The Æneid of Virgil Translated Into Scottish Verse. Gawin Douglas

      And, with his trumpet, thame a takyn maid.

      Our falloschip thir fowlys gan invayd,

      And onkouth kynd of batail dyd assay,

      With wapynnys forto bet and dryve away

      Thir laithly sey byrdis of syk effeir.

      Bot thar was na dynt mycht thar fedderis scheir,

      Nor in thar bodeis wound ressave thai nane:

      Bot suddanly, away tha wysk ilkane

      Furth of our sycht, heich vp in the sky;

      The pray half etyn behynd thame lat thai ly,

      With fut stedis vyle and laith to se.

      Ane, on a rolkis pynnakill perkit hie,

      Celeno clepit, a drery prophetes,

      Furth of hir breist thir wordis warpis expres:

      Theyfage lynnage of fals Laomedon,

      Addres ȝe thus to mak bargane onon?

      Becaus ȝe have our oxin reft and slane,

      Brytnyt our styrkis and ȝong bestis mony ane,

      Schaip ȝe, tharfor, harpeys expell and dyng,

      But ony offens, furth of thar faderis ryng?

      Ressave for that, and in ȝour brestis enprent

      My wordis, quhilk I, gretast fury of torment,

      Schawis ȝou; that thing quhilk Jupiter maist hie

      Schew to Phebus, and brycht Phebus tald me.

      I knaw ȝe set ȝour cowrs to Italy:

      Ȝe cal eftir gude wyndis and prospir sky:

      To Itale sal ȝe wend, and thar tak land.

      Bot first, or wallis of the cite vpstand

      Quhilk by the goddis is ȝou predestinate,

      For strang hungir sal ȝe stand in sik state,

      In wraik of our iniuris and bestis slane,

      That with ȝour chaftis to gnaw ȝe salbe fane,

      And runge ȝour tabillis al and burdis, quod sche;

      And sone away in the thik wod gan fle.

      The suddane dreid so stonyst our feris than,

      Thar blude congelit and al togiddir ran;

      Dolf wolx thar spretis, thar hie curage downfell,

      No mair thame lykis assayng sik batell;

      Bot, with offerandis and eik devot prayer,

      Thai wald we suld perdoun and pace requer,

      In cace gif thai war goddessis or fowlis,

      Vengeabill wightis, or ȝit laithly owlis.

      Bot our fader, hevand vp his handis,

      The gret goddis dyd call, and on the sandis

      Hallowis thar mycht with detful reverens:

      O hie goddis, forbyd syk violens,

      Stanch this bost and ondo this myscheif,

      Salve petuus folkis, ameys ȝour wrath and greif,

      Quod he; and tharwith chargit ankyrris haill,

      Do lows the rabandis, and lat down the saill.

      The sowth wyndis stentis furth strait our schete:

      Swiftly we slyde our bullyrand wallys grete,

      And followit furth the sammyn went we have,

      Quhar so the wynd and sterysman ws drave;

      Quhil that, amyd the fludis, gan we se

      The woddy ile Zacynth, with mony tre;

      Dulichium syne, and Same we aspy,

      And Neritos with his rochis hie;

      By craggis and hewys of Itachia,

      That was Laertes realm, we slyde alswa,

      And fast we wary and cursyt oft, but les,

      That land quhilk bred the cruel Vlixes.

      Belyve the mysty toppys of mont Lewcas

      Apperis, quharon Appollois tempil was,

      That feirful is til euery maryner.

      Al wery of our vayage thidder we steir,

      And come onon afor the litil town,

      And of our forschip ankyrris leit we down:

      Endlang the costis syde our navy raid.

      And thus at last brocht to land blyth and glaid,

      Quhar as to have arryvit we not belevit,

      We clenge ws first, les Jupiter war aggrevit;

      Syne on the altaris kendillit sacrifyce,

      And, langgis the channel, eftir the Troiane gys,

      The active gemmys and sportis gart assay.

      Our falloschip excers palestral play,

      As thai war wont at hame, with oyll envnte,

      Nakyt wreslyng and struglyng at nyce punte.

      Joyvs thai war to haue eschapit at hand

      Sa mony citeis of the Grekis land,

      And to haue fled til salfte on this wys

      Throu the myd rowtis of thar ennemys.

      CAP. V

      Eneas arryvis at Epyria,

      And how he spak thar with Andromacha.