And next to her fate fober Modeftie,
Holding her hand vpon her gentle hart;
And her against fate comely Curtefie,
That vnto euery perfon knew her part;
And her before was feated ouerthwart
Soft Silence, and fubmiffe Obedience,
Both linckt together neuer to difpart,
Both gifts of God not gotten but from thence,
Both girlonds of his Saints against their foes offence.
Thus fate they all around in feemely rate :
And in the midst of them a goodly mayd,
Euen in the lap of V Vomanhood there fate,
The which was all in lilly white arayd, /
With filuer streames amongst the linnen ftray'd;
Like to the Morne, when firft her fhyning face 470
Hath to the gloomy world it felfe bewray'd,
That fame was fayreft Amoret in place,
Shyning with beauties light, and heauenly vertues grace.
Whom foone as I beheld, my hart gan throb,
And wade in doubt, what best were to be donne :
For facrilege me feem'd the Church to rob,
And folly seem'd to leaue the thing vndonne,
Which with fo ftrong attempt I had begonne,
Tho shaking off all doubt and shamefast feare,
Which Ladies loue I heard had neuer wonne
Mongft men of worth, I to her stepped neare,
And by the lilly hand her labour'd vp to reare.
1. 464, 'girlonds'-sic in all: Church suggests 'gardians,' Collier 'guerdons.
Thereat that formoft matrone me did blame,
And sharpe rebuke, for being ouer bold;
Saying it was to Knight vnseemely shame,
Vpon a reclufe Virgin to lay hold,
That vnto Venus feruices was fold.
To whom I thus, Nay but it fitteth beft,
For Cupids man with Venus mayd to hold,
For ill your goddeffe feruices are drest
By virgins, and her facrifices let to rest.
With that my fhield I forth to her did show,
Which all that while I closely had conceld;
On which when Cupid with his killing bow,
And cruell fhafts emblazond fhe beheld,
At fight thereof fhe was with terror queld,
And faid no more: but I which all that while
The pledge of faith, her hand engaged held,
Like warie Hynd within the weedie foyle,
For no intreatie would forgoe fo glorious spoyle.
And/euermore vpon the Goddesse face
Mine eye was fixt, for feare of her offence:
Whom when I faw with amiable grace
To laugh on me, and fauour my pretence,
I was emboldned with more confidence;
And nought for niceneffe nor for enuy fparing,
In prefence of them all forth led her thence:
All looking on, and like aftonisht staring,
Yet to lay hand on her, not one of all them daring.
1. 499, 'warie'--Church and Upton would read 'wearie': 1. 502, for, -accepted: 1. 504, 'on' for 'at' of '96-accepted: 1. 505, ; for,-accepted: 1. 507, : substituted for,.
She often prayd, and often me befought,
Sometime with tender teares to let her goe,
Sometime with witching fmyles: but yet for nought,
That euer fhe to me could say or doe,
Could the her wifhed freedome fro me wooe;
But forth I led her through the Temple gate,
By which I hardly past with much adoe:
But that fame Ladie which me friended late
In entrance, did me also friend in my retrate.
No leffe did Daunger threaten me with dread,
When as he saw me, maugre all his powre,
That glorious fpoyle of beautie with me lead,
Then Cerberus, when Orpheus did recoure
His Leman from the Stygian Princes boure.
But euermore my shield did me defend,
Against the storme of euery dreadfull ftoure:
Thus fafely with my loue I thence did wend.
So ended he his tale, where I this Canto end.
1. 519, capital D-our correction in 'daunger. So too p. 213, ll. 33, 34, in' Horror' and 'Darknesse.
Marinells former wound is heald,
he comes to Proteus hall,
Where Thames doth the Medway wedd,
and feafis the Sea-gods all.
Vt ah for pittie that I haue thus long
Left a fayre Ladie languishing in payne:
Now well away, that I haue doen fuch wrong,
To let faire Florimell in bands remayne,
In bands of loue, and in fad thraldomes chayne; 10
From which vnleffe fome heauenly powre her free
By miracle, not yet appearing playne,
She lenger yet is like captiu'd to bee:
That even to thinke thereof, it inly pitties mee.
Here neede you to remember, how erewhile
Vnlouely Proteus, miffing to his mind
That Virgins loue to win by wit or wile,
Her threw into a dongeon deepe and blind,
And there in chaynes her cruelly did bind,
In hope thereby her to his bent to draw:
For when as neither gifts nor graces kind
Her conftant mind could moue at all he faw,
He thought her to compell by crueltie and awe.
Deepe in the bottome of an huge great rocke
The dongeon was, in which her bound he left,
That neither yron barres, nor brafen locke
Did neede to gard from force, or fecret theft
Of all her louers, which would her haue reft.
For wall'd it was with waues, which rag'd and ror'd
As they the cliffe in peeces would haue cleft;
Besides ten thousand monsters foule abhor'd
Did waite about it, gaping griefly, all begor'd.
And in the midst thereof did Horror dwell,
And Darkenesse dredd, that neuer viewed day,
Like to the balefull houfe of loweft hell,
In which old Styx her aged bones alway,
Old Styx the Grandame of the Gods, doth lay.
There did this luckleffe mayd feuen months abide,
Ne euer euening faw, ne mornings ray,
Ne euer from the day the night defcride, But thought it all one night, that did no houres diuide.
And all this was for loue of Marinell,
Who her defpyfd (ah who would her defpyfe?)
And wemens loue did from his hart expell,
And all thofe ioyes that weake mankind entyse.
Nathleffe his pride full dearely he did pryfe;
For of a womans hand it was ywroke,
That of the wound he yet in languor lyes,
Ne can be cured of that cruell ftroke
Which Britomart him gaue, when he did her prouoke.
Yet farre and neare the Nymph his mother fought, 51 And many falues did to his fore applie,
1. 32,, after 'griefly-accepted: 1. 34, 'arad: 1. 37, misprinted Gramdame' '96: ib. (Old . . . Gods): 1. 38, 'three.'
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