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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 !"'* 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,

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"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

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6 Pen case. 7 Grave, austere (?) 8 Kindly, known.

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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
But, by my soul, I wait5 ye cannot preive,
That I did any thing that should you
grieve:

Ye wait also that your accusation
Failis frae truth, and contrar is to reason.

V.

"Though I cannot, nature will me defend,
And of the deed perfect experience:
All heavy thing maun of the self descend,
But gif something on force make resist-

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."

"Sir, it is wrong, that for the father's guilt,

The saikless son should punisht be, or spilt.

VIII.

"Have ye not heard what holy Scripture

says,

Indited with the mouth of God Almight: Of his own deed ilk man shall bear the praise,

As pyne 9 for sin, reward for workis right; For my trespass why should my son have plight?

Who did the miss1olet him sustain the pain." Then may the stream in no way make "Ya," quoth the wolf, "yet pleyis thon:

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again?

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5 Know, wot.

6 Unless.

7 None the worse.

8 Sucked.

6 Child.

5 If I broke (?)

7 Perverse plea. 8 Innocent, guiltless. 9 Pain, punishment. 10 Sin, evil. 11 Taken. 12 Poison.

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