The noblest of the Greekës that there were Upon their shoulders carried the bier, With slackë pace, and eyen red and wet, Throughout the city, by the master street, That spread was all with black, and wondrous high Right of the same is all the street y-wrie. Upon the right hand went old Egeus, And on the other side Duke Theseus, With vessels in their hand of gold full fine, All full of honey, milk, and blood, and wine; Eke Palamon, with a great company; And after that came woful Emily, With fire in hand, as was that time the guise, To do th’ office of funeral servíce.
High labour, and full great appareling Was at the service, and the pyre-making, That with its greenë top the heaven raught, And twenty fathom broad its armës straught: This is to say, the boughës were so broad. Of straw first there was laid many a load. But how the pyre was maked up on height, And eke the namës how the treës hight, As oak, fir, birch, asp, alder, holm, poplére, Will’w, elm, plane, ash, box, chestnut, lind, laurére, Maple, thorn, beech, hazel, yew, whipul tree, How they were fell’d, shall not be told for me; Nor how the goddës rannen up and down Disinherited of their habitatioún, In which they wonned had in rest and peace, Nymphës, Faunës, and Hamadryadës; Nor how the beastës and the birdës all Fledden for fearë, when the wood gan fall; Nor how the ground aghast was of the light, That was not wont to see the sunnë bright; Nor how the fire was couched first with stre, And then with dry stickës cloven in three, And then with greenë wood and spicery, And