University of Virginia Library

Fra that the ancyant nun of Dan Phebus
Thir wordys endyt had, and spokkyn thus:
“Haue done,” quod scho, “now tak thi way express,
Perform thy wark quhilk thou begunnyn hess:
Speid ws fordwart, for ȝondir, lo, I se
Of Plutois chymmys the byg wallys hie,
Forgyt of irne full craftely and bet
Be the Ciclopes furth of thar furnace het;
Eik I behald, lo, heir forgane our facé
Tha portis with thar stalwart bow or brace,
Quhar our instructioun techis ws ful plane
This presand thar to leif and goldyn grane.”
Thus said scho, and onon tharwith baith tway
Gan walkyn furth throw out the darn way,
And sone our passyt hess the myddill space,
Approchyng to the portis of that place.
Eneas baldly sprang in at the ȝet,
Hys body strynkillit, or a litil wet,
With cleir spryngand watir ran tharby;
Forgane thame eik, at the entre, in hy
The goldyn branch he stykkis vp far and weill.
This beand done at last, and euery deil
Perfurnyst langyng the goddess gyft gay,
Ontil a plesand grond cummyn ar thai,
With battil gyrss, fresch herbys and beyn swardis,
The lusty orchardis and the hailsum ȝardis
Of happy sawlys and weil fortunat,
To blissyt wightis the placis preparat.
Thir feildis beyn largiar, and hevynnys brycht
Ravestis thame with purpur schynand lycht:
The starnys, for this place conuenient,
Knawis weil thar son and obseruys his went.
Sum thar, amyd the gresy planys greyn,
Into palestral plays thame betweyn
Thar membris gan exerss, and hand for hand
Thai fal to werslyng on the goldyn sand,
Assayand honest gemmys thame to schort;
Sum other hantyng gan ane other sport,
As forto dansyng, and to leid the ryng,
To syng ballatis, and go in karalyng.
Thar was alsso the preist and menstrale sle,
Orpheus of Trace, in syde rob harpand hie,
Playand proportionys and spryngis dyvyne
Apon his harp, sevyn diuerss sovndis fyne;
Now with gymp fyngris doyng stryngis smyte,
And now with subtel evyr poyntalis lyte.
Heir was the nobil kyn and ancyant strynde,
The maist dowchty lynage sprang be kynde
Fra Kyng Tewcer, campyones souerane,
Into mair happy ȝeris born ilkane;
Thar was Ilus, and eyk Assaracus,
And the begynnar of Troy, Schir Dardanus.
On fer Eneas and als Sibilla
Awondrit war, and mervellis baith twa
The armour and the men for tobehald,
And voyd charyotis of thir chyftanys bald.
Thar sperys stikkyng in the erd dyd stand;
Wydquhar al lowss owr feildis and the land
Pasturyt thar horsis, rakand thame fast by;
For quhat plesour of armys or chevalry,
Or quhat cuyr to address thar cart or wedis,
To fedyng and to dant thar sleik swail stedis,
Thai hantyt quhil thai levyt heir alyve,
The sammyn solace, be thai man or wyfe,
Ȝit doith thame follow vndir the erth stad.
And lo, ane other sort, ful blyth and glaid,
On athir hand behaldis Eneas,
At bankat on the greyn herbys set was,
In loving of the goddis ioyusly
Ympnys of pryce, triumphe and victory
All syngand glaid togydder in falloschip
And pryncipaly Apollo to worschip;
Within a wod of lawrer greyn thai dwell,
Fragrant of sweit odour and hailsum smell,
Quhar throw the schawis scheyn in strandis seir
Erydanus, the hevynly ryver cleyr,
Flowys contyrmont and vpwart to the lift.
Within this place, in al plesour and thryft,
Ar hail the pissance quhilk, in iust batal,
Slane in defens of thar kynd cuntre fell;
And al thai preistis and religius wightis
Quhilk levyt chaste cleyn lyfe, as to thame rycht is;
And al godlyke devote prophetis trew,
That suythfast thyng worthy to Phebus schew;
And thai quhilkis, by thar craftys or science fyne,
Fund by thar subtel knawlage and engyne,
Thar lyfe illumynat and annornyt cleir;
And tha by merytabil dedis and gyftis seir
That maid otheris hald thame in memory—
Of al thir war the tymplis by and by
Arrayt with a fresch garland snaw quhite.
And as thai flokkit abowt Ene, als tyte
Syk wyss onto thame carpys Sibilla,
Bot principaly to Museus, ane of tha,
Was stad amyddis of the mekill rowt,
As sche beheld hym with big schulderis stout:
“O ȝhe so happy sawlys, tellith me,
And thou, maste souerane poet, schaw,” quod sche,
“In quhat regioun and place bene Anchises?
Hyddir for his saik come we, and with gret press
Hess oursalit of hell the gret fludis.”
This ryall lord in few wordis concludis,
And ansuerit thus: “Frend, certane dwelling nane
In this cuntre haue we, bot all ourane
Walkys and lugis in thir schene wod schawys,
Endlang thir ryver bankis all on rawys;
Thir bene our settis, and beddis of fresch flowris
In soft bene medowis by cleir strandis all howris
Our habitatioun is and residens.
Bot gif ȝour mynd langis to haue presens
Of Anchises, pass vp ȝone swyre fut het,
I sall ȝou lyghtly in the hie way set.”
And sayand thus, befor thame furth went he,
And can thame schaw, apon the hill on hie,
The schynand planys full of all plesance.
Agane returnys he, and thai avans,
Fra thyne discending from the hillis hyght,
Quhar thai at last of Anchises gat syght.