I knowlage I have don amys, I was never wurthy i-wys ffor to be thin husbonde; I xal amende aftere thys, Ryght as thin owyn wyl is, To serve the at foot and honde. And thi chylde bothe to undyrstonde, To wurchep hym with good affeccion; And therfore telle me, and nothinge whonde, The holy matere of ȝour concepcion. _Maria._ At ȝowre owyn wylle, as ȝe bydde me; Ther came an aunge hyght Gabryelle, And gret me ffayr and seyd Ave, And ferther more to me gan telle God xulde be borne of my bodé, The ffendys powsté ffor to ffelle, Thorwe the Holy Gost, as I wel se, Thus God in me wyl byde and dwelle. _Joseph._ Now I thank God with speche and spelle, That evyr, Mary, I was weddyd to the. _Mary._ It was the werk of God, as I ȝow telle, Now blyssyd be that Lord so purveyd for me. XIII. THE VISIT TO ELIZABETH. _Maria._ Butt, husbond, of oo thynge I pray ȝow most mekely, I have knowyng that oure cosyn Elyȝabeth with childe is; That it plese ȝow to go to here hastyly, If owught we myth comforte here, it were to me blys. _Joseph._ A! Godys sake is she with childe, sche? Than wole here husbond ȝakarye be mery. In Montana they dwelle fer hens, so mot y the, In the cety of Juda, I knowe it veryly; It is hens, I trowe, myles two and ffyfty, We are like to be wery or we come at that same; I wole with a good wyl, blyssyd wyff Mary,— Now go we forthe than in Goddys name. _Maria._ Goth husbond, thow it be to ȝow peyne, This jurny I pray ȝow lete us go fast, ffor I am schamfast of the pepyl to be seyne, And namely of men, therof I am agast. Pylgrymages and helpynges wolde be go in hast, The more the body is peynyd, the more is the mede; Say ȝe ȝour devocionys, and I xal myn reast(?), Now in this jurny God mote us spede! _Joseph._ Amen! Amen! and evyr more; Lo! wyff, lo! how starkly I go before. _Et sic transient circa placeam._ _Contemplacio._ Sovereynes, undyrstondyth that kynge Davyd here Ordeyned ffoure and twenty prestys of grett devocion, In the temple of God after here let apere, Thei weryd clepyd _summi sacerdotes_ ffor her mynistracion. And on was prynce of prestys havynge domynacyon, Amonge whiche was an old prest clepyd ȝakarye, And he had an old woman to his wyff of holy conversacion, Whiche hyth Eliȝabeth, that nevyr had childe verylye. In hese mynistracion the howre of incense, The aungel Gabryel apperyd hym to, That hese wyff xulde conseyve he ȝaff hym intelligence, Hes juge, hes unwurthynes, and age not belevyd so. The plage of dompnesse his lippis lappyd, lo! Thei wenten hom and his wyff was conseyvenge; This concepcion Gabryel tolde oure lady to, And in soth sone aftere that sage sche was sekynge. And of her tweyners metyng Here gynnyth the proces, Now God be oure begynnynge, And of my tonge I wole ses.