Know, I am sister of a king,
And in my early years
Was married to a mighty prince,
The fairest of his peers.
With him I sweetly liv'd in love
A twelvemonth and a day:
When, lo! a foul and treacherous priest
Y-wrought our loves' decay.
His seeming goodness won him pow'r;
He had his master's ear:
And long to me and all the world
He did a saint appear.
One day, when we were all alone,
He proffer'd odious love:
The wretch with horror I repuls'd,
And from my presence drove.
He feign'd remorse, and piteous begg'd
His crime I'd not reveal:
Which, for his seeming penitence,
I promis'd to conceal.
With treason, villainy, and wrong,
My goodness he repay'd:
With jealous doubts he fill'd my lord,
And me to woe betray'd.
He hid a slave within my bed,
Then rais'd a bitter cry.
My lord, possess'd with rage, condemn'd
Me, all unheard, to die.
But 'cause I then was great with child,
At length my life he spar'd:
But bade me instant quit the realm,
One trusty knight my guard.
Forth on my journey I depart,
Oppressed with grief and woe:
And tow'rds my brother's distant court,
With breaking heart, I go.
Long time thro' sundry foreign lands
We slowly pace along:
At length, within a forest wild,
I fell in labour strong: