Whofe life did lie in her leaft eye-lids fall; Of which fhe vow'd with many a curfed threat, That the therefore would him ere long forftall. Nathleffe when calmed was her furious heat, She chang'd that threatfull mood, & mildly gan entreat.
What now is left Clarinda? what remaines,
That we may compaffe this our enterprize?
Great shame to lose fo long employed paines,
And greater fhame t'abide fo great misprize,
With which he dares our offers thus defpize.
Yet that his guilt the greater may appeare,
And more my gratious mercie by this wize,
I will a while with his firft folly beare,
Till thou haue tride againe, & tempted him more neare.
Say, and do all, that may thereto preuaile;
Leaue nought vnpromist, that may him perfwade;
Life, freedome, grace, and gifts of great auaile, 441
With which the Gods themfelues are mylder made:
Thereto adde art, euen womens witty trade,
The art of mightie words, that men can charme;
With which in cafe thou canst him not inuade,
Let him feele hardneffe of thy heauie arme:
Who will not ftoupe with good, fhall be made ftoupe with harme.
Some of his diet doe from him withdraw;
For I him find to be too proudly fed.
Giue him more labour, and with ftreighter law, 450 That he with worke may be forwcaried.
Let him lodge hard, and lie in strawen bed,
That may pull downe the courage of his pride;
And lay vpon him, for his greater dread,
Cold yron chaines, with which let him be tide;
And let, what euer he defires, be him denide.
When thou haft all this doen, then bring me newes
Of his demeane: thenceforth not like a louer,
But like a rebell ftout I will him vse.
For I refolue this fiege not to giue ouer,
Till I the conquest of my will recouer.
So fhe departed, full of griefe and sdaine,
Which inly did to great impatience moue her.
But the false mayden fhortly turn'd againe
Vnto the prison, where her hart did thrall remaine.
There all her fubtill nets fhe did vnfold,
And all the engins of her wit display ;
In which she meant him wareleffe to enfold,
And of his innocence to make her pray. /
So cunningly she wrought her crafts assay,
That both her Ladie, and her felfe withall,
And eke the knight attonce fhe did betray:
But most the knight, whom she with guilefull call
Did caft for to allure, into her trap to fall.
As a bad Nurse, which fayning to receiue
In her owne mouth the food, ment for her chyld,
Withholdes it to her felfe, and doeth deceiue
The infant, fo for want of nourture spoyld:
Euen fo Clarinda her owne Dame beguyld,
And turn'd the truft, which was in her affyde, 480To feeding of her priuate fire, which boyld
Her inward breft, and in her entrayles fryde,
The more that the it fought to couer and to hyde.
For comming to this knight, fhe purpose fayned,
How earneft fuit fhe earft for him had made
Vnto her Queene, his freedome to haue gayned;
But by no meanes could her thereto perswade:
But that in ftead thereof, fhe fternely bade
His miferie to be augmented more,
And many yron bands on him to lade.
All which nathleffe fhe for his loue forbore: So praying him t'accept her feruice euermore.
And more then that, fhe promist that she would,
In case she might finde fauour in his eye,
Deuize how to enlarge him out of hould.
The Fayrie glad to gaine his libertie,
Can yeeld great thankes for such her curtesie,
And with faire words, fit for the time and place,
To feede the humour of her maladie ;
Promift, if she would free him from that cafe,
He wold by all good means he might, deferue such
So / daily he faire semblant did her shew,
Yet neuer meant he in his noble mind,
To his owne absent loue to be vntrew:
Ne euer did deceiptfull Clarin find
In her false hart, his bondage to vnbind;
But rather how fhe mote him faster tye.
Therefore vnto her mistresse most vnkind
She daily told, her loue he did defye,
And him she told, her Dame his freedome did denye.
Yet thus much friendship fhe to him did fhow,
That his scarfe diet fomewhat was amended,
And his worke leffened, that his loue mote grow:
Yet to her Dame him ftill fhe difcommended,
That the with him mote be the more offended.
Thus he long while in thraldome there remayned,
Of both beloued well, but litle frended;
Vntill his owne true loue his freedome gayned, Which in an other Canto will be beft contayned. / 519
Talus brings newes to Britomart
of Artegals mishap,
She goes to feeke him, Dolon meetes
who feekes her to entrap.
Ome men, I wote, will deeme in Artegall
Great weaknesse, and report of him much ill,
For yeelding fo himselfe a wretched thrall,
To th'infolent commaund of womens will;
That all his former praise doth fowly spill.
But he the man, that say or doe fo dare,
Be well aduiz'd, that he ftand ftedfaft ftill:
For neuer yet was wight fo well aware,
But he at first or laft was trapt in womens snare.
Yet in the ftreightneffe of that captiue flate,
This gentle knight himselfe so well behaued,
That notwithstanding all the subtill bait,
With which those Amazons his loue ftill craued,
To his owne loue his loialtie he faued:
Whose character in th'Adamantine mould
Of his true hart fo firmely was engraued,
That no new loues impreffion euer could
Bereaue it thence: fuch blot his honour blemish should.
Yet his owne loue, the noble Britomart,
Scarfe fo conceiued in her iealous thought,
What time fad tydings of his balefull smart
In womans bondage, Talus to her brought;
Brought in vntimely houre, ere it was fought.
For after that the vtmost date, afsynde
For his returne, she waited had for nought,
She gan to cast in her misdoubtfull mynde
A thousand feares, that loue-ficke fancies faine to fynde.
Sometime she feared, leaft fome hard mishap,
Had him misfalne in his aduenturous queft;
Sometime leaft his falfe foe did him entrap
In traytrous traine, or had vnwares oppreft :
But most she did her troubled mynd moleft,
And fecretly afflict with iealous feare,
Least some new loue had him from her poffest;
Yet loth fhe was, fince the no ill did heare,
To thinke of him fo ill yet could fhe not forbeare.
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