To seen this flour that I so love and drede. And from a-fer com walking in the mede The god of love, and in his hande a quene; And she was clad in real habit grene. +A fret of gold she hadde next hir heer, 215 +And upon that a whyt coroun she beer With florouns smale, and I shal nat lye; For al the world, ryght as a dayesye +Y-corouned is with whyte leves lyte, So were the florouns of hir coroun whyte; 220 For of o perle fyne, oriental, +Hir whyte coroun was y-maked al; +For which the whyte coroun, above the grene, +Made hir lyk a daysie for to sene, Considered eek hir fret of gold above. 225 +Y-clothed was this mighty god of love In silke, enbrouded ful of grene greves, In-with a fret of rede rose-leves, *The fresshest sin the world was first bigonne. *His gilte heer was corouned with a sonne, 230 *In-stede of gold, for hevinesse and wighte; Therwith me thoughte his face shoon so brighte That wel unnethes mighte I him beholde; And in his hande me thoughte I saugh him holde +Two fyry dartes, as the gledes rede; 235 And aungellyke his winges saugh I sprede. +And al be that men seyn that blind is he, Al-gate me thoughte that he mighte see; +For sternely on me he gan biholde, +So that his loking doth myn herte colde. 240 +And by the hande he held this noble quene, +Corouned with whyte, and clothed al in grene, +So womanly, so benigne, and so meke, +That in this world, thogh that men wolde seke, +Half hir beautee shulde men nat finde 245 +In creature that formed is by kinde. _From_ B. 276-295. That is so good, so fair, so debonaire; I prey to god that ever falle hir faire! +For, nadde comfort been of hir presence, +I had ben deed, withouten any defence, +For drede of Loves wordes and his chere; 280 +As, when tyme is, her-after ye shal here. Behind this god of love, upon the grene, +I saugh cominge of ladyës nyntene +In real habit, a ful esy paas; +And after hem com of women swich a traas, 285 That, sin that god Adam had mad of erthe The thridde part of mankynd, or the ferthe, +Ne wende I nat by possibilitee, Had ever in this wyde worlde y-be; +And trewe of love thise women were echoon. 290 +Now whether was that a wonder thing or noon, +That, right anoon as that they gonne espye +This flour, which that I clepe the dayesye, +Ful sodeinly they stinten alle at ones, And kneled doun, as it were for the nones, 295 *And therfor may I seyn, as thinketh me, 247 *This song, in preysing of this lady fre.