A feast he made unto his lordës all Upon a time, and made them blithë be, And then his officérës gan he call; “Go, bringë forth the vessels,” saidë he, “Which that my father in his prosperity Out of the temple of Jerusalem reft, And to our highë goddës thankë we Of honour, that our elders 4084 with us left.”

His wife, his lordës, and his concubines Aye drankë, while their appetites did last, Out of these noble vessels sundry wines. And on a wall this king his eyen cast, And saw an hand, armless, that wrote full fast; For fear of which he quaked, and sighed sore. This hand, that Balthasar so sore aghast, 4085 Wrote Mane, tekel, phares , and no more.