74 The pillars of Hercules and the uttermost islands.

74 The pillars of Hercules and the uttermost islands.

aboute, & quelles so many men, & soo many ilke dedis dooes
sen thou wate wete that thou sall dye.' 'For sothe,' quoth he, 'the
cause whi I do it es of the provydence of godd. For hys
mynystre I am, doand the commandement of hym. See wate
wele that the see es note trubbled of hym self. Bot when the
wynde entres in-till hym, than it stirees hym & trules hym.
I walde hafe ristedd and lefte all werre. Bot thare es another
spryryte & suffres it note be in reste.' And when Alexander
hadde said thir wordes he lefte tham & wne ttiff another
cuntree.

Another day, he come with his Oste till a place wharee twa
ymages ware, the whilke Ercules gart make & sett in that place.
And the tane of tham was of fyne golde and the toper of fyne
Silvere, & the lenthe of aythir of tham was twa cubettis.
When Alexaner saw thir ymages, he gert perche tham for
to witt, whether that ware holle or massy. And he fand
that thay were a party holle. And he garte stoppe te hole
agayne and putt in tham a thowsande nobles, & fyve hundreth.
And fra theine he removed is Oste, and entrede in-till
a wildirnesse calde & myrk, so that that myghte unnesthes an
knawe another or see another. And fra thythird that went seven
daye iournee and entred in-till a wildirnesse, and come till
a grete revere. And bi-yonde that rivere that saw wonder faire
& wele vesaged women cledd in foule clethyng & horrible; and
that hadd in thaire handes wapne made all of silvere, bicause
thay hadd nother Iren ne stele. And that rade one horse. And
men saw that nane amonges tham. And wen the Oste walde
have passede over this ryvere, that myte note be cause it was
rite brade and full of dragones and other monstres.

Fra, thethin thay went aboute towards the lefte party of
Inde and come till a dry Marras full of gret redes. And as
thay passed thurgh tat Marras, be-lyve thare come owte of the
redes a beste lyke an ypotayne, whase breste was lyke to the
cocadrille, and his bakke lyk a sawe, and his tethe wonder
grete, & als scharpe as a suerde; bot in his gangyng he was