And fo forth faid him every dele,
How that his moder grete him wele,
And in what wife she him fent.
Tho wift Ulixes what it ment
And toke him in his armes fofte
And all bledende kift him ofte
And faide: Sone, while I live,
This infortune I the foryive.
After his other fone in haft
He fend, and he began him haft
And cam unto his fader tite.
But whan he figh him in fuch plite,
He wold have ronne upon that other
Anone and flain his owne brother,
Ne hadde be that Ulixes
Betwene hem made accorde and pees
And to his heir Thelemachus
He bad, that he Thelogonus
With all his power shulde kepe,
Till he were of his woundes depe
All hole, and than he shulde him yive
Lond, where upon he mighte live.
Thelemachus whan he this herde,
Unto his fader he answerde
And faide, he wolde don his wille.
So dwelle they to-gider ftille
These brethren, and the fader sterveth.
Lo, wherof forcerie ferveth. Through forcery his luft he wan, Through forcery his wo began,
Through forcery his love he chefe,
Through forcery his life he lefe.
The child was gete in forcery,
The which did all his felony,
Thing which was ayein kinde wrought
Unkindliche it was abought,
The child his owne fader flough,
That was unkindefhip inough.
Forthy take hede how that it is,
So for to winne love amis,
Which endeth all his joy in wo.
For of this arte I find also,
That hath be do for loves fake,
Wherof thou might enfample take,
A great cronique emperiall,
Which ever into memoriall
Among the men, how fo it wende,
Shall dwelle to the worldes ende.
The highe creator of thinges,
Which is the king of alle kinges,
Full
many wonder worldes chaunce
Let flide under his fufferaunce.
There wot no man the cause why
But he, the which is almighty.
And that was proved whilom thus,
Whan that the king Nectanabus,
Which had Egipte for to lede.
But for he figh to-fore the dede
Through magique of his forcerie,
Wherof he couth a great partie,
Hic narrat exemplum fuper eodem, qualiter Nectanabus de Egipto in Macedoniam fugitivus Olimpiadem Philippi regis ibidem tunc abfentis uxorem arte magica decipiens cum ipfa concubuit, magnumque ex ea Alexandrum fortilegus genuit, qui natus poftea cum ad erudiendum fub cuftodia Nectanabi commendatus fu
iffet, ipfum Nectanabum patrem fuum ab altitudine cuiufdam turris in foffam profundam precipiens
interfecit, et fic for tilegus pro fuo fortilegio infortunii for
tem fortitus eft.
His enemies to him comend,
Fro whom he might him nought defend,
Out of his owne lond he fledde
And in the wife, as he him dredde,
It fell for all his wicchecraft,
So that Egipte him was beraft.
And he desguised fledde away
By ship and held the righte way
To Macedoine, where that he
Arriveth at the chefe citee.
Thre yomen of his chambre there
All only for to serve him were,
The which he trufteth wonder wele,
For they were trewe as any ftele.
And hapneth, that they with him ladde
Parte of the beste good he hadde,
They take logginge in the town
After the difpofition,
Where as him thoughte best to dwelle.
He axeth than and herde telle,
How that the kinge was out go
Upon a werre he had tho.
But in that citee thanne was
The quene, which Olimpias
Was hote, and with folempnite
The fefte of her nativite,
As it befell, was thanne holde.
And for her luft to be beholde
And preised of the people about
She shope her for to riden out
At after-mete all openly.
Anone were alle men redy,
And that was in the month of
This lufty quene in good array
Was fet upon a mule white,
To fene it was a great delite
The joie that the citee made.
With fresshe thinges and with glade
The noble town was all behonged,
And every wight was fore alonged
To fe this lufty lady ride.
There was great merth on alle fide,
Where as the paffeth by the ftrete,
There was ful many a timbre bete
And many a maide carolende.
And thus through out the town pleiende
This quene unto the pleine rode,
Where that she hoved and abode
To se diverse games pley,
The lufty folk joust and tourney.
And fo forth every other man,
Which pleie couth, his pley began
To plese with this noble quene.
Nectanabus came to the grene
Amonges other and drough him nigh.
But whan that he this lady figh
And of her beaute hede toke,
He couthe nought witholde his loke
To fe nought elles in the felde,
But stood and only her behelde.
Of his clothinge and of his gere
He was unliche all other there,
So that it hapneth ate laste
The
quene on him her
eye caste,
And knew that he was ftraunge anone.
But he behelde her ever in one
Withoute blenching of his chere.
She toke good hede of his manere
And wondreth, why he dide fo,
And bad men fhulde for him go.
He came and did her reverence.
And the him axeth in filence,
From whenne he cam, and what he wolde. And he with fobre wordes tolde,
He faith: Madame, a clerk I am
and in meffage I cam,
The whiche I may nought tellen here,
But if it liketh you to here,
It mot be faid fo prively,
Where none shall be, but ye and I.
Thus for the time he toke his leve.
The day goth forth, till it was eve,
That every man mot leve his werk.
And the thought ever upon this clerk,
What thing it is, that he wold mene.
And in this wife abode the quene
And paffeth over thilke night,
Till it was on the morwe light.
She fende for him, and he came,
With him his astrolabe he name,
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