distress that movit hir so to fle.