Said, "Worthie lords! for God's love of And in the skirt of Cresseid down gan swak,' heaven To us lepers part of your almous deed !''1 Then to their cry noble Troilus took heed, Having pity, near by the place gan past Where Cresseid sat, not witting what she was. LXX. Then upon him she cast up both hereyne, And with ane blink it came into his thought Then rode away, and not ane word he spak, Pensive in heart, while he came to the town And for great care oft syis2 almost fell down. LXXIV. The leper folk to Cresseid then gan draw, To see the equal distribution Of the almous; but when the gold they saw Ilk ane to other privily gan roun,3 That he sometime her face before had And said, "Yon lord has mare affection, LXXVII. "Thy love, thy lawty,' and thy gentleness, LXXVIII. "For love of me thou kept thy continence With wormis and with toadis to be rent, LXXXII. "This royal ring, set with this ruby red, To walk with her in waste woodis and wells. LXXXIII. Fie, false Cresseid! O true knight Troilus! "O Diomede! thou has both brooch and belt Which Troilus gave me in tokening "Lovers beware, and take good heed Of his true love." And with that word she about LXXIX. III. With girnand teeth, and awful angry look, Said to the lamb, "Thou cative wretched thing, How durst thou be so bold to file this brook, Where I should drink, with thy foul slavering? "Well," quoth the wolf, "thy language outrageous, Commis thee of kind; sae thy father before Held me at bait, als' with both boast and schore.2 VII. It were almous' thee for to draw and hing, "He wraithed 3 me; and then I couth 4 him That should presume, with thy foul lippis vile, To glaur3 my drink, and this fair water file." IV. The silly lamb, quakand for very dread, On kneeis fell, and said, "Sir, with your leave, Suppose I dare not say thereof ye leid ;4 Ye wait also that your accusation V. "Though I cannot, nature will me defend, ence; warn, Within a year, and I brukit 5 my head, So I should be wrokin on him, or his bairn ;6 For his exorbitant and thrawart plead ;7 Thou shall doubtless, for his deedis, be dead." Who did the miss1let him sustain the pain." Then may the stream in no way make "Ya," quoth the wolf, "yet pleyis thou: again? |
