icious song
of dyverse briddes, and the faire damyseles, and the faire welles of mylk,
wyn and hony, plentevous rennynge. And he wolde let make dyyerse
Instrumentes of Musick to sownen in an highe Tour, so merily that it was
joye for to here; and no man scholde see the craft thereof: and tho, he
seyde, weren aungeles of God, and that place was paradys, that God had
behighte to his frendes, seyenge, _Dabo vobis terram fluentem lacte et
mel_. And thanne wolde he maken hem to drynken of certeyn drynk, where of
anon thei scholden be dronken. And thanne wolde hem thinken gretter delyt,
than thei hadden before. And than wolde he seye to hem, that zif thei wolde
dyen for him and for his love, that aftir hire dethe, thei scholde come to
his paradys; and thei scholde ben of the age of the damyseles, and thei
scholde pleyen with hem, and zit ben maydenes. And aftir thai, zit scholde
he putten hem in a fayrere paradys, where that thei schold see God of
Nature visibely, in His majestee and in His blisse. And than wolde He
schewe hem His entent, and seye hem, that zif thei wolde go sle suche a
Lord, or suche a man, that was his enemye, or contrarious to his list, that
thei scholde not dred to done it, and for to be slayn therefore hemself:
for aftir hire dethe, he wold putten hem into another paradys, that was an
100 fold fairer than ony of the tothere; and there schode thei dwellen with
the most fairest damyselles that myghte be, and play with hem ever more.
And thus wenten many dyverse lusty bacheleres for to sle grete lords, in
dyverse countrees, that weren his enemyes, and maden hem self to ben slayn,
in hope to have that paradys. And thus often tyme, he was revenged of his
enemyes, be his sotylle disceytes and false cauteles. And whan the worthi
men of the contree hadden perceyved this sotylle falshod of this
Gatholonabes, thei assembled hem with force, and assayleden his castelle,
and slowen him, and destroyden alle the faire places, and alle the
nobletees of that paradys. The place of the welles and of the walles and of
many other thinges, ben zit apertly sene: but the richesse is voyded clene.
And it is not longe gon, sithe that place was destroyed.

Of the Develes Hede in the Valeye perilous; and of the Customs of folk in
dyverse Yles, that ben abouten, in the Lordschipe of Prestre John.

[Sidenote: Chap. XXVIII.] Besyde that Yle of Mistorak, upon the left syde,
nyghe to the ryvere of Phison, is a marveylous thing. There