I knowe a lady of meruelous beaute Spronge out of hyghe and noble lynage Replete with vertue and full of bounte Whiche vnto youth were a good maryage For she is comen of royall apparage But herde it wyll be to gete her loue Without youth frayltye do sore reproue I kneled downe than vpon my kne Afore dame Sapyence with humble chere Besechynge her of me to haue pyte And also Dyscrecyon her syster dere Than dame Sapyence came me nere Saynge youth wyll ye haue a wyfe And her to loue durynge her lyfe Ye madame that wolde I fayne Yf that she be both fayre and bryght I wyll her loue euer more certayne And pleas her alway with all my myght Of suche a persone wolde I haue a syght With all my herte now at this houre Wolde to god I had so fayre a floure Than sayd dyscrecyon there is a kynge Dwellynge fer hens in a fayre castell Of whome I oft haue herd grete talkynge Whiche hath a doughter as I you tell I trowe that youth wyll lyke her well She is both good eke fayre and pure As I report me vnto dame Nature But yf that youth sholde her go seke Ye must syster than hym well indue With your grete power so good and meke That he all frayltye may eschue For by the way it wyll oft pursue On hym by flatery and grete temptacyon That shall brynge hym in tribulacyon As for that sayd she he shall not care For he shall theym sone ouercome And of theyr flatery ryght well beware For I to hym shall gyue grete wysedome Theyr dedes to withstande & make theym dõme Wherfore dere syster as I you pray Vnto her lede hym now on the way Loke that ye send me in his necessyte By dame swyftnes full sone a letter By whiche that I may knowe the certaynte That I may come to ayde hym beter So that fraylte to hym be no freter And though I be not alway vysyble With hym my power he hath inuyncyble Than sayd dame Sapyence to dyscrecyon Fare well dere syster I may not tary Loke ye of youth haue the tuycyon That he fall not into vaynglory And that ye puruey for hym shortly That he may wedde the fayre dame clennesse Whiche for her loue haue ben in duresse With that dame Sapyence downe went In to her place that was the doctrynall Of famous clerkes in connynge splendent A myrrour of lernyng that was dyuynall With all the craftes artyfycyall Byfore her dame Fortune went to her mancyon And eke dame hardynes to her habytacyon Capitulum nonum [Illustration] Forth than went dyscrecyon and I Out of the castell into a grene Where byrdys sange by grete melody There daunst also the fayre quene Besyde a ryuer named Ephesene Ouer whiche we wente to the other syde That was a medowe both longe and wyde Longe there we wandred tyll at the last We came vnto a ryght grete wyldernes By that tyme Phebus was ouer past Wherfore we walked in grete derkenes The whiche to me was a grete heuynes For Lucyna eke dyd her shrowde Vnder a blacke and mysty clowde