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

;
232 THE STORY OF ALEXANDER.
Both ask t)ie
judge to take it
himself.
bat he refuses.
He finds that one
of them has a son,
and the other a
daughter; and
says, they must
be married, and
BO divide the
treasure.
Alexander is
astonished,
Baying, tliatmany
judges would have
done otherwise.
The judge makes
a reply,
at which Alexander
marvels
Btill more.
And fen Jjai both required ]>& luge that he wold take
it to hym-self" ; to qwom he answerd & sayd ;
" sithen 92
it is so that ye say that [ye] haue no right herto, ne he
hath no right to whom J)e herytage hath longed and
yet hylongeth whar J>e tresour was founden, how shuld
I haue ony right perto, that am hot a straunger in that 96
caas, And neue* afore herd speke ferof 1 And ye wold
excuse yow Jje/'of* & yeue me \>e charge of pe tresoure
which is euyii done." Thenne he askyd of )3aim pat
hed founde fe tresour, whether thay had ony children 100
and pe tone answerd & sayd, he hed a son : and [he]
asked pat other in like wyse, & he sayd, he hed a
doghter. And fen pe luge comaundyd to make a
maryage bitwene faim two. And at fai shuld haue pe 104
tresour by pat meane. And when Alexander herd Jiis
lugement,^ he hed gret mervayle therof, and sayd Jjus
to pe luge: "I trowe per is nott in all pe world so
rightwise a luge as pou art." And the luge, pat 108
knew hym notf, sayd' & asked of hym whether ony
luge in hys cuntree wold haue done otherwyse :
" ye,
certanly," sayd alexander, "in many landez."
Thenne
Jje luge, hauyng grete mervayH peroi, asked of hym 112
whether it rayned and pe sone dyd shyne in tho
landez; as he wold haue say (J, that* it was mervayH
fat god shuld send ony light^ or rayne or other goode
thyngez to them that do nott right & trew lugemenf. 116
And therfore Alexander had gretter meruayH than byfore,
And said, pev was bott few suche people vpon
erth as fai were in fat land.
Alexander comes
to a city where all
And as sAexander went owt of fat lan^, he passyd 120
the houses are of thurgh a cite in fe which all fe housez of fat Cyte
equal height, and
before every were of one hight, & byfore f e dure of euery hous was
house-door there
is a grave. a grete pitte or graue ; in whiche cite per was no luge,
wherof he had gret me-vayll ; and asked of fe inhabit- 124
'
The latter syllable (ment) is written in the middle of the
lower margin of the leaf. Fol. 47 begins with he hed.