126 THE KNIGHTES TALE.
Ther come a kyte, whil that they were so wroth e,
And bar awey the boon bitwixe hem bothe.
And therfore at the kynges court, my brother,
Ech man for himself, there is non other.
Love if the list; for I love and ay schal;
And sothly, leeye brother, this is al.
Here in this prisoun moote we endure,
And everych of us take his aventure.'
Gret was the stryf and long bytwixe hem tweye,
If that I hadde leyser for to seye ;
But to theflfect.—It happede on a day,
(To telle itj/ow as schortly as I may)
A worthy duk that highte Perotheus,
That felawe was unto duk Theseus
Syn thilke day that they were children lyte,
Was come to Athenes, his felawe to visite,
And for to pleye, as he was wont to do,
For in this world he lovede no man so :
And he lovede him as tendrely agayn.
So wel they lovede, as olde bookes sayn,
That when that oon was deed, sothly to telle,
His felawe wente and soughte him doun in helle ;
But of that story lyst me nought to write.
Duk Perotheus lovede wel Arcite,
And hadde him knowe at Thebes j/eer by^eer;
And finally at requeste and prayer
Of Perotheus, withouten any ransoun
Duk Theseus him leet out of prisoun,
Frely to gon, wher that him luste overal,
In such a gyse, as I you telle schal.
This was the forward, playnly for tendite,
Betwixe Theseus and him Arcite:
That if so were, that Arcite were yfounde
Evere in his lyf, by daye or night, o stound
In eny centre of this Theseus,
And he were caught, it was acorded thus,
That with a swerd he scholde lese his heed;