"This my deare daughter's deepe-engraffed ill, Certes I fhould be loth thee to moleft; "But this fad evill, which doth her infeft, "Doth course of naturall caufe farre exceed, "And houfed is within her hollow breft, "That either feemes fomes curfed witches deed, "Or evill fpright, that in her doth fuch torment "breed.

XIX.

The wizard could no lenger beare her bord, But brufting forth in laughter to her fayd, "Glauce, what needes this colourable word "To cloke the caufe that hath itfelfe bewrayd? "Ne ye, fayre Britomartis! thus arayd, "More hidden are then funne in cloudy vele, "Whom thy good fortune, having Fate obayd, "Hath hether brought for fuccour to appele, "The which the powres to thee are pleased to "revele."

xx.

The doubtfull mayd, feeing herfelfe defcryde,
Was all abafht, and her pure yvory
Into a cleare carnation fuddeine dyde;
As fayre Aurora ryfing hastily

Doth by her blufhing tell that she did ly
All night in old Tithonus' frozen bed,
Whereof the feemes afhamed inwardly;
But her old nourfe was nought difhartened,
But vauntage made of that which Merlin ħad
ared;

XXI.

And fayd, "Sith then thou knoweft all our griefe, "(For what doeft not thou knowe?) of grace I a pray,

"Pitty our playnt, and yield us meet reliefe." With that the prophet ftill awhile did stay, And then his fpirite thus gan foorth difplay; "Moft roble Virgin, that by fatall lore "Haft learn'd to love, let no whit thee difmay, "The hard beginne that meetes thee in the dore, "And with fharpe fits thy tender hart oppresseth "fore.

"Renowmed kings and facred emperours, "Thy fruitfull ofspring, fhall from thee defcend; "Brave captaines and moft mighty warriours, "That fhall their conquests through all lands "extend,

"And their decayed kingdomes shall amend; "The feeble Britons, broken with long warre,

"They fhall upreare, and mightily defend

"But read," "faid Glauce, "Thou magitian, "What meanes fhall fhe out-fecke, or what waier ❝ take!

"How fhall the know, how fhall fhe finde the "man?

"Or what needes her to toyle, fith fates can make "Way for themselves their purpose to pertake?" Then Merlin thus; "Indeed the Fates are firme, "And may not fhrinck, though all the world do "fhake;

"Yet ought mens good endevours them confirme "And guyde the hevenly caufes to their conftant

"With thee yet fhall he leave for memory "Of his late puiffaunce his ymage dead,

"To thee fhall reprefent; he from the head

"Of his coufen Conftantius without dread

"Serving th' ambitious will of Auguftine,

"Shall backe repulfe the valiant Brockwele twife, "And Bangor with massacred martyrs fill; "But the third time shall rew his fool-hardise; "For Cadwin pittying his peoples ill, "Shall ftoutly him defcat, and thousand Saxon "kill.

XXXVI.

"But after him, Cadwallin mightily "On his fonne Edwin all thofe wrongs fhall " wreake;

"Ne fhall availe the wicked forcery "Of false Pellite his purposes to breake, "But him fhall flay, and on a gallowes bleak "Shall give th' enchaunter his unhappy hire: "Then shall the Britons, late dismayd and weake, "From their long vaffallage gin to respire, "And on their paynim foes avenge their ranckled "ire.

XXXVII.

"Ne fhall he yet his wrath fo mitigate, "Till both the fonnes of Edwin he have flayne, "Offricke and Ofricke, twinnes unfortunate, "Both flaine in battaile upon Layburne playne, "Together with the king of Louthiane, "Hight Adin, and the king of Orkeny, "Both ioynt partakers of the fatall payne; "But Penda, fearefull of like defteney, "Shall yield himselfe his liegeman, and fwease "fealty:

XXXVIII.

"Him fhall he make his fatall inftrument "T' afflict the other Saxons unfubdewd, "He marching forth with fury infolent

Against the good King Ofwald, who indewd "With heavenly powre, and by angels refkewd, "All holding croffes in their hands on hye, "Shall him defeate withouten blood imbrewd; "Of which that field for endlesse memory "Shall Hevenfield be cald to all posterity.

"Whereat Cadwallin wroth fhall forth iffew, .. "And an huge hofte into Northumber lead, "With which he godly Ofwald shall subdew, "And crowne with martyrdome his facred "head;

"Whose brother Ofwin, daunted with like "dread,

"With price of filver fhall his kingdome buy; "And Penda seeking him adowne to tread, "Shall tread adowne and doe him fowly dye, "But fhall with gifts his lord Cadwallin pacify.

XL.

.

"Then fhall Cadwallin die, and then the raine "Of Britons eke with him attonce shall dye; "Ne fhall the good Cadwallader with paine, "Or powre, be hable it to remedy, "When the full time prefixt by Destiny "Shall be expird of Britons regiment; "For Heven ittelfe fhall their fucceffe envy, "And them with plagues and murrins peftilent "Confume, till all their warlike puiffaunce be "spent.

"That therefore nought our paffage may em" peach,

"Let us in feigned armes ourfelves disguize, "And our weake hands (need makes good fchol"lers) teach

* The dreadfull fpeare and fhield to exercize : "Ne certes, Daughter, that same warlike wife, "I weene, would you miffeeme; for ye beene " tall

"And large of limbe t'atchieve an hard em" prize;

"Ne ought ye want but skil, which practize "fmall

"Will bring, and fhortly make you a mayd mar"tiall.

Advent'rous knighthood on herselfe to don, And counfeld with her nourse her maides attyre

To turne into a maffy habergeon,

And bad her all thinges put in readiness anon.

LVIII.

Th 'old woman nought that needed did omit,
But all thinges did conveniently purvay.
It fortuned (fo time their turne did fitt)
A band of Britons ryding on forray
Few dayes before had gotten a great pray
Of Saxon goodes, emongst the which was feene
A goodly armour, and full rich aray,
Which long'd to Angela, the Saxon queene,
All fretted round with gold, and goodly wel be-
feene.

LIX.

The fame, with all the other ornaments,
King Ryence caused to be hanged hy
In his chiefe church, for endlesse moniments
Of his fucceffe and gladfull victory;
Of which herfelfe avifing readily

In th' evening late old Glauce thether led
Faire Britomart, and that fame armory
Downe taking, her therein appareled,

Well as the might, and with brave bauldrick garnished.

LX.

Befide thofe armes there ftood a mightie fpeare,
Which Bladud made by magick art of yore,
And ufd the fame in batteill aye to beare;
Sith which it had beene here perferv'd in store,
For his great vertues proved long afore;
For never wight fo faft in fell could fit,
But him perforce unto the ground it bore:
Both fpeare she tooke and fhielde which hong
by it;

Both speare and shield of great powre for her purpofe fit.

LXI.

Thus when she had the virgin all arrayd,
Another harneffe which did hang thereby
About herfelfe fhe dight, that the yong mayd
She might in equall armes accompany,
And as her squire attend her carefully:
Tho to their ready fteedes they clombe full
light,

And through back waies, that none might them espy,

Covered with fecret cloude of filent night, Themfelves they forth convaid, and paffed forward right.

LXII.

Ne refted they till that to Faery Lond
They came, as Merlin them directed late;
Where meeting with this Red-crosse knight, fhe
fond

Of diverfe thinges difcourfes to dilate,
But most of Arthegall and his estate :

At last their wayes fo fell, that they mote part:
Then each to other, well affectionate,
Friendship profeffed with unfained hart,

The Red-croffe knight diverft, but forth rode
Britomart.