And if you pas with owten grevance,
Than has thou the fairest chance
That ever zit had any knyght,

That theder come to kyth his myght.
Than toke I leve, and went my way,
And rade unto the midday;

By than I com whare I fold be,

I saw the Chapel and the Tre :
Thare I fand the fayreft thorne
That ever groued fen God was born:
So thik it was with leves grene
Might no rayn cum tharby twene 1;
And that grenes lastes ay,

For no winter dere' yt may.

I fand the Bacyn, als he talde,
And the Well with water kalde".
An emerawd" was the Stane",
Richer faw I never nane,

On fowr rubyes on heght standand",
Thair light lafted over al the land.
And whan I saw that femely fyght,
It made me bath joyful and lyght.
I toke the Bacyn sone onane
And helt water opon the Stane :
The weder wex than wonder blak,

crak;

Thar cum flike' ftormes of hayl and rayn,

t

Unnethes I might stand thare ogayn:

The ftore" windes blew ful lowd,

w

So kene cam never are " of clowd.

X

I wend have brent, fo was it hate *:
That weder made me fo will of rede,
I hopid fone to have my dede';
And fertes, if it lang had last,
I hope I had never thethin past.

Bot thorgh his might that tholed' wownd
The storme sesed within a ftownde":
Then wex the weder fayr ogayne,

And tharof was I wonder fayne;
For best comforth of al thing
Es folace after mislykeing.
Then faw I fone a mery syght,

Of al the fowles that er in flyght,
that tre,

Lighted fo thik opon

That bogh ne lefe none might I fe;
So merily than gon thai fing,
That al the wode bigan to ring;

Ful mery was the melody

Of thaire fang and of thaire cry ;

Thar herd never man none swilk,

* Lightening.

y Smote.

2 I thought I should be burnt.

a It was fo hot.

Feared. See Johnf. Steev. SHAKESPEARE, Vol. v. p. 273. edit. 1779.

k Nine.

1 Soon.

And fone whan I gan on him loke,
Mi shelde and sper to me I toke.
That knight to me hied ful fast,
And kene wordes out gan he cast:
He bad that I fold tell him lite!
Why I did him swilk despite,
With weders" wakend him of reft,
And done him wrang in his Foreft;
Thar fore, he fayd, You fal aby":
And with that come he egerly,
And faid, I had ogayn refowne
Done him grete deftrucciowne,
And might it nevermore amend
Tharfor he bad, I fold me fend:
And fone I fmate him on the shelde,
Mi fchaft brac out in the felde;
And then he bar me fon bi strenkith
Out of my fadel my speres lenkith :
I wat that he was largely

By the fhuldres mare ꞌ than I;
And by the ded that I fal thole',
Mi stede by his was bot a fole.

For mate' I lay down on the grownde,
So was I ftonayd' in that stownde:
A worde to me wald he noght say,
Bot toke my ftede, and went his way.
Ffull farily than thare I sat,

u

For wa" I wift noght what was what:
With mi stede he went in hy,
The fame way that he come by;

• Death.

r Suffer.

• Sleep.

t Aftonished. Stunned.

■ Sorrily.

w Woe.

And

And I durft folow him no ferr

For dout me folde bite werr,
And also zit by Goddes dome*,
I ne wift whar he bycome.
Than I thoght how I had hight",
Unto myne
oft the hende knyght,
And also till his lady bryght,
To come ogayn if that I myght.
Mine armurs left I thare ylkane,
For els myght I noght have gane2;
Unto myne in I come by day:
The hende knyght and the fayre may,
Of mi come war thai ful glade,
And nobil femblant thai me made;
In al thinges thai have tham born
Als thai did the night biforn.
Sone thai wift whar I had bene,
And said, that thai had never fene
Knyght that ever theder come

Take the way ogayn home.

I add Sir Ywain's achievement of the fame Adventure, with

its confequences.

Whan Ywayn was withowten town,

Of his palfray lighted he down,
And dight him right wele in his wede,
And lepe up on his gude stede.
Furth he rade on right,

Until it neghed nere the nyght:
He paffed many a high mountayne
In wildernes, and many a playne,

* God's fentence, the crucifixion.

Y Hette. Promised.

* Gone.

a Lodging.
b Drew near.

Til he come to that leyir fty
That him byhoved pass by:
Than was he feker for to fe
The Wel, and the fayre Tre;
The Chapel faw he at the last,
And theder hyed he ful fast.
More curtayfli and more honowr
Fand he with tham in that towr",
And mare comforth by mony falde ",
Than Colgrevance had him of talde.
That night was he herberedi thar,
So wel was he never are *.

At morn he went forth by the ftrete,
And with the cherel' fone gan he mete
That fold tel to him the way;