"Therefore with me ye may take up your in [tent; *For this fame night." The Knight was well conSo with that godly father to his home they went.
Then choofing out few words most horrible,
(Let Done them read) thereof did verses frame,
With which, and other spelles like terrible,
He bad awake blacke Plutoe's griefly dame;
And curfed Heaven, and spake reproachful shame
Of higheft God, the Lord of life and light.
A bold bad man, that dar'd to call by name
Gat Gorgon, prínce of darkness and dead night,
At which Cocytus quakes, and Styx is put to flight.
And forth he cald, out of deepe darknes dredd,
Legions of fprights, the which, like litle flyes,
Flutting about his ever damned hedd,
Awaite, whereto their service he applyes,
To aide his friendes, or fray his enimies:
Of those he chofe out two, the falfest twoo,
And fittest for to forge true-feeming lyes;
The one of them he gave ameffage too,
The other by himself taide other worke to doo.
He making speedy way through fperfed ayre,
And through the world of waters wide and deepe,
To Morpheus' houfe doth haftily repaire.
Amid the bowels of the earth full ftcepe,
And low, where dawning day doth never peepe,
His dwelling is, there Tethys his wet, bed
Doth ever wash, and Cynthia ftill doth steepe,
In filver deaw, his ever-drouping hed,
Whiles fad Night over him her mantle black
doth fpred.
Whofe double gates he findeth locked faft,
The one faire fram'd of burnifht yvory,
The other all with filver overcaft;
And wakeful dogges before them farre doe lye,
Watching to banish Care their enimy,
Who oft is wont to trouble gentle fleepe.
By them the fprite doth paffe in quietly,
And unto Morpheus comes, whom drowned deepes
In drowfie fit he findes; of nothing he takes keepe.
And more to lulle him in his lumber foft,
A trickling ftreame from high rock tumbling
downe,
And ever-drizling raine upon the loft,
Mixt with a murmuring winde, n.uch like the fowne
Of fwarming bees, did caft him in a fwownc.
No other noyfe, nor peoples woublous cryes,
As ftill are wont t'annoy the walled towne,
Might there be heard; but carelefs Quiet lyes,
Wrapt in eternal filence farre from en.myes.
The meffenger approching to him fpake,
But his waite wordes retournd to him in vaine;
So found he flept, that nought mought him awake.
Then rudely he him thruft, and pufnt with paine,
Whereat he gan to freth; but he againe
Shocke him fo hard, that forced him to fpeake.
As one then in a dreame, whofe dryer braine
Is toft with troubled fights and fancies weake,
He mumbled foft, but would not all his filence breake.
The fprire then gan more boldly him to wake,
And threatened unto him the dreaded name Of Hecate; whereat he gan to quake, And lifting up his lompith head, with blame Half angrie, afked him, for what he came ? "Hether," quoth he, "me Archimago fent, "He that the ftubborne fprites can wifely tame, "He bids thee to him fend for his intent "A fit falfe Dreame, that can delude the fleeper, " fent "
The god obayde; and calling forth ftraight way
A diverfe dreame out of his prifon darke,
Delivered it to him, and downe did lay
His heavie head, de void of careful carke,
Whofe fences all were ftraight benumbd and
ftarke.
He backe returning by the yvorie dore,
Remounted up as light as chearefull larke,
And on his little winges the Dreame he bore
In haft unto his lorde, where he him left aføre ;
Who all this while, with charmes and hidden artes,
Had made a lady of that other spright,
And fram'd of liquid ayre her tender partes,
So lively, and fo like in all mens fight,
That weaker fence it could have ravisht quight:
The makers felfe, for all his wondrous witt,
Was nigh beguiled with fo goodly fight.
Her all in white he clad, and over it
Caft a black ftole, moft like to feeme for Una fit.
Now when that ydle Dreame was to him brought,
Unto that elfin knight he bad him fly,
Where he flept foundly, void of evil thought,
And with falfe fhewes abufe his fantasy,
In fort as he him fchooled privily;
And that new creature, borne without her dew,
Full of the maker's guyle, with ufage fly
He taught to imitate that lady trew,
Fie fayde his hand, and gan himselfe advise
To prove his fenfe, and tempt her feigned truth.
Wringing her hande in wemens pitteous wife,
Tho' can the weepe, to stirre up gentle ruth
Both for her noble blood, and for her tender youth,
And fayd, "Ah! Sir, my liege lord, and my love, "Shall I accufe the hidden cruel fate, "And mightie causes wrought in heaven above, "Or the blind god, that doth me thus amate, "For hoped love to winne me certaine hate? "Yet this perforce he bids me do or die. "Die is my dew; yet rew my wretched state "You, whom my hard avenging deftinie "Hath made judge of my life or death indifferently
"Your owne deare fake forft me at first to leave "My father's kingdom," there fhe flopt with teares Her swollen hart her speech feemd to bereave:
Whofe femblance fhe did carie under feigned hew. And then againe begun, "My weaker yeares,
By this the northerne wagoner had fet
His fevenfold teme behind the stedfast starre,
That was in ocean waves yet never wet,
But firme is fixt, and fendeth light from farre
To all that in the wide deepe wandring arre:
And chearfull chaunticlere with his note fhrill
Had warned once that Phoebus' fiery carre
In hat was climbing up the eafterne hill,
Forthwith he runnes with feigned faithfull haft
Unto his gueft, who after troublous fights
And dreams gan now to take more found repaft;
Whom fuddenly he wakes with fearful frights,
As one aghaft with feends or damned iprights,
And to him calls, "Rife, rife, unhappy fwaine,
"That here wex old in fleepe, whiles wicked wights
"Have knit themselves in Venus' fhameful chaine:
Full envious that Night fo long his roome did fill." Come fee where your falfe lady doth her honor
All in amaze he suddenly upftart
With fword in hand, and with the old man went;
Who foone him brought into a secret part,
Where that falfe couple were full closely ment
In wanton luft and leud embracement:
Which when he saw, he burnt with gealous fire;
The eie of Reason was with rage yblent,
And would have flaine them in his furious ire,
But hardly was reftreined of that aged fire.
Retourning to his bed in torment great,
And bitter anguish of his guilty fight,
He could not reft, but did his ftout heart cat,
And waft his inward gall with deepe defpight,
Yrkefome of life, and too long lingring night.
At laft faire Hefperus in highest skie
(light;
Had spent his lampc. and brought forth dawning
Then up he rofe, and clad him hastily; (do fly.
The dwarfe him brought his fteed; fo both away
"At last it chaunced this proud Sarazin
"To meete me wandring, who perforce me led
"With him away; but yet could never win
"The fort that ladies hold in foveraigne dread.
"There lies he now with foule dishonor dead,
"Who, whiles he livde, was called proud Sansfoy,
"The eldest of three brethren; all three bred
"Of one bad fire, whofe youngest is Sanfioy,
"And twixt them both was borne the bloudy
"bold Sanfloy.
"In this fad plight, friendleffe, unfortunate,
"Now miferable 1 Fideffa dwell,
"Craving of you in pitty of my ftate,
"To doe none ill, if please ye not doe well."
He in great paffion all this while did dwell,
More bufying his quicke eies her face to view,
Then his duli cares to heare what fhe did tell;
And faid, “ Faire Lady: hart of flint would rew
"The undeferved woes and forrowes which ye
" fhew."
Sher turning backe, with ruefull countenaunce
Cride, “Mercy, mercy, Sir, vouchsafe to show
"On filly dame, fubiect to hard mifchaunce,
And to your mighty will." Her humbleffe low,"
In fo rich weedes and feeming glorious fhow,
Did much emmove his ftout heroicke heart,
And faid, "Dear dame, your fuddein overthrow
Much rueth me; but now put feare apart,
And tel both who ye be, and who that tooke
"your part."
Melting in teares, then gan fhe thus lament;
"The wretched woman, whom unhappy howre
*Hath now made thrall to your commande-
"ment,
"Before that angry heavens lift to lowre,
" And Fortune faife beftraide me to your powṛt,
Was (O what now availeth that I was!) "Borne the fole daughter of an emperour; "He that the wide Weft under his rule has, "And high hath fet his throne where Tiberis doth pas.
"Henceforth in fafe affurance may ye reft,
Having both found a new friend you to aid,
And loft an old foe that did you moleft:
"Better new friend then an old foe is faid."
With chaunge of chear the feeming-fimple maid
Let fall her eien, as fhamefaft, to the earth,
And yielding foft, in that the nought gain-said.
So forth they rode, he feining feenly merth,
And the coy lookes. So dainty, they fay, maketh
Long time they thus together traveiled;
Til weary of their way, they came at last
Where grew too goodly trees, that faire did spred
Their armes abroad, with gray moffe overcaft,
And their greene leaves trembling with every blast,
Made a calme fhadowe far in compasse round:
The fearefull fhepheard, often there aghaft,
Under them never fat, ne wont there found
His mery eaten pipe, but fhund th' unlucky ground.
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