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Up-on hir fo, that highte Poliphete,

So heynous, that men mighte on it spete.

Answerde of this ech worse of hem than other,

And Poliphete they gonnen thus to warien,

`An-honged be swich oon, were he my brother; 1620

And so he shal, for it ne may not varien.'

What sholde I lenger in this tale tarien?

Pleynly, alle at ones, they hir highten

To been hir helpe in al that ever they mighten.

Spak than Eleyne, and seyde, `Pandarus, 1625

Woot ought my lord, my brother, this matere,

I mene, Ector? Or woot it Troilus?'

He seyde, `Ye, but wole ye now me here?

Me thinketh this, sith Troilus is here,

It were good, if that ye wolde assente, 1630

She tolde hir-self him al this, er she wente.

`For he wole have the more hir grief at herte,

By cause, lo, that she a lady is;

And, by your leve, I wol but right in sterte,

And do yow wite, and that anoon, y-wis, 1635

If that he slepe, or wole ought here of this.'

And in he lepte, and seyde him in his ere,

`God have thy soule, y-brought have I thy bere!'

To smylen of this gan tho Troilus,

And Pandarus, with-oute rekeninge, 1640

Out wente anoon to Eleyne and Deiphebus,

And seyde hem, `So there be no taryinge,

Ne more pres, he wol wel that ye bringe

Criseyda, my lady, that is here;

And as he may enduren, he wole here. 1645

`But wel ye woot, the chaumbre is but lyte,

And fewe folk may lightly make it warm;

Now loketh ye, (for I wol have no wyte,

To bringe in prees that mighte doon him harm

Or him disesen, for my bettre arm), 1650

Wher it be bet she byde til eft-sones;

Now loketh ye, that knowen what to doon is.

`I sey for me, best is, as I can knowe,

That no wight in ne wente but ye tweye,

But it were I, for I can, in a throwe, 1655

Reherce hir cas unlyk that she can seye;

And after this, she may him ones preye

To ben good lord, in short, and take hir leve;

This may not muchel of his ese him reve.

`And eek, for she is straunge, he wol forbere 1660

His ese, which that him thar nought for yow;

Eek other thing that toucheth not to here,

He wol me telle, I woot it wel right now,

That secret is, and for the tounes prow.'

And they, that no-thing knewe of his entente, 1665

With-oute more, to Troilus in they wente.

Eleyne, in al hir goodly softe wyse,

Gan him saluwe, and womanly to pleye,

And seyde, `Ywis, ye moste alweyes aryse!

Now fayre brother, beth al hool, I preye!' 1670

And gan hir arm right over his sholder leye,

And him with al hir wit to recomforte;

As she best coude, she gan him to disporte.

So after this quod she, `We yow biseke,

My dere brother, Deiphebus and I, 1675

For love of god, and so doth Pandare eke,

To been good lord and freend, right hertely,

Un-to Criseyde, which that certeinly

Receyveth wrong, as woot wel here Pandare,

That can hir cas wel bet than I declare.' 1680

This Pandarus gan newe his tunge affyle,

And al hir cas reherce, and that anoon;

Whan it was seyd, sone after, in a whyle,

Quod Troilus, `As sone as I may goon,

I wol right fayn with al my might ben oon, 1685

Have god my trouthe, hir cause to sustene.'

`Good thrift have ye,' quod Eleyne the quene.

Quod Pandarus, `And it your wille be

That she may take hir leve, er that she go?'

`O, elles god for-bede,' tho quod he, 1690

`If that she vouche sauf for to do so.'

And with that word quod Troilus, `Ye two,

Deiphebus, and my suster leef and dere,

To yow have I to speke of o matere,

`To been avysed by your reed the bettre': — 1695

And fond, as hap was, at his beddes heed,

The copie of a tretis and a lettre,

That Ector hadde him sent to axen reed,

If swich a man was worthy to ben deed,

Woot I nought who; but in a grisly wyse 1700

He preyede hem anoon on it avyse.

Deiphebus gan this lettre to unfolde

In ernest greet; so did Eleyne the quene;

And rominge outward, fast it gan biholde,

Downward a steyre, in-to an herber grene. 1705

This ilke thing they redden hem bi-twene;

And largely, the mountaunce of an houre,

Thei gonne on it to reden and to poure.

Now lat hem rede, and turne we anoon

To Pandarus, that gan