Where, all that Night they of their Loves did treat,
And hard Adventures 'twixt themselves alone,
That each the other 'gan with Passion great,
And grief-ful Pity privately bemoan.
The morrow next, so foon as Titan fhone,
They both up-rofe, and to their ways them dight:
Long wander'd they, yet never met with one
That to their Wills could them direct aright,
Or to them Tidings tell, that mote their Hearts delight.
XVII.
Lo! thus they rode, till at the laft they spy'd
Two armed Knights, that toward them did pace,
And each of them had riding by his fide
A Lady, feeming in fo far a space:
But Ladies none they were, albe in Face
And outward Shew fair Semblance they did bear;
For under Mask of Beauty and good Grace,
Vile Treafon and foul Falfhood hidden were,
That mote to none but to the wary-wife appear.
XVIII.
The one of them, the falfe Dueffa hight,
That now had chang'd her former wonted Hue;
For fhe could d'on fo many Shapes in fight,
As ever could Cameleon Colours new;
So could the forge all Colours, fave the true.
The other no whit better was than fhe,
But that fuch as fhe was, the plain did fhew;
Yet otherwise much worse, if worse might be,
And daily more offenfive unto each degree.
Her Name was Ate, Mother of Debate,
And all Diffenfion, which doth daily grow
Amongst frail Men, that many a publick State,
And many a private oft doth overthrow.
Her, falfe Dueffa, who full well did know ;
To be moft fit to trouble noble Knights
Which hunt for Honour, raised from below,
Out of the Dwellings of the damned Sprights,
Where the in Darkness waftes her curfed Days and Nights
Hard by the Gates of Hell her Dwelling is,
There whereas all the Plagues and Harms abound,
Which punish wicked Men, that walk amifs:
It is a darkfom Delve far under ground,
With Thorns and barren Brakes environ'd round,
That none the fame may eafily out-win;
Yet many ways to enter may be found,
But none to iffue forth when one is in:
For Difcord harder is to end than to begin.
XXI.
And all within, the riven Walls were hung
With ragged Monuments of Times fore-paft;
All which, the fad Effects of Difcord fung:
There were rent Robes, and broken Scepters plac'd,
Altars defil'd, and holy things defac'd,
Difhiver'd Spears, and Shields ytorn in twain,
Great Cities ranfack'd, and strong Caftles ras'd,
Nations captived, and huge Armies flain:
Of all which Ruins there fome Relicks did remain,
XXII.
There was the Sign of antique Babylon,
Of fatal Thebes, of Rome that reigned long,
Of facred Salem, and fad Ilion;
For Memory of which, on high there hung
The golden Apple (caufe of all their Wrong)
For which the three fair Goddeffes did ftrive:
There alfo was the Name of Nimrod strong,
Of Alexander, and his Princes five,
Which fhar'd to them the Spoils that he had got alive.
XXIII.
And there the Relicks of the drunken Fray,
The which amongst the Lapitbees befel,
And of the bloody Feaft, which fent away
So many Centaurs drunken Souls to Hell,
That under great Alcides' Fury fell:
And of the dreadful Difcord which did drive
The noble Argonauts to Outrage fell,
That each of Life fought others to deprive,
All mindless of the Golden-Fleece, which made them strive
And eke of private Perfons many moe,
There were too long a Work to count them all;
Some, of fworn Friends, that did their Faith forgo;
Some, of born Brethren, prov'd unnatural;
Some, of dear Lovers, Foes perpetual:
Witness their broken Bands there to be seen,
Their Girlonds rent, their Bowers defpoiled all;
The Monuments whereof there biding been,
As plain as at the firft, when they were fresh and green.
Such was her Houfe within; but all without,
The barren Ground was full of wicked Weeds,
Which the her felf had fowen all about,
Now growen great, at firft of little Seeds,
The Seeds of evil Words, and factious Deeds:
Which when to Ripenefs due they growen are,
Bring forth an infinite Increase, that breeds
Tumultuous Trouble, and contentious Jar,
The which most often end in Bloodshed and in War.
XXVI.
And those fame curfed Seeds do alfo ferve
To her for Bread, and yield her living Food:
For Life it is to her, when others ftarve
Thro mifchievous Debate, and deadly Feud,
That she may fuck their Life, and drink their Blood;
With which the from her Childhood hath been fed:
For fhe at first was born of hellish Brood,
And by infernal Furies nourished,
That by her monftrous Shape might eafily be read.
XXVII.
Her Face moft foul and filthy was to fee,
With fquinted Eyes contrary ways intended,
And loathly Mouth, unmeet a Mouth to be,
That nought but Gall and Venom comprehended,
And wicked Words, that God and Man offended:
Her lying Tongue was in two Parts divided,
And both the Parts did fpeak, and both contended;
And as her Tongue, fo was her Heart difcided,
That never thought one thing, but doubly fill was guided.
Als as the double fpake, fo heard fhe double, With matchlefs Ears deformed and distort, Fill'd with falfe Rumors and feditious Trouble, Bred in Affemblies of the vulgar Sort, That still are led with every light Report. And as her Ears, fo eke her Feet were odd, And much unlike; th' one long, the other fhort, And both mifplac'd; that when th' one forward yode, The other back retired, and contrary trode.
Likewife unequal were her Handes twain:
That one did reach, the other push'd away;
That one did make, the other marr'd again,
And fought to bring all things unto Decay
Whereby great Riches, gather'd many a day,
She in fhort space did often bring to nought,
And their Poffeffors often did dismay.
For all her Study was, and all her Thought,
How the might overthrow the things that Concord wrought.
XXX.
So much her Malice did her Might surpass,
That even th' Almighty felf fhe did malign,
Because to Man fo merciful he was,
And unto all his Creatures fo benign,
Sith fhe her felf was of his Grace indign:
For all this World's fair Workmanship she try'd,
Unto his laft Confufion to bring,
And that great golden Chain quite to divide,
With which it bleffed Concord hath together ty❜d.
XXXI.
Such was that Hag, which with Duessa rode;
And ferving her in her malicious Ufe,
To hurt good Knights, was as it were her Baud,
To fell her borrow'd Beauty to abuse.
For tho like wither'd Tree, that wanteth Juice,
She old and crooked were, yet now of late
As fresh and fragrant as the Flower-de-luce
She was become, by change of her Estate,
And made full goodly Joyance to her new-found Mate.
Her Mate he was a jolly youthful Knight,
That bore great Sway in Arms and Chivalry,
And was indeed a Man of mickle Might:
His Name was Blandamore, that did defcry
His fickle Mind full of Inconftancy.
And now himself he fitted had right well,
With two Companions of like Quality,
Faithlefs Dueffa, and falfe Paridel,
That whether were more falfe, full hard it is to tell.
XXXIII.
Now when this Gallant, with his goodly Crew,
From far efpy'd the famous Britomart,
Like Knight adventurous in outward View,
With his fair Paragon (his Conquests part).
Approaching nigh, eftfoons his wanton Heart
Was tickled with Delight, and jefting faid;
Lo there! Sir Paridel, for your Defert,
Good luck prefents you with yond lovely Maid,"
For pity that ye want a Fellow for your Aid.
By that, the lovely Pair drew nigh to hond:
Whom when as Paridel more plain beheld,
Albe in Heart he like Affection found,
Yet mindful how he late by one was feld,
That did thofe Arms and that fame Scutcheon weld,
He had small Luft to buy his Love fo dear:
But anfwer'd, Sir, him wife I never held,
That having once.efcaped Peril near,
Would afterwards afresh the fleeping Evil rear.
This Knight too late his Manhood and his Might
I did affay, that me right dearly coft;
Ne lift I for Revenge provoke new Fight,
Ne for light Ladies Love, that foon is loft.
The hot-fpur Youth fo fcorning to be croft,
Take then to you this Dame of mine, quoth he,
And I without your Peril or your Coft,
Will challenge yond fame other for my Fee:
So forth he fiercely prick'd, that one him fcarce could fee.
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