Classic Poem

Truly repentant now kneeled Evil Tongue,
Humble confession of his crime to make.
False Seeming promptly seized him by the throat;
With his two fists he choked and strangled him,
Bereaving him fore'er of power of speech.
Then, with his razor, he cut out his tongue.
Only in this way did they end his life
And so achieve their purpose with the host.
This done, they pitched his corpse into the fosse.
The now-unguarded door they quickly broke;
They went within and found the Norman guard
All sleeping, for they'd drunk at will such wine
As I have never poured; they'd even swilled
So much that they all lay upon their backs.
Drunken and sleeping, all were strangled there.
No more they'll be in any shape to lie.
Now came Largesse and Courtesy in haste
Within the gate. In silence, secretly,
The four assembled there. The harridan
Who was Fair Welcome's guard awhile before,
And had seen nothing of the butchery,
The four now saw down from the tower descend
And move about the courtyard. On her head
Above her wimple now, in place of veil,
She wore a hood. Against her ran the four
And hastily assailed her. When she saw
Resistance to all four would be in vain,

She thus exclaimed, " My faith! You seem good folk,
Valiant and courteous; then tell me, pray,
Without more fuss, what 'tis you're seeking here.
I'm sure 'twas not to take me prisoner. "
" To take you, sweet and gentle mother! No;
We do not come to take you prisoner,
But just to see you, and, if you agree,
To offer to your sweet authority,
Quite freely, both our bodies and our goods,
So far as they're worth while; and never you
Shall find us wanting. If you please, sweet dame,
Who never have been otherwise than sweet,
We come to beg that you'll with favor look
On a request that you cannot take ill:
Namely, that he who languishes within,
Fair Welcome, be released to play with us
So little while as scarce will soil his shoes;
Or grant, at least, that he may say a word
Unto the Lover, so that mutually
Each may the other comfort. At small cost
To you you'd furnish solace great to them,
And he would be your liegeman and your slave
With whom you could do anything you wished:
Torture, sell, or hang. It's a good thing
To gain a friend. See here these gems, this fan,
These buttons which he sends you as a gift;
Not to make mention of the ornament
Which he will give you soon. He has a heart
That's courteous and free and generous
He'll surely be no trouble great to you,
For well he loves you; and you'll not be blamed
Because of him, for he's most mum and sly.
We beg that you permit him to come here
Without abuse, and that you him conceal;
By doing so you'll surely save his life.
And now this chaplet made of flowers new
We beg you give Fair Welcome as from him,
And comfort him and give him fair salute,
Which will be worth more than a hundred marks. "

" God help me! " cried the dame, " I'd do it well
If I were sure that Jealousy'd not know,
And that I'd never get the blame for it;
But that bad scandalmonger, Evil Tongue,
Is far too talkative. He is the guard
Engaged by Jealousy to spy on us.
There's no preventing him from publishing,
By shouts and cries, whatever he may know,
In fact whate'er he thinks, or what invents
When he knows no one whom he can traduce.
I'd not defend him were he damned to hang,
But if the thief this matter should reveal
To Jealousy, I should be badly shamed. "
Said they, " You need have no more fear of him;
He will not spy nor listen any more
In any way, for out there he lies dead
With gaping throat, not cradled on a bier
But in the ditch. He'll never come to life,
Unless by sorcery, those two again
To slander. He will ne'er accuse them more
Unless the Devil work a miracle
With charm or philter. "
Then replied the dame,
" In that case, I'll no more refuse your prayer.
But let the swain make haste. I'll gain access
For him, but let there be no insolence.
Let him come secretly when I make sign,
And not remain too long. Let him guard well
Himself and his, that no man him perceive.
Let him do nothing that he should not do,
Though he may talk as much as he may wish. "
" Lady, " said they, " it doubtless will be so. "
Each thanked her, and with that their work was done.
False Seeming, howsoever that might be,
Thought otherwise, and muttered to himself:
" If he for whom we undertook this task,
Since he his thoughts of love will not renounce,
Would trust to me, if you would not accord,
Not by a long way would you then succeed,
In my opinion, in preventing him
From entering and reconnoitering,
If he found time and place. Not every time
Do shepherds see the wolf that steals their sheep
Beneath their very roof, however well
They may have guarded them out in the fields.
Sometime you'd go to church, as yesterday,
When you remained so long; and Jealousy,
Who tricks him so, would walk outside the town
Perhaps, or find occasion to depart.
In secret then, or in the night, he'd come
Up through the garden, lighted by no torch,
And all alone, unless his Friend were there,
Who'd keep a watch for him at his request.
Unless the place were lighted by the moon,
Whose shining beams have many a lover scathed,
He'd lead him quickly, with encouragement,
Since well he knows the precincts of the place,
To some point where, descending by a rope,
He'd enter by a window. Thus he'd come,
And thus he'd go away. Then would descend
Fair Welcome to the garden, where he'd wait
The Lover's coming. Or he would have fled
From the enclosure, where he's captive been
For many days, and come to meet the youth
And talk to him, provided that the swain
Had been unable to invade him.
Or when you slept, if he saw time and chance,
Perhaps he'd leave the door unlocked for him,
And then the Lover would approach the Rose
Of which he thinks so much, and pluck its bloom,
Unfearing interruption, if the rest
He could discomfit in some other way. "
Now as for me, who stood not far away,
I thought that thus I should accomplish it.
No fear felt I of further handicap
If the old hag her convoy to me gave,
And if she would not I should enter there
When best I saw my chance, as had devised
False Seeming; for I held his counsel to be good.