Myne olde dere enmy, my froward master

Myne olde dere enmy, my froward master,
Afore that Quene, I caused to be acited;
Whiche holdeth the divine parte of nature :
That lyke as goolde, in fyre he mought be tryed.
Changed with dolour, theare I me presented
With horrible feare, as one that greatlye dreadith
A wrongfull death, and justice alwaye seekethe.
And thus I sayde : ' once my lefte foote Madame,
When I was yonge I sett within his reigne ;
Whearbye other than fierlye burninge flame,
I never felt but many a greevous payne ;
Tourment I suffred, angre, and disdayne,
That myne oppressed patience was past.
And I myne owne life hated at the last.
Thus hytherto have I my time passed
In payne and smarte. What wayes proffitable :
How many pleasant dayes have me escaped;
In serving this false Iyer so deceavable?
What witt have wordes so pressed and forceable,
That may contayne my great myshappynesse,
And just complayntes of his ungentlenesse ?
O ! small hony, much aloes, and gall :
In bitternes have my blynde lyfe taisted
His fals swetenes, that torneth as a ball,
With the amourous dawnce have made me traced ;
And where I had my thought, and mynde ataced,
He toke me from rest and set me in error.
He hath made me regarde God muche lesse then I ought
And to my self to take right litle heede.
And, for a Woman, have I set at nought
All othr thoughtes : in this onely to spede ;
And he was onely counceillor of this dede ;
Alwayes whetting my youthely desyer
On the cruell whetstone tempered with fier.
But alas where now had I ever wit
Or els any othr gift geven me of nature ?
That souner shall chaunge my weryed sprite,
Then the obstinate will that is my rueler?
So robbed my libertie with displeasure
This wicked traytor, whom I thus accuse.
That bitter liffe have torned me in pleasaunt use.
He hath chased me thorough dyvers regions;
Thorough desert wodes, and sherp high mountaignes.
Thorough froward people and straite pressions :
Thorough rocky sees : over hilles and playnes :
With wery travaill, and labourous paynes :
Alwayes in trouble and in tediousnes,
In all errour and daungerous distres.
But nother he nor she my tothr ffoo,
For all my flyght did ever me forsake ;
That though tymely deth hath ben to sloo,
That as yet it hath me not overtake ;
The hevynly goodenes of pitie do it slake.
And note this, his cruell extreme tyranny,
That fedeth hym with my care and mysery.
Syns I was his : owre rested I never.
Nor loke for to do; and eke the waky nyghtes.
The bannysshed slepe, may no wyse recover.
By decepte, and by force, over my sprites.
He is rueler; and syns there never bell strikes
Where I ame, that I here not, my playntes to renewe,
And he himself he knoweth that I say is true.
Ffor never wormes have an old stock eaten.
As he my hert, wher he is alwaye resident;
And doeth the same with deth daely thretyn ;
Thens come the teres, and the bitter torment,
The sighes, the wordes, and eke the languisshement,
That annoye boeth me and peradeventure othr ;
Judge thou that knowest thone and thothr.
Myn adversary, with grevous reprouff.
Thus he began : " Here, Lady, thothr part :
That the plain trueth from which he draweth alowff,
This unkynd man shall shew, ere that I part,
In yonge age I toke him from that art
That selleth wordes, and maketh a clattering knyght.
And of my welth I gave him the delight.
No we, shameth he not on me for to complain.
That held him evermore in pleasaunt game
From his desire, that myght have been his payne;
Yet onely thereby I broght him to some frame :
Which, as wretchednes, he doth greately blame ;
And towerd honor I quickened his wit :
Where els, as a daskard, he might have sitt.
He knoweth : that Atrides, that made Troye frete :
And Hannyball, to Rome so trobelous :
Whome Homere honoured, Achilles that grete :
And the Affricane Scipion the famous :
And many other, by much vertue glorious
Whose fame and honor did bryng them above,
I did let fall, in base dishonest love.
And unto him, though he no dele worthy ware,
I chose right the best of many a mylion :
That under the mone was never her pere
Of wisdome, womanhede and discretion;
And of my grace I gave her suche a fajon,
And eke suche a way I taught her for to teche
That never base thought his hert myght have reche.
Evermore thus to content his maistres,
That was his onely frame of honestie.
I stened him still towerd gentilnes,
And caused him to regard fidelitie ;
Patiens I taught him in adversite ;
Suche vertues he lerned in my great schole
Whereof he repenteth, the ignoraunt ffole.
These were the deceples and the bitter gall
That I have used ; the torment and the anger ;
Sweter then for to in joye eny othr in all.
Of right goode seede ill fruyte I gather ;
And so hath he, that thunkynd doeth fordier.
I norisshe a serpent under my wyng,
And of his nature now gynneth he to styng.
And for to tell at last my great servise :
That by my means in no maner of wyse.
Never vile pleasur him hath overthrowen ;
Where in his dede, shame hath him alwaies ynawen,
Dowbting reporte, that should com to her eare;
Whome now he accuseth he wounted to fere,
What soever he hath of any honest custume
Of her and me, that holdeth he every wit :
But lo, there was never nyghtely fantorme
So ferr in errour, as he is from his wit :
To plain on us ; He stryveth with the bit
Which may ruell him, and do him pleasur and payn
And in oon oure make all his grief remayn.
But oon thing there is above all othr :
I gave him winges, wherwith for to flye
To honor and fame : and if he would farther
Then mortall thinges, above the starry sky;
Considering the pleasur that an lye
Myght geve in erthe, by reason of his love.
What shuld that be that lasteth still above ?
And he the same himself hath sayed, or this :
But now forgotten is boeth that, and I,
That gave her him, his onely welth and blisse."
And at this worde, with dedly shright and cry :
" Thou gave her me," qwod I, " but by and by "
Thou toke her straight from me : that wo worth thee !
" Not I " quoth he; " but price, that is well worth.
At last : boeth eche for himself concluded :
I, trembling : but he, with small reverence :
" Lo thus as we have no we eche othr accused,
" Dere lady, we wayt onely thy sentence."
She smyling : " After this said audience
" It liketh me," quod she, " to have herd your question
" But lenger tyme doeth aske resolution."