Chaucerian and Other Pieces. Various

I turned thy purpos, and shewed thee

      a part of the hye waye, tho thou abode therin, and no deth ne

      ferdnesse of non enemy might thee out of thilk way reve; but

      ever oon in thyn herte, to come to the ilke blisse, whan thou

      were arested and firste tyme enprisoned, thou were loth to

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      chaunge thy way, for in thy hert thou wendest to have ben there

      thou shuldest. And for I had routhe to sene thee miscaried,

      and wiste wel thyn ablenesse my service to forther and encrese,

      I com my-selfe, without other mene, to visit thy person in comfort

      of thy hert. And perdy, in my comming thou were greetly

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      glad[d]ed; after whiche tyme no disese, no care, no tene, might

      move me out of thy hert. And yet am I glad and greetly enpited,

      how continually thou haddest me in mynde, with good avysement

      of thy conscience, whan thy king and his princes by huge wordes

      and grete loked after variaunce in thy speche; and ever thou

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      were redy for my sake, in plesaunce of the Margarite-perle and

      many mo other, thy body to oblige in-to Marces doing, if any

      contraried thy sawes. Stedfast way maketh stedfast hert, with

      good hope in the ende. Trewly, I wol that thou it wel knowe;

      for I see thee so set, and not chaunginge herte haddest in my

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      service; and I made thou haddest grace of thy kinge, in

      foryevenesse of mikel misdede. To the gracious king art thou mikel

      holden, of whos grace and goodnesse somtyme hereafter I thinke

      thee enforme, whan I shew the ground where-as moral vertue

      groweth. Who brought thee to werke? Who brought this grace

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      aboute? Who made thy hert hardy? Trewly, it was I. For

      haddest thou of me fayled, than of this purpos had[dest thou]

      never taken [hede] in this wyse. And therfore I say, thou might

      wel truste to come to thy blisse, sithen thy ginninge hath ben hard,

      but ever graciously after thy hertes desyr hath proceded. Silver

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      fyned with many hetes men knowen for trew; and safely men

      may trust to the alay in werkinge. This †disese hath proved what

      way hence-forward thou thinkest to holde.'

      'Now, in good fayth, lady,' quod I tho, 'I am now in; me

      semeth, it is the hye way and the right.'

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      'Ye, forsothe,' quod she, 'and now I wol disprove thy first

      wayes, by whiche many men wenen to gette thilke blisse. But

      for-as-moche as every herte that hath caught ful love, is tyed with

      queynt knittinges, thou shalt understande that love and thilke

      foresayd blisse toforn declared in this[e] provinges, shal hote the

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      knot in the hert.'

      'Wel,' quod I, 'this inpossession I wol wel understande.'

      'Now also,' quod she, 'for the knotte in the herte muste ben

      from one to an-other, and I knowe thy desyr, I wol thou understande

      these maters to ben sayd of thy-selfe, in disproving of thy

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      first service, and in strengthinge of thilke that thou hast

      undertake to thy Margaryte-perle.'

      'A goddes halfe,' quod I, 'right wel I fele that al this case is

      possible and trewe; and therfore I †admitte it altogither.'

      '†Understand wel,' quod she, 'these termes, and loke no

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      contradiccion thou graunt.'

      'If god wol,' quod I, 'of al these thinges wol I not fayle; and

      if I graunt contradiccion, I shulde graunte an impossible; and

      that were a foul inconvenience; for whiche thinges, lady, y-wis,

      herafter I thinke me to kepe.'

      Ch. IV. 1. shalte. amonge. 2. parfyte. 4. wretche. 5. seke; read seketh. 6. parfyte. 7. lyueth; read leveth. thynge. 8. howe. perfection. 9. erronyous. 13. I supply whiche. 14. moste. 15. parfyte. maye. 16. thynge. 20. sothe; read soghte. toforne.

      21. thrages (sic); read thinges. 22. heere. 23. get; read getten. 26. wol; read wot. 30. parfite. 33. some (twice). 37. the. shalte. con. 39. howe ye meanen. 41. some deale. 42. entention. thre. lyuenges. 43. one. 44. thre. 45. great. cleaped. I supply and manlich. Resonablich. 47. nothynge. 47–9. reason (twice). 49. lyueng. thynge. 50. maye. 51. fathers. toforne. 52. lyuenges. 54. determination. 56. lyuenges (twice). lyueth; read leveth. to; read two.

      57. the. 58. lyuenges. 59. made. 60. be; read by. 62. cleaped. 64. begon. 65. werne. 66. obey. 70. greatly. 73. Se. 75. folke. 80. wretch. 89. disceite. 92. reason. 94. arte.

      95–6. the (twice). 97–100. purpose. 98. lyueng. 99. the. 100–2. the. 101. parte. dethe. 103. one. 106. the. 107. wyst. thyne. encrease. 108. come. mean. For person read prison? comforte. 109. greatly gladed. 110. disease. 111. gladde. greatly. 112. howe. 114. great. 115. peerle. 119. se the. 121. arte. 122. whose. 123. the. grounde. 124. the. 126. purpose. had; read haddest thou. I supply hede. 128. harde. 129. desyre. 130. heates.

      131. diseases (sic). waye. -forwarde. 133–142. Nowe (four times). 139. toforne. 143. desyre. 145. strenghthynge. haste. 148. admytted; read admytte it. 149. Vnderstanden (sic). 149–152. contradyction (twice). 153. foule. ladye.