20 Which suddeine horrour and confused cry
Whenas their capteine heard, in haste he yode
The cause to weet, and fault to remedy:
Upon a tygre swift and fierce he rode,

That as the winde ran underneath his lode,
Whiles his long legs nigh raught unto the ground;
Full large he was of limbe, and shoulders brode,
But of such subtile substance and unsound,
That like a ghost he seem'd whose grave-clothes were un-

21 And in his hand a bended bow was seene,
And many arrowes under his right side,
All deadly daungerous, all cruell keene,
Headed with flint, and feathers bloudie dide;

Such as the Indians in their quivers hide:

Those could he well direct and streight as line,

[bound:

And bid them strike the marke, which he had eyde; Ne was there salve, ne was there medicine,

That mote recure their woundes; so inly they did tine.

22 As pale and wan as ashes was his looke,

His bodie leane and meagre as a rake,

And skin all withered like a dryed rooke,
Thereto as cold and drery as a snake,
That seem'd to tremble evermore, and quake:
All in a canvas thin he was bedight,
And girded with a belt of twisted brake:
Upon his head he wore an helmet light,

Made of a dead mans skull, that seemd a ghastly sight.

23 Maleger was his name, and after him

There follow'd fast at hand two wicked hags, With hoarie lockes all loose, and visage grim; Their feet unshod, their bodies wrapt in rags, And both as swift on foot as chased stags; And yet the one her other legge had lame, Which with a staffe all full of litle snags She did support, and Impotence her name: But th' other was Impatience, arm'd with raging flame.

24 Soone as the carle from farre the Prince espyde
Glistring in armes, and warlike ornament,
His beast he felly prict on either syde,
And his mischievous bow full readie bent,
With which at him a cruell shaft he sent:
But he was warie, and it warded well
Upon his shield, that it no further went,
But to the ground the idle quarrell fell:
Then he another and another did expell.

25 Which to prevent, the Prince his mortall speare
Soone to him raught, and fierce at him did ride,
To be avenged of that shot whyleare:

But he was not so hardie to abide

That bitter stownd, but turning quicke aside
His light-foot beast, fled fast away for feare:
Whom to pursue, the Infant after hide

So fast as his good courser could him beare:
But labour lost it was to weene approch him neare.

26. For as the winged wind his tigre fled,

That vew of eye could scarse him overtake,
Ne scarse his feet on ground were seene to tred;
Through hils and dales he speedie way did make,
Ne hedge ne ditch his readie passage brake,
And in his flight the villein turn'd his face,
(As wonts the Tartar by the Caspian lake,
When as the Russian him in fight does chace,)
Unto his tygres taile, and shot at him apace.

27 Apace he shot, and yet he fled apace,

Still as the greedy knight nigh to him drew;
And oftentimes he would relent his pace,
That him his foe more fiercely should pursew:
Who when his uncouth manner he did vew,
He gan avize to follow him no more,
But keepe his standing, and his shaftes eschew,
Until he quite had spent his perlous store,

And then assayle him fresh, ere he could shift for more.

28 But that lame hag, still as abroad he strew
His wicked arrowes, gathered them againe,
And to him brought, fresh battell to renew;
Which he espying, cast her to restraine
From yielding succour to that cursed swaine,
And her attaching thought her hands to tye;
But soone as him dismounted on the plaine
That other hag did farre away espy
Binding her sister, she to him ran hastily;

29 And catching hold of him, as downe he lent,
Him backwarde overthrew, and downe him stayd
With their rude hands and griesly graplement;
Till that the villein, comming to their ayd,
Upon him fell, and lode upon him layd:
Full litle wanted, but he had him slaine,
And of the battell balefull end had made,
Had not his gentle squire beheld his paine,
And commen to his reskew, ere his bitter bane.

30 So greatest and most glorious thing on ground
May often need the helpe of weaker hand;
So feeble is mans state, and life unsound,
That in assurance it may never stand,
Till it dissolved be from earthly band.

Proofe be thou, Prince, the prowest man alive,
And noblest borne of all in Briton land;

Yet thee fierce fortune did so nearely drive,

That had not grace thee blest, thou shouldest not survive.

31 The squire arriving, fiercely in his armes

Snatcht first the one, and then the other jade,
His chiefest lets and authors of his harmes,
And them perforce withheld with threatned blade,
Least that his lord they should behind invade;
The whiles the Prince prickt with reprochfull shame,
As one awakt out of long slombring shade,
Reviving thought of glorie and of fame,

United all his powres to purge himselfe from blame.

32 Like as a fire, the which in hollow cave
Hath long bene underkept, and downe supprest,
With murmurous disdaine doth inly rave,
And grudge, in so streight prison to be prest,
At last breakes forth with furious unrest,
And strives to mount unto his native seat;
All that did earst it hinder and molest,

It now devoures with flames and scorching heat,
And carries into smoake with rage and horror great.

33 So mightily the Briton prince him rouzd

Out of his holde, and broke his caitive bands;
And as a beare, whom angry curres have touzd,
Having off-shakt them and escapt their hands,
Becomes more fell, and all that him withstands
Treads down and overthrowes. Now had the carle

Alighted from his tigre, and his hands
Discharged of his bow and deadly quar❜le,
To seize upon his foe flat lying on the marle.

34 Which now him turnd to disavantage deare; For neither can he fly, nor other harme,

But trust unto his strength and manhood meare,
Sith now he is farre from his monstrous swarme,
And of his weapons did himselfe disarme.
The knight yet wrothfull for his late disgrace,
Fiercely advaunst his valorous right arme,
And him so sore smote with his yron mace,
That groveling to the ground he fell, and fild his place.

35 Wel weened he that field was then his owne,
And all his labour brought to happie end;
When suddein up the villein overthrowne
Out of his swowne arose, fresh to contend,
And gan himselfe to second battell bend,
As hurt he had not bene. Thereby there lay
An huge great stone, which stood upon one end,
And had not bene removed many a day:

Some land-marke seem'd to be, or signe of sundry way:

36 The same he snatcht, and with exceeding sway
Threw at his foe, who was right well aware
To shunne the engine of his meant decay;
It booted not to thinke that throw to beare,
But ground he gave, and lightly leapt areare;
Eft fierce returning, as a faulcon faire,
That once hath failed of her souse full neare,
Remounts againe into the open aire,
And unto better fortune doth herselfe prepaire :

37 So brave returning, with his brandisht blade,
He to the carle himselfe againe addrest,
And strooke at him so sternely, that he made
An open passage through his riven brest,
That halfe the steele behind his backe did rest;
Which drawing backe, he looked evermore
When the hart bloud should gush out of his chest,
Or his dead corse should fall upon the flore;
But his dead corse upon the flore fell nathemore:

38 Ne drop of bloud appeared shed to bee,

All were the wounde so wide and wonderous
That through his carcasse one might plainely see.
Halfe in amaze with horror hideous,

And halfe in rage to be deluded thus,

Againe through both the sides he strooke him quight,
That made his spright to grone full piteous;
Yet nathemore forth fled his groning spright,
But freshly as at first, prepard himselfe to fight.

39 Thereat he smitten was with great affright,
And trembling terror did his hart apall;
Ne wist he what to thinke of that same sight,
Ne what to say, ne what to doe at all:
He doubted least it were some magicall
Illusion, that did beguile his sense,
Or wandring ghost that wanted funerall,
Or aerie spirit under false pretence,

Or hellish feend raysd up through divelish science.