Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

And ioyd to make proofe of her cruelty
On gentle dame, fo hurtleffe and fo trew;
Thenceforth he kept her goodly company,
And learnd her difcipline of faith and verity.

XXXII.

But fhe, all vowd unto the Red-croffe knight,
His wandring perill closely did lament,
Ne in this new acquaintance could delight;
But her deare heart with anguish did torment,
And all her wit in fecret counfels spent,
How to escape. At last in privy wife
To Satyrane fhe fhewed her intent,
Who, glad to gain fuch favour, gan devise
How with that pensive maid he best might thence
arife.

XXXIII.

So on a day when Satyres all were gone
To do their fervice to Sylvanus old,
The gentle virgin, left behinde alone,
He led away with corage ftout and bold.
Too late it was to Satyres to be told,
Or ever hope recover her againe :

In vain he feekes that having cannot hold.
So faft he carried her with carefull paine,
That they the woods are paft, and come now to
the plaine.

XXXIV.

The better part now of the lingring day
They travcild had, whenas they far efpide
A weary wight forwandring by the way,
And towards him they gan in haft to ride,
To weete of newes that did abroad betyde,
Or tidings of her Knight of the Red-croffc;
But he them spying gan to turne afide

For feare, as feemd, or for fome feigned loffe : More greedy they of newes faft towards him do croffe.

XXXV.

A filly man, in fimple weeds forworne,
And folid with duft of the long dried way;
His fandales were with toilfome travell torne,
And face all tand with fcorching funny ray,
As he had traveild many a fommer's day
Through boyling fands of Arabic and Ynde,
And in his hand a lacob's faffe, to stay
His weary limbs upon; and eke behind

And ftony horrour all her fences fild
With dying fitt, that downe fhe fell for paine.
The knight her lightly reared up againe,
And comforted with curteous kind reliefe;
Then wonne from death, fhe bad him tellen
plaine

The further proceffe of her hidden griefe:
The leffer pangs can beare, who hath endur'd the
chiefe.

XXXVIII.

Then gan the pilgrim thus; "I chaunft this day, "This fatall day, that fhall I ever rew, "To fee two knights, in travell on my way, "(A sorry fight) arraung'd in batteil new, "Both breathing vengeaunce, both of wrathfull "hew:

"My fearful flesh did tremble at their ftrife, "To fee their blades fo greedily imbrew, "That dronke with blood, yet thrifted after life : "What more? the Red-croffe knight was flain "with paynim knife."

[ocr errors]

"Ah! deareft Lord," quoth fhe," how might "that be,

"And he the ftouteft knight that ever wonne ?" "Ah! dearest Dame," quoth he," how might I "fee

"The thing that might not be, and yet was "donne ?"

"Where is," faid Satyrane," that paynim's fonne, "That him of life, and us of ioy hath refte?" "Not far away," quoth he, "he hence doth wonne, Foreby a fountaine, where I late him left "Washing his bloody wounds, that through the "fcele were cleft."

XL.

Therewith the knight thence marched forth in haft,
Whiles Una, with huge heavineffe oppreft,
Could not for forrow follow him so fast;
And foone he came, as he the place had gheft,
Whereas that pagan proud himselfe did rest
In fecret fhadow by a fountaine fide:

Even he it was that erft would have supprest
Faire Una; whom when Satyrane efpide,
With foule reprochful words he boldly him defide;

XLL

His fcrip did hang, in which his needments he did And faid," Arife thou curfed mifcreant, bind.

XXXVI.

The knight approaching nigh, of him inquerd
Tidings of warre, and of adventures new;
But warres nor new adventures none he herd.
Then Una gan to afke if ought he knew,
Or heard abroad, of that her champion trew
That in his armour bare a croflet red.

"Ay me! deare Dame!" quoth he, " well may I

"rew

"To tell the fad fight which mine eies have red; "Thefe eies did fee that knight both living and "eke ded."

XXXVII.

That cruel word her tender hart fo thrild,

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

That fuddein cold did runi.e through every veine," That Red-croffe knight, perdie, I never flew ;

* But had he beene where earft his armes were lent, | Led with their noise, which through the aire was "Th' enchaunter vaine his errour should not rew; "But thou his errour shalt, I hope, now proven "trew."

[blocks in formation]

thrown, [fown. Arriv'd, wher they in erth their fruitles blood had

XLVI.

Whom all fo foone as that proud Sarazin
Efpide, he gan revive the memory
Of his leud lufts and late attempted fin,
And lefte the doubtfull battel haftily,
To catch her, newly offred to his eie;
But Satyrane with strokes him turning, staid,
And fternely bad him other business plie,
Then hunt the fteps of pure unfpotted maid:
Wherewith he al enrag'd these bitter speeches faid;

XLVII.

"O foolish Faeries fonne, what fury mad "Hath the incenft to haft thy dolefull fate? "Were it not better I that lady had, "Then that thou hadst repented it too late? "Moft fencele ffe man he that himselfe doth hate "To love another: lo then for thine ayd "Here take thy lover's token on thy pate." So they to fight; the whiles the royall mayd Fled farre away, of that proud paynim fore afrayd.

XLVIII.

But that falfe pilgrim which that leafing told,
Being indeed old Archimage, did stayTM
In fecret shadow all this to behold,
And much reioyced in their bloody fray;
And when he faw the damfell paffe away,
He left his ftond, and her purfewd apace,
In hope to bring her to her last decay.
But for to tell her lamentable cace,

And cke this battel's end, will need another place,

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

Hee feedes upon the cooling fhade, and bayes
His fweatie forehead in the breathing wynd
Which through the trembling leaves full gentle
playes,

Wherein the chearefull birds of fundrie kynd
Doe chaunt fweet mufick to delight his mynd.
The witch approching gan him fayrely greet,
And with reproch of carelefnes unkind
Upbrayd, for leaving her in place unmeet,

IV.

Unkindneffe past, they gan of folace treat,
And bathe in pleafaunce of the ioyous fhade,
Which fhielded them against the boyling heat,
And with greene boughes decking a gloomy glade
About the fountaine like a girlond made,
Whose bubbling wave did ever freshly well,
Ne ever would through fervent fommer fade;
The facred nymph, which therein wont to dwell
Was out of Dianes favor, as it then befell.

V.

The cause was this: One day when Phabe fayre,
With all her band, was following the chace,
This nymph, quite tyrd, with heat of fcorching ayre,
Satt downe to reft in middeft of the race;
The goddeffe wroth gan fowly her disgrace,
And badd the waters, which from her did flow,
Be fuch as fhe her felfe was then in place;
Thenceforth her waters wexed dull and flow,
And all that drinke thereof do faint and feeble
grow.

VI.

Hereof this gentle knight unweeting was,
And lying downe upon the fandie graile,
Dronke of the streame, as cleare as chriftall glas:
Eftfoones his manly forces gan to fayle,
And mightie ftrong was turnd to feeble frayle.
His chaunged powres at firft themselves not felt,
Till crudled cold his courage gan affayle,
And cheareful blood in fayntnes chill did melt,

With fowle words tempring faire; foure gall with Which like a fever fit through all his bodię swelt.

hony sweet,

3

1

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

XXX.

At laft the chaunced by good hap to meet
A goodly knight, faire marching by the way,
Together with his fquyre, arayed meet:
His glitterand armour fhined far away,
Like glauncing light of Phoebus' brightest ray;
From top to toe no place appeared bare,
That deadly dint of steele endanger may:
Athwart his breft a bauldrick brave he ware,
That shind, like twinkling ftars, with ftones most
[pretious rare:
And in the midft thereof one pretious ftone
Of wondrous worth, and eke of wondrous mights,
Shapt like a ladies head, exceeding fhone,
Like Hesperus cmong the leffer lights,
And ftrove for to amaze the weaker fights;
Thereby his mortall blade full comely hong
In yvory fheath, yearv'd with curious flights,
Whofe hilts were burnifht gold, and handle ftrong
Of mother-perle, and buckled with a golden tong.

XXXI.

His haughtie helmet, horrid all with gold,
Both glorious brightneffe and great terrour bred2;
For all the creft a dragon did enfold
With greedle pawes, and over all did spreĉd

« AnteriorContinuar »