English

The Second Part

Att the feast of the turnament
the Barrons tha t were gent,
tha t all the treason vnderstoode,
they had ruth of the right blood,
tha t they children shold be done to dead;
therfore they tooke another reade,
& tooken Vther & Pendragon,
& passed ou er the seas anon.
Of theire passage wist noe moe
but the hend barrons 2.
& when the feast was all hold,
Vortiger the traitor bold
lett make accompackement
of erles & barrons tha t were gent,

Hee that made w i th his hand
both winde, water, and lande,
giue them all good ending
tha t will Listen to my talking!
& I shall you informe
how Merlyn was gotten & borne,
& of his wisdome alsoe,
& other happs many mooe
w hi ch then befell in England.
he tha t will this vnderstand:
In England there was a K ing ,
a Noble man in all thinge,
In warr he was ware & wight,
Constantine forsooth he hight;
a doughtye man he was of deed,
& right wise he was of reede;

The Sixth Part.

He came to a forrest a priuye way,
& leaueth his steed & his palfray;
& when he had soe doone,
he went to his chamber right soone,
& priuylye knocked on the dore,
[&] Palyas his brother stood on the flore.
Palyas was neu er more glad & blyth
when he see his brother come home aliue.
" how fareth S i r Egar? " S i r Grime can say
" the better tha t you haue sped on yo u r Iourney. "
" rise, S i r Egar, & arme thee weele

The Fifth Part

Early in tha t May morning,
merrely when the burds can sing,
the throstlecocke, the Nightingale,
the laueracke & the wild woodhall,
the rookes risen in euery riuer,
the birds made a blissfull bere;
It was a heauenly Melodye
p ro a K nigh t tha t did a louer bee,
on the one side to heare the small birds singing,
on the other side the flowers springing.
then drew forth of the dales the dun deere,
the sun it shone both fresh & cleere,

All the wildernesse tha t there bee,
Grime rode it in dayes 3;
he mett a squier by the way;
w i th fayre words Grime can to him say,
" S i r, " he said, " who is Lo rd of this countrye? "
the squier answered him gentlye,
" It is a lord most worthyest in waine,
Erle Gares is his name. "
Grime sayd, " how highteth tha t lords heyre? "
he sayd, " he hath none but a daughter fayre. "
Gryme saith, " who hath tha t Ladye wedd? "
the K nigh t sayd, " shee neuer came in mans bedd;

They called Pallyas to their cou n cell,
& he assented soone w i thouten fayle,
for he loued S i r Egar both Euen & morne
as well as he did Gryme his brother borne
" & iff you will to this battell goe,
yee had neede of good councell betwene vs 2.
Gryme, if thou wilt fight w i th S i r Gray-steele,
thou had neede of weapons tha t stand wold weele;
for weapons may be both fresh & new,
fikle, false, & full vntrue;
when a weapon faileth when a man hath need,
all the worse then may hee speede;

Then spake Grime to S i r Egar
w i th soft words & faire,
" tha t man was neu er soe wise nor worthye,
nor yet soe cuning proued in clergye,
nor soe doughtye of hart nor hand,
nor yett so bigg in stowre to stand,
but in such companye he may put in
but he is as like to loose as win;
& eu er I bade you to keepe you weele
out of the companye of S i r Gray Steele,
for he is called by com m and
the best K nigh t in any Land.
sith the Matter is chanced soe,
wee will take the wayes of choice 2:

It ffell sometimes in the Land of Beame,
there dwelled a Lord w i thin tha t realme,
the greatest he was of renowne
eccept the K ing tha t ware the crowne;
the called him to name Erle Bragas;
he marryed a ladye was fayre of face;
they had noe Child but a daughter younge,
in the world was none soe fayre thing:
They called tha t Ladye winglanye;
husband wold she neuer haue none,
Neither for gold nor yett for good,
nor for noe highnese of his blood,
w i thout he would w i th swords dent
win euery battell where he went

Phaon (bitterly)

Thus women change — and in their time forget!

Sappho

There lies the sorrow — if we could forget!
For one brief hour you gave me all the love
That women ask, and then with cruel hands
Set free the singing voices from the cage,
And tore the glory from the waiting rose;
And through life's empty garden still I dreamed
And called for Love, and walked unsatisfied.
Love! Love! 'Tis we who lose it know it best!
By day a fire and wonder, and by night

The sunny rounds of Earth contain
An obverse to its Day,
Our fertile Vagrancy's domain,
Wan Proletaria.

From pole to pole of Poverty
We stumble through the years,
With hazy-lanterned Memory
And hope that never nears.

Wherever Plenty's crop invites
Our pitiful brigades
Lurk cannoneers of Vested Rights,
Juristic ambuscades;

And here hangs Rent, that squalid cage
Within which Mammon thrusts,
Bound with the fetter of a wage,
The helots of his lusts.