4973

Bright was the fonne as in that fommers day,'” For which the Constable and his wif also, And Custance, han ytake the righte'way Toward the fee a furlong way or two,

To plaien and to romen to and fro,

And in hir walk this blinde man they mette,

Croked and oide, with eyen faft yfhette.

4980

In the name of Crift, (cried this blinde Breton)

Dame Hermegild, yeve me my fight again.

This lady wexe afraied of that foun,
Left that hire hufbond, fhortly for to fain,

Wold hire for Jefu Criftes love have flain,

4985

Til Cuftance made hire bold, and bad hire werche

The will of Crist, as doughter of holy cherche.
The Conftable wexe abashed of that fight,
And fayde, What amounteth all this fare?
Cuftance anfwered, Sire, it is Criftes might, 4999
That helpeth folk out of the fendes fnare :
And fo ferforth fhe gan our lay declare,
That the the Conftable, er that it were eve,
Converted, and on Crift made him beleve.

This Constable was not lord of the place
Of which I fpeke, ther as he Custance fond,
But kept it ftrongly many a winter space
Under Alla King of Northumberlond,
That was ful wife, and worthy of his hond
Againe the Scottes, as men may wel here;
But tourne i wol againe to-my matere.

4995

Sathan, that ever us waiteth to begile,

Saw of Cuftance all hire perfectioun,

And caft anon how he might quite hire while,

And made a yonge knight, that dwelt it that toun, Love hire fo hote of foule affectioun,

5006

That veraily him thought that he shuld spille

But he of hire might ones han his wille.

He woeth hire, but it availeth nought;
She wolde do no finne by no wey;
And for defpit he compaffed his thought
To maken hire on shameful deth to dey:
He waiteth whan the Conftable is away,
And privily upon a night he crepte

In Hermegildes chambre while the flepte.
Wery, forwaked in hire orifons,
Slepeth Cuftance, and Hermegilde alfo.
This knight, thurgh Sathanas temptations,
All foftely is to the bed ygo,

And cut the throte of Hermegilde atwo,

5010

5015

5020

.5002.] The following plot of the knight against Conftance, [from this ver. to ver. 5030,] and alfo her adventure with the Reward [from ver 5330 to ver. 5344,] are both to be found (with fome small variations) in a flory in the Gefa Romanorum, ch. 101, mf. Harl. 2270. Occleve has verfified the whole ftory, as he has another from the fame collection, De Johnatha et muliere malà, ch. 54. Ibid. (cxx. edit.) See an excellent mf, of Occleve's works, Bib. Reg. 17, d. vi. The firft poem begins, ..." In the Romain Jeftes writen is thus:" the fecond,---"Some "time an emperour prudent and wife."

.5004. how he might quite bire while] Her time, labour,&c. So in The Leg. of Ariad. v. ult. " the divel quite him his while.”

And layd the blody knif by Dame Cuflance,
And went his way, ther God yeve him mifchance.
Sone after cometh this Constable home again,
And eke Alla, that king was of that lond,
And faw his wife defpitoufly yflain,

5025

For which ful oft he wept and wrong his hond;
And in the bed the blody knif he fond
By Dame Cuftance. Alas! what might she say?
For veray
wo hire wit was all away.

To King Alla was told all this mifchance,
And eke the time, and wher, and in what wife,
That in a fhip was fonden this Custance,

As here before ye
The kinges herte of pitee gan agrife
Whan he faw fo benigne a creature

han herd me devife:

Falle in difefe and in mifaventure.

For as the lamb toward his dech is brought,

So ftant this innocent beforn the king:

5030

3035

This falle knight, that hath this trefon wrought,
Bereth hire in hond that she hath don this thing: 5C40
But natheles there was gret murmuring

Among the peple, and fayn they cannot geffe
That she had don fo great a wickednesse;
For they han feen hire ever so vertuous,

And loving Hermegild right as hire lif.
Of this bare witnesse everich in that hous,
Save he that Hermegild flow with his knif.
This gentil king hath caught a gret motif

5045

Of this witness, and thought he wold enquere
Deper in this cas, trouthe for to lere.

5050

Alas! Cuftance, thou haft no champion, Ne fighten canfl thou not, fo wala wa!

But he that farf for our redemption,

And bond Sathan, and yet lith ther he lay,

So be thy ftronge champion this day :

5955

For but if Crift on thee miracle kithe

Withouten gilt thou shalt be flaine as fwithe.

She fet hire doun on knees, and thus she fayde; Immortal God! that favedest Susanne

Fro falfe blame, and thou merciful mayde,

5060

Mary i mene, doughter to Seint Anne,
Beforn whos child angels fingen Ofanne,
If I be gilteles of this felonie

My focour be, or elles fhal I die.

Have ye not feen fomtime a pale face
(Among a prees) of him that hath ben lad
Toward his deth, wher as he geteth no grace,
And fwiche a colour in his face hath had,
Men mighten know him that was so beftad
Amonges all the faces in that route,

5065

5070

So ftant Cuftance, and loketh hire aboute.

O quenes living in profperitee,

Ducheffes, and ye ladies everich on!

Haveth fom routhe on hire adverfitee:

An emperoures doughter ftant alone;

5075

She hath no wight to whom to make hire mone.

O blood real, that stondest in this drede,
Fer ben thy frendes in thy grete nede!
This Alla king hath fwiche compaffioun,
As gentil herte is fulfilled of pitee,
That fro his eyen ran the water doun.

Now haftily do fecche a book, quod he,

And if this knight wol fweren how that the
This woman flow, yet wol we us avise,

5080

Whom that we wol that fhal ben our juftice. 5085

A Breton book, written with Evangiles,

Was fet, and on this book he swore anon
She giltif was, and in the mene whiles
An hond him smote upon the nekke bone,
That doun he fell at ones as a stone,
And both his eyen broft out of his face
In fight of every body in that place.

A vois was herd, in general audience,
That sayd, Thou haft defclandred gilteles

5090

The doughter of holy chirche in high prefence; 5093
Thus haft thou don, and yeehold I my pees.
Of this mervaille agaft was all the prees;

As mafed folk they stonden everich on

For drede of wreche, fave Cuftance alone.

Gret was the drede and eke the repentance 5100

Of hem that hadden wronge suspection

Upon this fely innocent Cuftance:
And for this miracle, in conclufion,

And by Cuftances mediation,