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' quod he, and stinte anoon.
Therwith he wex as deed as stoon, 1300
And seyde, 'allas! that I was bore!
That was the los, that her-before
I tolde thee, that I had lorn.
Bethenk how I seyde her-beforn,
"Thou wost ful litel what thou menest; 1305
I have lost more than thou wenest"--
God wot, allas! right that was she! '
'Allas! sir, how? what may that be? '
She is deed! ' 'Nay! ' 'Yis, by my trouthe! '
'Is that your los? by god, hit is routhe! ' 1310
And with that worde, right anoon,
They gan to strake forth; al was doon,
For that tyme, the hert-hunting.
With that, me thoghte, that this king
Gan [quikly] hoomward for to ryde 1315
Unto a place ther besyde,
Which was from us but a lyte,
A long castel with walles whyte,
By seynt Iohan! on a riche hil,
As me mette; but thus it fil. 1320
Right thus me mette, as I yow telle,
That in the castel was a belle,
As hit had smiten houres twelve. --

Therwith I awook my-selve,
And fond me lying in my bed; 1325
And the book that I had red,
Of Alcyone and Seys the king,
And of the goddes of sleping,
I fond it in myn honde ful even.
Thoghte I, 'this is so queynt a sweven, 1330
That I wol, by processe of tyme,
Fonde to putte this sweven in ryme
As I can best'; and that anoon. --
This was my sweven; now hit is doon. 1334

EXPLICIT THE BOKE OF THE DUCHESSE.

_The_ MSS. _are_: F. (Fairfax 16); Tn. (Tanner 346); B. (Bodley 638); _the
fourth authority is_ Th. (Thynne's edition of 1532). _I follow_ F. _mainly,
and note all but very trifling variations from it_. B.