Lat euery felawe / telle his tale aboute
And lat se now / who shal the souper Wynne
And ther I lefte / I wol ayein bigynne [[A break in the MS. with]]
Incipit narracio.
This duc / of Whom I make mencion
Whanne he was come / almoost to the town
In al his wele / and in his mooste pryde
He was war / as he caste his eye asyde
Line 896
Wher þat ther kneled / in the heighe weye
A compaignye of ladyes / tweye and tweye
Ech after oother / clad in clothes blake
But swich a cry and swich a wo they make
Line 900
That in this world / nys creature lyuynge
That herde / swich another waymentynge
And of this cry / they nolde neuere stenten [folio 13b]
Til they / the reynes of his brydel henten
Line 904
¶ What folk been ye / þat at myn hom comynge
Perturben so my feste / with cryynge
Quod Theseus / haue ye so greet envie
Of myn honour / that thus compleyne and crye
Line 908
Or who hath yow mysboden / or offended
And telleth me / if it may been amended
And why þat ye / been clothed thus in blak/
The eldeste lady / of hem alle spak
Line 912
Whan she hadde swowned / with a deedly cheere
That it was routhe / for to seen and heere
¶ She seyde / lord / to whom ffortune hath yiuen
Victorie / and as a Conquerour to lyuen
Line 916
Noght greueth vs youre glorie / and youre honour
But we biseken / mercy and socour
Haue mercy on oure wo / and oure distresse
Som drope of pitee / thurgh thy gentillesse
Line 920
Vp on vs wrecched wommen / lat thow falle
ffor certes lord / ther is noon of vs alle
That she ne hath been / a duchesse / or a queene
Now be we caytyues / as it is wel seene
Line 924
Thanked be ffortune / and hir false wheel
