Читать книгу The Bruce - Barbour John - Страница 32

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Twa brethir war into that land,

That war the hardiest off hand

That war in-till all that cuntre; 95

And thai had sworn, iff thai micht se

The Bruys, quhar thai mycht him our-ta,

That thai suld dey, or then hym sla.

Thar surname wes Makyne-drosser;

That is al-so mekill to say her 100

As “the Durwarth sonnys” perfay.

Off thar covyne the thrid had thai,

That wes rycht stout, ill, and feloune.

Quhen thai the King of gud renoune

Saw sua behind his mengne rid, 105

And saw him torne sa mony tid,

Thai abaid till that he was

Entryt in ane narow place,

Betuix a louchside and a bra;

That wes sa strait, Ik underta, 110

That he mycht nocht weill turn his sted.

Then with a will till him thai yhede;

And ane him by the bridill hynt:

But he raucht till him sic a dynt,

That arme and schuldyr flaw him fra. 115

With that ane othir gan him ta

Be the lege, and his hand gan schute

Betuix the sterap and his fute:

And quhen the King felt thar his hand.

In sterapys stythly gan he stand, 120

And strak with spuris the stede in hy,

And he lansyt furth delyverly,

Swa that the tothir failyheit fete;

And nocht-for-thi his hand wes yheit

Undyr the sterap, magre his. 125

The thrid, with full gret hy, with this

Rycht till the bra-syd he yheid,

And stert be-hynd hym on his sted.

The King wes then in full gret pres;

The-quhethir he thocht, as he that wes 130

In all hys dedys avise,

To do ane owtrageous bounte.

And syne hyme that behynd hym was,

All magre his will, him gan he ras

Fra be-hynd hym, thocht he had sworn, 135

He laid hym evyn him beforn.

Syne with the suerd sic dynt hym gave,

That he the heid till the harnys clave.

He rouschit doun off blud all rede,

As he that stound feld off dede. 140

And then the King, in full gret hy,

Strak at the tothir vigorusly,

That he eftir his sterap drew,

That at the fyrst strak he him slew.

On this wis him delyverit he 145

Off all thai felloun fayis thre.

1306 Macnaughton praises Bruce

Quhen thai of Lorne has sene the King

Set in hym-selff sa gret helping,

And defend him sa manlely;

Wes nane amang thaim sa hardy 150

That durst assailyhe him mar in fycht:

Sa dred thai for his mekill mycht.

Thar wes a baroune Maknauchtan,

That in his hart gret kep has tane

Unto the Kingis chevalry, 155

And prisyt hym in hert gretly.

And to the Lord off Lorne said he;

‘Sekyrly now may yhe se

‘Betane the starkest pundelan,

‘That evyr yhour lyff-tyme yhe saw tane. 160

‘For yhone knycht, throw his douchti deid,

‘And throw his owtrageous manheid,

‘Has fellyt in-till litill tyd

‘Thre men of mekill mycht and prid:

‘And stonayit all our mengyhe swa, 165

‘That eftyr him dar na man ga;

‘And tournys sa mony tyme his stede,

‘That semys off us he had na dred.’

Then gane the Lord off Lorn say;

“It semys it likis the perfay, 170

“That he slayis yhongat our mengyhe.”

‘Schyr,’ said he, ‘sa our Lord me se!

‘To sauff yhour presence it is nocht swa.

‘Bot quhethir sa he be freynd or fa,

‘That wynnys prys off chevalry, 175

‘Men suld spek tharoff lelyly.

‘And sekyrly, in all my tyme,

‘Ik hard nevir, in sang na ryme,

‘Tell off a man that swa smertly

‘Eschevyt swa gret chevalry.’ 180

Sic speking off the King thai maid:

And he eftyr his mengyhe raid;

And in-till saufte thaim led,

Quhar he his fayis na thing dred.

And thai off Lorne agayn ar gayn, 185

Menand the scaith that thai haiff tayn.

1306 How Hannibal failed at Rome

The King that nycht his wachis set,

And gert ordayne that thai mycht et;

And bad thaim comford to thaim tak,[†] And at thar mychtis mery mak. 190 ‘For disconford,’ as then said he, ‘Is the werst thing that may be. ‘For throw mekill disconforting ‘Men fallis oft in-to disparyng.[†] ‘And fra a man disparyt be, 195 ‘Then utterly vencusyt is he. ‘And fra the hart be discumfyt, ‘The body is nocht worth a myt. ‘Tharfor,’ he said, ‘atour all thing, ‘Kepys yhow fra disparyng: 200 ‘And thynk, thouch we now harmys fele, ‘That God may yheit releve us weill. ‘Men redys off mony men that war ‘Fer hardar stad then we yhet ar; ‘And syne our lord sic grace thaim lent, 205 ‘That thai come weill till thair entent. ‘For Rome quhilum sa hard wes stad, ‘Quhen Hanniball thaim vencusyt had, ‘That, off ryngis with rich stane, ‘That war off knychtis fyngerys tane,[†] 210 ‘He send thre bollis to Cartage: ‘And syne to Rome tuk his viage, ‘Thar to distroye the cite all. ‘And thai with-in, bath gret and small, ‘Had fled, quhen thai saw his cummyng, 215 ‘Had nocht bene Scipio the king,[†] ‘That, or thai fled, wald thaim haiff slayn, ‘And swagat turnyt he thaim agayn. ‘Syne for to defend the cite, ‘Servandis and threllis mad he fre; 220 ‘And maid thaim knychtis evirilkane: ‘And syne has off the templis tane ‘The armys, that thar eldrys bar, ‘In name off victory offerryt thar. ‘And quhen thai armyt war and dycht, 225 ‘That stalwart karlis war and wycht, ‘And saw that thai war fre alsua, ‘Thaim thocht that thai had levir ta ‘The dede, na lat the toun be tane. ‘And with commowne assent, as ane, 230 ‘Thai ischit off the toune to fycht, ‘Quhar Hannyball his mekill mycht ‘Aganys thaim arayit was. ‘Bot, throw mycht off Goddis grace, ‘It ranyt sa hard and hevyly, 235 ‘That thar wes nane sa hardy ‘That durst in-to that place abid; ‘Bot sped thaim in-till hy to rid; ‘The ta part to thar pailyhownys, ‘The tothyr part went in the toune is. 240 ‘The rayne thus lettyt the fechtyn: ‘Sa did it twys thar-eftir syne. ‘Quhen Hanibal saw this ferly, ‘With all his gret chevalry ‘He left the toune, and held his way; 245 ‘And syne wes put to sik assay, ‘Throw the power off that cite, ‘That his lyff and his land tynt he. ‘Be thir quheyne, that sa worthily ‘Wane sik a king, and sa mychty, 250 ‘Yhe may weill be ensampill se, ‘That na man suld disparyt be: ‘Na lat his hart be vencusyt all, ‘For na myscheiff that evir may fall. ‘For nane wate, in how litill space, 255 ‘That God umquhile will send his grace. ‘Had thai fled and thar wayis gane, ‘Thar fayis swith the toune had tane. ‘Tharfor men, that werrayand ar, ‘Suld set thair etlyng evir-mar 260 ‘To stand agayne thar fayis mycht, ‘Umquhile with strenth, and quhile with slycht; ‘And ay thynk to cum to purpos: ‘And giff that thaim war set in chos, ‘To dey, or to leyff cowartly, 265 ‘Thai suld erar dey chevalrusly.’

Thusgat thaim confortyt the King;

And, to confort thaim, gan inbryng

Auld storys off men that wer

Set in-tyll hard assayis ser, 270

And that fortoun contraryit fast,

And come to purpos at the last.

Tharfor he said, that thai that wald

Thar hartis undiscumfyt hald

Suld ay thynk ythandly to bryng[†] 275 All thar enpres to gud ending: As quhile did Cesar the worthy, That traveillyt ay so besyly, With all his mycht, folowing to mak To end the purpos that he wald tak; 280 That hym thocht he had doyne rycht nocht, Ay quhill to do him levyt ocht: For-thi gret thingis eschevyt he, As men may in his story se. Men may se be his ythand will, 285 And it suld als accord to skill, That quha tais purpos sekyrly, And followis it syne ythandly, For-owt fayntice, or yheit faynding, With-thi it be conabill thing, 290 Bot he the mar be unhappy, He sall eschev it in party. And haiff he lyff-dayis, weill mai fall, That he sall eschev it all. For-thi suld nane haiff disparing 295 For till eschev a full gret thing: For giff it fall he thar off failyhe, The fawt may be in his trawailyhe.

1306 The Ladies are worn out

He prechyt thaim on this maner;

And fenyheit to mak bettir cher, 300

Then he had matir to, be fer:

For his caus yheid fra ill to wer.

Thai war ay in sa hard travaill,

Till the ladyis began to fayle,

That mycht the travaill drey na mar; 305

Sa did othir als that war thar.

The Erle Jhone wes ane off tha,

Off Athole, that quhen he saw sua

The King be discumfyt twys,

And sa feile folk agayne him rys; 310

And lyff in sic travaill and dout,

His hart begane to faile all out.

And to the King, apon a day,

He said; “Gyff I durst to yhow say,

“We lyff in-to sa mekill dreid, 315

“And haffis oft-sys off met sik ned,

“And is ay in sic travailling,

“With cauld, and hungir, and waking;

“That I set off my-selvyn sua,[†] “That I count nocht my liff a stra. 320 “Thir angrys may I na mar drey, “For thoucht me tharfor worthit dey, “I mon sojourne, quhar-evir it be. “Levys me tharfor par cheryte.” The King saw that he sa wes failyt, 325 And that he ik wes for-travaillyt. He said; ‘Schir Erle, we sall sone se, ‘And ordayne how it best may be. ‘Quhar-evyr yhe be, our Lord yhow send ‘Grace, fra yhour fais yhow to defend!’ 330 With that in hy to him callyt he Thaim, that till him war mast prive: Then amang thaim thai thocht it best, And ordanyt for the liklyest, That the Queyne, and the Erle alsua, 335 And the ladyis, in hy suld ga, With Nele the Bruce, till Kildromy. For thaim thocht thai mycht sekyrly Duell thar, quhill thai war victaillit weile: For swa stalwart wes the castell, 340 That it with strenth war hard to get, Quhill that thar-in were men and mete. As thai ordanyt thai did in hy: The Queyne, and all hyr cumpany, Lap on thar hors, and furth thai far. 345 Men mycht haiff sene, quha had bene thar, At leve-takyng the ladyis gret, And mak thar face with teris wet: And knychtis, for thar luffis sak, Baith sich, and wep, and murnyng mak. 350 Thai kyssyt thair luffis at thair partyng, The King umbethocht him off a thing; That he fra-thine on fute wald ga, And tak on fute bath weill and wa; And wald na hors-men with him haiff. 355 Tharfor his hors all haile he gaiff To the ladyis, that mystir had. The Queyn furth on hyr wayis rade; And sawffly come to the castell, Quhar hyr folk war ressavyt weill; 360 And esyt weill with meyt and drynk. Bot mycht nane eys let hyr to think On the King, that sa sar wes stad, That bot twa hunder with him had, The quhethir thaim weill confort he ay:[†] 365 God help him, that all mychtis may!