CHAPTER I.

Alas! Fortune! alas! I that som-tyme in delicious houres was wont to enjoye blisful stoundes, am now drive by unhappy hevinesse to bewaile my sondry yvels in tene!

Trewly, I leve, in myn herte is writte, of perdurable letters, al the entencions of lamentacion that now ben y-nempned! For any 5 maner disese outward, in sobbing maner, sheweth sorowful yexinge from within. Thus from my comfort I ginne to spille, sith she that shulde me solace is fer fro my presence. Certes, her absence is to me an helle; my sterving deth thus in wo it myneth, that endeles care is throughout myne herte clenched; blisse of 10 my joye, that ofte me murthed, is turned in-to galle, to thinke on thing that may not, at my wil, in armes me hente! Mirth is chaunged in-to tene, whan swink is there continually that reste was wont to sojourne and have dwelling-place. Thus witless, thoughtful, sightles lokinge, I endure my penaunce in this derke prison, 15 +caitived fro frendshippe and acquaintaunce, and forsaken of al that any +word dare speke. Straunge hath by waye of intrucioun mad his home, there me shulde be, if reson were herd as he shulde. Never-the-later yet hertly, lady precious Margarit, have mynde on thy servaunt; and thinke on his disese, how lightles he 20 liveth, sithe the bemes brennende in love of thyn eyen are so bewent, that worldes and cloudes atwene us twey wol nat suffre my thoughtes of hem to be enlumined! Thinke that oon vertue of a Margarite precious is, amonges many other, the sorouful to comforte; yet +whyles that, me sorouful to comforte, is my lust 25 to have nought els at this tyme, d[r]ede ne deth ne no maner traveyle hath no power, myn herte so moche to fade, as shulde to here of a twinkling in your disese! Ah! god forbede that; but yet let me deye, let me sterve withouten any mesure of penaunce, rather than myn hertely thinking comfort in ought 30 were disesed! What may my service avayle, in absence of her that my service shulde accepte? Is this nat endeles sorowe to thinke? Yes, yes, god wot; myn herte breketh nigh a-sonder. How shulde the ground, without kyndly noriture, bringen forth any frutes? How shulde a ship, withouten a sterne, in the grete see 35 be governed? How shulde I, withouten my blisse, my herte, my desyre, my joye, my goodnesse, endure in this contrarious prison, that thinke every hour in the day an hundred winter? Wel may now Eve sayn to me, 'Adam, in sorowe fallen from welth, driven art thou out of paradise, with swete thy sustenaunce to beswinke!' 40 Depe in this pyninge pitte with wo I ligge y-stocked, with chaynes linked of care and of tene. It is so hye from thens I lye and the commune erth, there ne is cable in no lande maked, that might strecche to me, to drawe me in-to blisse; ne steyers to steye on is none; so that, without recover, endeles here to 45 endure, I wot wel, I [am] purveyed. O, where art thou now, frendship, that som-tyme, with laughande chere, madest bothe face and countenaunce to me-wardes? Truely, now art thou went out of towne. But ever, me thinketh, he wereth his olde clothes, and that the soule in the whiche the lyfe of frendship was 50 in, is drawen out from his other spirites. Now than, farewel, frendship! and farewel, felawes! Me thinketh, ye al han taken your leve; no force of you al at ones. But, lady of love, ye wote what I mene; yet thinke on thy servaunt that for thy love spilleth; al thinges have I forsake to folowen thyn hestes; 55 rewarde me with a thought, though ye do naught els. Remembraunce of love lyth so sore under my brest, that other thought cometh not in my mynde but gladnesse, to thinke on your goodnesse and your mery chere; +ferdnes and sorowe, to thinke on your wreche and your daunger; from whiche Christ me save! My 60 greet joye it is to have in meditacion the bountees, the vertues, the nobley in you printed; sorowe and helle comen at ones, to suppose that I be +weyved. Thus with care, sorowe, and tene am I shapt, myn ende with dethe to make. Now, good goodly, thinke on this. O wrecched foole that I am, fallen in-to so lowe, 65 the hete of my brenning tene hath me al defased. How shulde ye, lady, sette prise on so foule fylthe? My conninge is thinne, my wit is exiled; lyke to a foole naturel am I comparisoned. Trewly, lady, but your mercy the more were, I wot wel al my labour were in ydel; your mercy than passeth right. God graunt 70 that proposicion to be verifyed in me; so that, by truste of good hope, I mowe come to the haven of ese. And sith it is impossible, the colours of your qualitees to chaunge: and forsothe I wot wel, wem ne spot may not abyde there so noble vertue haboundeth, so that the defasing to you is verily [un]imaginable, 75 as countenaunce of goodnesse with encresinge vertue is so in you knit, to abyde by necessary maner: yet, if the revers mighte falle (which is ayenst kynde), I +wot wel myn herte ne shulde therfore naught flitte, by the leste poynt of gemetrye; so sadly is it +souded, that away from your service in love may he not departe. 80 O love, whan shal I ben plesed? O charitee, whan shal I ben esed? O good goodly, whan shal the dyce turne? O ful of vertue, do the chaunce of comfort upwarde to falle! O love, whan wolt thou thinke on thy servaunt? I can no more but here, out-cast of al welfare, abyde the day of my dethe, or els to see the 85 sight that might al my wellinge sorowes voyde, and of the flode make an ebbe. These diseses mowen wel, by duresse of sorowe, make my lyfe to unbodye, and so for to dye; but certes ye, lady, in a ful perfeccion of love ben so knit with my soule, that deth may not thilke knotte unbynde ne departe; so that ye and my 90 soule togider +in endeles blisse shulde dwelle; and there shal my soule at the ful ben esed, that he may have your presence, to shewe th'entent of his desyres. Ah, dere god! that shal be a greet joye! Now, erthely goddesse, take regarde of thy servant, though I be feble; for thou art wont to prayse them better that 95 wolde conne serve in love, al be he ful mener than kinges or princes that wol not have that vertue in mynde.

Now, precious Margaryte, that with thy noble vertue hast drawen me in-to love first, me weninge therof to have blisse, [ther]-as galle and aloes are so moche spronge, that savour of 100 swetnesse may I not ataste. Alas! that your benigne eyen, in whiche that mercy semeth to have al his noriture, nil by no waye tourne the clerenesse of mercy to me-wardes! Alas! that your brennande vertues, shyning amonges al folk, and enlumininge al other people by habundaunce of encresing, sheweth to me 105 but smoke and no light! These thinges to thinke in myn herte maketh every day weping in myn eyen to renne. These liggen on my backe so sore, that importable burthen me semeth on my backe to be charged; it maketh me backwarde to meve, whan my steppes by comune course even-forth pretende. These 110 thinges also, on right syde and lift, have me so envolved with care, that wanhope of helpe is throughout me ronne; trewly, +I leve, that graceles is my fortune, whiche that ever sheweth it me-wardes by a cloudy disese, al redy to make stormes of tene; and the blisful syde halt stil awayward, and wol it not suffre to 115 me-wardes to turne; no force, yet wol I not ben conquered.

O, alas! that your nobley, so moche among al other creatures commended by +flowinge streme +of al maner vertues, but ther ben wonderful, I not whiche that let the flood to come in-to my soule; wherefore, purely mated with sorowe thorough-sought, 120 my-selfe I crye on your goodnesse to have pitè on this caytif, that in the in[ne]rest degree of sorowe and disese is left, and, without your goodly wil, from any helpe and recovery. These sorowes may I not sustene, but-if my sorowe shulde be told and to you-wardes shewed; although moche space is bitwene 125 us twayne, yet me thinketh that by suche +joleyvinge wordes my disese ginneth ebbe. Trewly, me thinketh that the sowne of my lamentacious weping is right now flowe in-to your presence, and there cryeth after mercy and grace, to which thing (me semeth) thee list non answere to yeve, but with a deynous chere ye 130 commaunden it to avoide; but god forbid that any word shuld of you springe, to have so litel routh! Pardè, pitè and mercy in every Margarite is closed by kynde amonges many other vertues, by qualitees of comfort; but comfort is to me right naught worth, withouten mercy and pitè of you alone; whiche thinges hastely 135 god me graunt for his mercy!

CH. I. 2. enioy. 3. sondrye. 5. nowe. 6. disease outwarde. 7. comforte. 8. ferre. 9. hell. dethe. 10. endelesse. 12. hent. 13. swynke. 14. dwellynge-. wytlesse. 15. syghtlesse. prisone. 16. caytisned (_for_ caytifued). 17. wode (!); _for_ worde; _read_ word. 18. made. reason. herde. 20. disease. 21. beames. 22. _For_ be-went, Th. _has_ be-we_n_t. 23. one. 25. wyl of; _apparently an error for_ whyles (_which I adopt_). luste. 26. dede (_for_ drede). 27. myne. 28. twynckelynge. disease. 29. lette (_twice_). dey. measure. 30. myne. comforte. 31. diseased. maye. aueyle. 32. endlesse.

33. wote; myne hert breaketh. 34. howe. grou_n_de. forthe. 35. howe. shippe. great. 36. Howe. 39. nowe. sayne. 40. arte. weate. 44. stretche. 45. stey. endlesse. 46. wotte. _I supply_ am. spurveyde. arte. nowe. 47. frenshyppe (_sic_). 48. nowe arte. 49. weareth. 51. Nowe. 53. leaue. 57. lythe. 59. frendes (_sic_); _for_ ferdnes: _cf._ p. 9, l. 9. 60. Christe. 61. great. bounties. 62. hel. 63. veyned (_sic_); _for_ weyued. 64. shapte. Nowe. 65. wretched. 66. heate. 68. wytte.

69. wote. 72. ease. sythe. 73. qualyties. 74. wote. wemme ne spotte maye. 75. _Read_ unimaginable. 77. knytte. fal. 78. wol wel (_for_ wot wel). 80. sonded; _read_ souded. maye. 81. pleased. charyte. 82. eased. 83. comforte. fal. 85. out caste. daye. se. 86. flodde. 87. diseases. 89. perfectyon. knytte. dethe. 91. togyther is endelesse in blysse(!). dwel. 92. eased. 93. thentent. 94. great. Nowe. 95. arte wonte. 98. Nowe. haste. 100. _I supply_ ther. 104. folke.

105. encreasing. 110. forthe. 112, 113. trewly and leue; _read_ trewly I leve. 113. gracelesse. 114. disease. 115. halte. 117. (_The sentence beginning_ O, alas _seems hopelessly corrupt; there are pause-marks after_ vertues _and_ wonderful.) 118. folowynge; _read_ flowinge. by; _read_ of. 119. flode. 122. caytife. inrest. disease. lefte. 124. maye. 125. tolde. 126. ioleynynge (_sic_). 127. disease. 128. nowe. 130. the lyst none. 131. worde. 134. qualites of comforte. worthe.