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From Pluto fent, at requefle of Saturne,
For which his hors for fere gan to turne,
And lepte afide, and foundred as he lepe;
And er that Arcite may take any kepe
He pight him on the pomel of his hed,
That in the place he lay as he were ded,
His breft to-broften with his fadel bow;
As blake he lay as any cole or crow,
So was the blood yronnen in his face.
Anon he was yborne out of the place,
With herte fore, to Thefeus paleis:
Tho was he corven out of his harneis,
And in a bed ybrought ful fayre and blive,
For he was yet in memorie and live,
And alway crying after Emelie.
Duk Thefeus with all his compagnie
Is comen home to Athenes his citee
With alle bliffe and gret folempnite.
Al be it that this aventure was falle
He n'olde not difcomforten hem alle.
Men fayden eke that Arcite fhal not die,
He fhal ben heled of his maladie.

And of another thing they were as fayn,
That of hem alle was ther non yilain,
Al were they fore yhurt, and namely on,
That with a fpere was thirled his breft bone.

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2695

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.2698. corven] Cut out of his harness. I fuppofe to fave the time and trouble of regularly difarming him the laces, c.

were cut.

Volume II.

M

To other woundes and to broken armes

Som hadden falves and fome hadden charmes;
And fermacies of herbes, and eke fave

2715

They dronken, for they wold hir lives have:
For which this noble duk, as he wel can,
Comforteth and honoureth every man,
And made revel all the longe night
Unto the frange lordes, as was right.
Ne ther n'as holden no difcomforting
But as at juftes or a tourneying;
For fothly ther n'as no difcomfiture,
For falling n'is not but an aventure:
Ne to be lad by force unto a stake

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Unyolden, and with twenty knightes take,

O perfon all alone, withouten mo,

And haried forth by armes, foot, and too,

And eke his ftede driven forth with staves,

With footmen, bothe yemen and eke knaves, 2730

It was aretted him no vilanie;

Ther may no man clepen it cowardie.

For which anon Duk Thefeus let crie,
To ftenten alle rancour and envie,
The gree as wel of o fide as of other,
And eyther fide ylike, as others brother;

2735

. 2715. And fermacies] Pharmacies. I have added the And,

which feems as neceffary to the fenfe as to the metre.

V. 2735. The gree] The prize, the honour of the day. So in P. P. fol. 98;

The gre yet hath he gotten, for al his grete wound.

And yave hem giftes after hir degree,

And helde a fefte fully dayes three;

And conveyed the kinges worthily

Out of his toun a journee largely;

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And home went every man the righte way;

Ther n'as no more but Farewel, Have good day.
Of this bataille I wol no more endite,

But fpeke of Palamon and of Arcite.

Swelleth the brest of Arcite, and the fore
Encrefeth at his herte more and more.
The clotered blood for any leche-craft
Corrumpeth, and is in his bouke ylaft,
That neyther veine-blood ne ventouling,
Ne drinke of herbes, may ben his helping.
The vertue expulfif or animal,

Fro thilke vertue cleped natural,

Ne may the venime voiden ne expell;

The pipes of his longes gan to fwell,

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And in that curious old ballad, The Turnament of Tottenham, ver. 91, [Ancient Poetry, v. ii.;}

[To] which of all the bachelery granted is the gree.

And again, ver. 186;

They gathered Perkin about on every fide,

And grant him there the gree, the more was his pride.

It was necessary to vindicate this old phrafe, as the editions have difcarded it for they grete.

. 2740. a journee] A day's work, or way, Fr. To make this ftill clearer the editions in general read-a dayes journey

-and spoil the verse.

V. 2748. bouke] The trunk of the body probably, from the Sax. buce, venter.

And every lacerte in his breft adoun
Is fhent with venime and corruptioun.
Him gaineth neyther for to get his lif
Vomit upward ne dounward laxatif:
All is to-brotten thilke region;
Nature hath now no domination:

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And certainly ther nature wol not werche.
Farewel phyfike; go bere the man to cherche.
This is all and fom, that Arcite mofte die;

For which he fendeth after Emelie,

And Palamon, that was his cofin dere;

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Than fayd he thus, as ye fhulu after here.
Nought may the woful spirit in myn herte
Declare o point of all my forwes fmerte
To you my lady, that I love moft,
But I bequethe the fervice of my goft

To you aboven every creature,

Sin that my lif ne may no lenger dure.
Alas the wo! alas the peines firong,

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That I for you have fuffered, and fo longe!
Alas the deth! alas min Emelie!

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Alas departing of our compagnie!

Alas min hertes quene! alas my wif!

Min hertes ladie, ender of my lif!

What is this world? what axen men to have?

Now with his love, now in his colde grave

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Alone withouten any compagnie.

Farewel my fwete, farewel min Emelie!

And fofte take me in your armes twey
For love of God, and herkeneth what I fey.
I have here with my cofin Palamon
Had ftrif and rancour many a day agon
For love of you, and for my jaloufie;
And Jupiter fo wis my foule gie,

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To fpeken of a fervant proprely,

With alle circumstances trewely,

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That is to fayn, trouth, honour, and knighthede,

Wisdom, humbleffe, eftat, and high kinrede,

Fredom, and all that longeth to that art,

So Jupiter have of my foule part,

As in this world right now ne know I non

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So worthy to be loved as Palamon,

That ferveth you, and wol don all his lif;

And if that ever ye shal ben a wif

Foryete not Palamon, the gentil man.

And with that word his fpeche faille began; 28co For from his feet up to his breft was come The cold of deth that had him overnome; And yet moreover in his armes two The vital ftrength is loft and all ago; Only the intellect, withouten more, That dwelled in his herte fike and fore,

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. 2802. overnome] Overtaken, from overniman, Sax.
. 2803. And yet] So in The Thefeida, 1. x. ;

E anchor ne le brazza era perduta

La vital forza, ful ne lo intelletto
E nel core era ancora foftenuta
La pocha vita.-

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