The wars of Alexander: an alliterative romance translated chiefly ...

280 THE STORY OF ALEXANDER,
Hi8 people
applaud him.
" We beseech
thee to reign
over us,"
And whan hys people had herd hys reasons abouesaid,
& knowen his grete discrecion, vvitte, & vnderstondyng,
thei wer gretly amerveld, and answered to 24
hym fus": ""We haue herd & vnderstand thy grete
reasons, And haue resseyued & resseyue thy good
CounceH, and theirfor we will & beseche the that
J)ou
regno vppon vs & haue Jje lordship vppon vs. Duryng 28
\)i lyf we hope J»er is none that base so wele dese-uyd
He thanks them
for their prayers
on his behalf.
Darius, king of
Persia, demands
tribute from him,
which he refuses.
He goes to visit
them.
He finds them to
be very poor.
to be our kyng^." And J)us fai chese hym to be fair
king*, and Coroned hym, & yaff hym fair blessyngez,
And prayd to god that he wold blesse & maynt[en]e ^ 32
hym. To whom he said :
" I herd fe prayer that 30
haUe made for me, besechyng fat he wol stedfast fe
loue of me in your hertes & coragez, And fat by no
maner of the delectacion he suffre me do fat thyng 36
fat is ayen your profectez ne to my disworship."
And sone after he send letters to all hys princez &
good townez of all hys Eoyaume, And when [he] hei
sent hys letters, one Dary, king of perce & of medy, 40
sent to alexandre for tribute like as he bed of hys
fadre. And he sent hym word at f e henne fat layde
fe gret egge was deyde. And after fis alexandre
made grette conquestes. And conquerd Inde, he went to 44
The Brahmans
of India ask
a cuntree called Bragman ; the which when f
ai wist of
Alexander not to hys Comyng*, fai sent mony wise men to hym, whiche
war against them
salute hym & sayd "
: Sir alexaiider, fou hast no cause •
to werre vppon us, ne to euill willyng ; For we be^ 48
both meke & poure, & we haue no-fing bott sapience,
the whiche if you will haue, pray god fat he wyll
gyff hir the ; for by batayH fou shalt neuer hafe hir."
And when alexandei' herd hym say so, he made all hys 52
oste to tarye, & with few of hys knyghtez went within
fe sayd cuntree, for to enquere further of fe trouth.
And when he entred within f e same ground he found
mony poore folkez, womei & chyldre all naked, gad- 56
'
MS. mavnte. ' MS. be ben.