Other 1 dai-rim 2 other 3 dai-sterre.
Ich do god mid mine throte,
And warni men to heore note;
Ac 5 thu singest alle longe niht,
From eve fort 6 hit is dai-liht,
And evre lesteth thin o song
So longe so
8
8 the niht is longe,
And evre croweth thi wrecche crei,'
That he ne swiketh 10 niht ne dai.
Mid thine pipinge thu adunest "1
Thas monnes earen thar 12 thu wunest,"
And makest thine song so un-wiht 14
That me 15 ne telth 16 of the nowiht."7
Evrich murhthe 18 mai so longe i-leste,
That heo shal liki 19 wel un-wreste;
Vor harpe and pipe and fugeles songe
Misliketh, gif hit is to longe.

21

26

20

Ne beo the song never so murie,
That he ne shal thinche 22 wel un-murie,23
Gef he i-lesteth over un-wille.24
So thu miht 25 thine song aspille;
Vor hit is soth,27 Alvred hit seide,
And me 15 hit mai in boke rede,
'Evrich thing mai leosen 28 his godhede 29
Mid unmethe 30 and mid over-dede."

35

330

340

350

411

"Ule," heo seide, "wi dostu so? Thu singest a-winter 32 'wolawo'; Thu singest so & doth hen a snowe: Al that heo singeth, hit is for wowe; A-wintere thu singest wrothe 36 and gomere,37 And evre thu art dumb a-sumere. Hit is for thine fule nithe,3 38

Either day-dawn or else day-star.
I do men good thus with my throat,
And help them with my warning note;
But thou art singing all the night,
From eve until it is daylight.
For ever lasts thy only song,
As long as ever the night is long,
And ever crows thy wretched lay,
That ceaseth not, by night or day.
Thy piping is ever in man's ears,

Wherever thou dwellest, thy din he hears;
Thou makest thy song a thing of naught,

No man accounteth thee as aught;
For any mirth may last so long
That dislike of it waxeth strong;
For harp or pipe or song of bird
Displeaseth if too long 'tis heard.
Never so merry a song may be
But to disgust shall turn its glee
If it shall last till it annoy;
So mayst thou thy song destroy.
For it is true, as Alfred said,
And in his book it may be read,
'Every good its grace may lose
By lack of measure and by abuse.'"

"Owl," she said, "why dost thou so? Thou singest in winter a song of woe; Thou singest as doth a hen in snow: All that she sings it is for woe;

330

340

350

In winter thou singest in wrath and gloom,
In summer thou art ever dumb.、

'Tis thy foul malice that hinders thee,
That blithe with us thou may'st not be;
For envy 'tis that in thee burns,
When in the spring our bliss returns .
Thou farest as doth the wicked ever,
Whom joy of others pleases never;
For grudging and louring is he mad
Whene'er he sees that men are glad.
Rather would such a one espy
Tears in every person's eye;

Never a whit would that man care

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420

Though flocks were mixed, both head and hair.
So dost thou fare, upon thy side;

For when the snow lies thick and wide,
And every creature lives in sorrow,

1430

Vor wanne 43 snou lith thicke and wide, And alle wihtes 55 habbeth sorhe, 56

430

Thu singest from eve fort amorhe.1
Ac 2 ich alle blisse mid me bringe;
Ech wiht is glad for mine thinge,
And blisseth hit 5 wanne 6 ich cume,
And hihteth agen 7 mine kume."
The blostme ginneth springe and sprede
Bothe ine treo and ek on mede;
The lilie mid hire faire wlite "
Wolcumeth me, that thu hit wite,10
Bit 11 me mid hire faire bleo 12
That ich schulle to hire fleo;
The rose also mide hire rude,13
That cumeth ut of the thorne wude,
Bit 11 me that ich shulle singe
Vor hire luve one skentinge." 14

440

Then singest thou from eve till morrow.
But I all gladness with me bring,
All men are happy when I sing;
They all rejoice, when I appear,
And hope for me another year.
Blossoms begin to spring and grow,
On tree, in mead, and in hedge-row;
The lily with her fair white hue
Doth welcome me, I would thou knew;
With her sweet face she biddeth me
That I to her shall quickly flee;
Likewise the rose with ruddy hood,
That cometh from the thorny wood,
Biddeth me ever that I shall sing
For her dear love in carolling."

440

19

An angel thus til 15 him can 16 sai: "Rise up, Joseph, and busk 17 and ga, Maria and thi child al-sua; For yow be-hoves nu 20 al thre In land of Egypt for to fle; Rise up ar 21 it be dai,

And folus 22 forth the wildrin 23 wai.
Herod, that es the child 24 fa,25

Fra nu

26 wil sek him for to sla.27

210.

18

An angel thus to him did say:
"Rise up, Joseph, and busk and go,
Maria and thy child also;

For it behooves you now all three
To the land of Egypt for to flee;
Rise up, then, ere it be day,
And follow forth the desert way.
Herod, that is the infant's foe,
Henceforth will seek to lay him low.
There with the bairn shall ye remain
Till I come back to warn you plain."

Now soon was Joseph ready dight;
He left the town at fall of night,
With Mary mild and their company :
A maiden and their servants three,
That served them well in servants' guise;
With them was none but wary and wise.
Forth she rode, that mother mild,

And in her bosom bore her child,
Till they came to a cave full deep;
There they had thought to rest and sleep;
There helped they Mary to alight,
But soon they saw an ugly sight.
As they were looking them beside,

210

220

231

4

8

on my account coming face

30 child again soon 36 from night-time house

32

37

15 to

hold

39

40 she

1 till morning 2 but 3 creature 6 when 7 5 rejoices hopeth for 10 know 11 bids 12 redness visage 20 19 also did get ready go 22 follow 23 wilderness 24 child's 25 foe 26 from now

16

17

13

18

now

21

men-servants

41 bosom

none but was wary

came to cave that

48

21

20

Maria and Joseph ne-for-thi
For the child war ful dreri;
Bot Jesus ansuard 22 thaim onan: 23
"For me drednes haf 24 nu yee nan,25
Ne haf yee for me na barn-site,26
For I am self man al parfite,27
And al the bestes that ar wild
For me most 28 be tame and mild."
Leon yode tham als imid; 29
And pardes,30 als 31 the dragons did,
Bifor Maria and Joseph yede,32
In right wai tham for to lede.
Quen Maria sagh thaa bestes lute,33
First sco 34 was gretli in dute,35
Til Jesus loked on hir blith

9

And dridnes 36 bad hir nan to kith.37 "Moder," he said, "haf thou na ward 38 Nother o 39 leon ne o lepard,

43

For thai com noght us harm to do,
Bot thair servis at 40 serve us to."
Bath ass and ox that wit 42 tham war
And bestes that thair harnais bar
Ute o Jerusalem, thair kyth,"
The leons mekli yod 32 tham wit,42
Wit-uten harm of ox or ass,
Or ani best that wit tham was.
Than was fulfild the propheci,
That said was thoru Jeremi:
"Wolf and wether, leon and ox,
Sal 45
comen samen,46 and lamb and fox.”

240

250

260

270

Out of this cave then saw they glide
Many dragons full suddenly;
The servants then began to cry.
When Jesus saw them frightened be,
He lighted from his mother's knee,
And stood upon those beasts so grim,
And low they bowed them under him.
Then came the prophecy all clear
As in the Psalter ye may hear:
"Dragons that in their cavern dwell
The praises of the Lord shall tell."
Jesus, he went before them then,
Forbade their harming any men.
Maria and Joseph, none the less,
For the child were in distress;
But Jesus answered them and said:
"For me have ye no manner dread;
For me as child have ye no fright,
A perfect man am I by right;
And all the beasts that are so wild,
For me must be both tame and mild."

A lion went them then amid;
And leopards, as the dragons did,
Before Maria and Joseph lay,
Ready to lead them on their way.
When Mary saw the beasts all lout,
Greatly, at first, she was in doubt,
Till Jesus blithely drew anear,
And bade her not at all to fear.
"Mother,” said he, “have no regard
For lion or for fierce leopard;

For they come not us harm to do;
But us their service to give unto.'

Both ass and ox were with them there,
And other beasts that baggage bare
Out of their home, Jerusalem;

The lions meekly went with them,
And did no harm to ox or ass,
Or any beast that with them was.
Then was fulfilled the prophecy
That spoken was by Jeremy:
"Wolf and wether, lion and ox,

Shall come together, and lamb and fox.”

240

250

260

270

5

12

came

18

A LOVE LETTER

A maid of Christ doth plead with me
To write her a letter of love to-day,
From which she can learn most readily
To take another true love, i'fay,
Who faithfulest of all shall be,
And best can guard a lady gay.
No wise will I deny her plea,
But I will teach her as I may.

O maiden, here thou mayst behold
This earthly love is but a race,

And is beset so many fold,

Fickle and false and weak and base. Those knights that here were once so bold, Like wind have glided from their place; Under mould they are lying cold,

And wither as doth the meadow grass.

There's none so rich and none so free

That hence he shall not soon away. Nothing may ever his warrant be,

Gold, nor silver, nor ermine gay; Be he ever so swift, he may not flee, Nor guard his life a single day. Thus is this world, as thou mayst see, Like as the shadow that glides away.

This world fareth like the wind,

One thing gone, another here; What was before is now behind,

What now is loath before was dear; Therefore he doth as doth the blind, Who sets his love on this world's gear. The world is vanishing, ye shall find; Evil goes forward, truth to the rear. The love that may not here abide,

Thou art wrong to trust it now; Away from thee that love will glide,

Capricious and frail and false of vow, And hasting away at every tide.

The while it lasts, 'tis sorrow enow;

8

16

32

39

swift 39 protect swiftly when 48 hated 52 vanish 53 the wrong

2 of Christ's 3 begs

learn

13

will

40 45 50

41

what places

46 51

formerly dear

may see 56

12 could protect not at all 15 refuse 16 will 17 here 18 mayst

8

an

9 true 10

lover 11

is not 20

23

a race

22 21 in so many ways ugly 4 weak 25 false 26 these nobles 27

away

32

28 29 breath

as

fickle are passed 31 30 the earth they lie 35 generous hence

wither 33 there is none 34 free,

therefore the trustest 57 it 58 very wrongly even

54

59

63

SO pass away delicate capricious hasting

away at every time sorrow enough

8 those 9

3 wide fall strength

as

48

72

80

88

96

104

Although he were a man as strong

As Henry is, our gracious King, And fair as Absalom the young,

80

Whose match no man on earth could bring,
His pride were soon not worth a song,
In value less than a red herring.

O maid, if thou wilt love full long,
I will show thee a loyal king.
Ah, my sweet, if thou but knew
The blessed virtues of this Lord!
He is fair and bright of hue,

Both glad of cheer and mild of word,
Of lovesome grace, of trust most true,
Free-hearted, rich in wisdom's hoard;
Never shouldst thou have need to rue,
If thou but trust thee in his ward.

He is the strongest man in land,

As far as men can speak with mouth,
And all are liegemen in his hand,
East and west, north and south.
Henry, King of English land,

Doth hold of him and to him boweth.
O maid, he sends thee his command,
His will to be thy friend avoweth.

32 37

equal

34

88

96

104

a

ful, fair 31 had not 33 pride were not 35 herring longest a lover 38 I will teach thee a

36

have slipped away the hillside 16 them 17

18 people have 19 were it not pity 20 how they 21 killed with torture 22 suffered 23 their 24 validity

50

45

coun

46 able thou

52

are holds bows

51

54

56

messenger

55

desires known to thee.