Page images
PDF
EPUB

Themselves did solace each one with his Dame, The third things past could keep in memoree:
Till that great Lady thence away them sought
To vew her Castles other wondrous frame:
Up to a stately Turret she them brought,
Ascending by ten steps of Alabaster wrought.

XLV

That Turrets frame most admirable was,
Like highest heaven compassed around,
And lifted high above this earthly masse,
Which it survewd as hils doen lower ground;
But not on ground mote like to this be found:
Not that, which antique Cadmus whylome

built

In Thebes, which Alexander did confound;
Nor that proud towre of Troy, though richly
guilt,
[Greekes was spilt.
From which young Hectors blood by cruell

XLVI

The roofe hereof was arched over head,
And deckt with flowers and herbars daintily:
Two goodly Beacons, set in watches stead,
Therein gave light, and flamd continually;
For they of living fire most subtilly
Were made, and set in silver sockets bright,
Cover'd with lids deviz'd of substance sly,
That readily they shut and open might.
O! who can tell the prayses of that makers
might?

XLVII

So that no time nor reason could arize,
But that the same could one of these comprize.
For-thy the first did in the forepart sit,
That nought mote hinder his quicke prejudize:
He had a sharpe foresight and working wit
That never idle was, ne once would rest a whit.

L

His chamber was dispainted all within
With sondry colours, in the which were writ
Infinite shapes of thinges dispersed thin;
Some such as in the world were never vit,
Ne can devized be of mortall wit;
Some daily seene and knowen by their names,
Such as in idle fantasies do flit;
Infernall Hags, Centaurs, feendes, Hippodames,
Apes, Lyons, Aegles, Owles, fooles, lovers,
children, Dames,

LI

And all the chamber filled was with flyes
Which buzzed all about, and made such sound
That they encombred all mens eares and eyes;
Like many swarmes of Bees assembled round,
After their hives with honny do abound.
All those were idle thoughtes and fantasies,
Devices, dreames, opinions unsound,
Shewes, visions, sooth-sayes, and prophesies;
And all that fained is, as leasings, tales, and lies.

LII

Emongst them all sate he which wonned there, Ne can I tell, ne can I stay to tell, [powre: That hight Phantastes by his nature trew; This parts great workemanship and wondrous A man of yeares yet fresh, as mote appere, That all this other worldes worke doth excell, And likest is unto that heavenly towre That God hath built for his owne blessed bowre. Therein were divers rowmes, and divers stages; But three the chiefest and of greatest powre, In which there dwelt three honorable sages, The wisest men, I weene, that lived in their ages.

[blocks in formation]

Of swarth complexion, and of crabbed hew,
Bent hollow beetle browes, sharpe staring eyes,
That him full of melancholy did shew;
That mad or foolish seemd : one by his vew
Mote deeme him borne with ill-disposed skyes,
When oblique Saturne sate in th' house of
agonyes.

LIII

[blocks in formation]

He now was growne right wise and wondrous Some made in books, some in long parchment

sage:

[see

scrolls,

holes.

Great pleasure had those straunger knightes to That were all worm-eaten and full of canker
His goodly reason and grave personage,
That his disciples both desyrd to bee;
But Alma thence them led to th' hindmost
rowme of three.

LV

That chamber seemed ruinous and old,
And therefore was removed far behind,
Yet were the wals, that did the same uphold,
Right firme and strong, though somwhat they
declind;

And therein sat an old old man, halfe blind,
And all decrepit in his feeble corse,
Yet lively vigour rested in his mind,
And recompenst them with a better scorse:
Weake body wel is chang'd for minds redoub-
led forse.

LVI

This man of infinite remembraunce was,
And things foregone through many ages held,
Which he recorded still as they did pas,
Ne suffred them to perish through long eld,
As all things els the which this world doth
weld;

But laid them up in his immortall scrine,
Where they for ever incorrupted dweld:
The warres he well remembred of king Nine,
Of old Assaracus, and Inachus divine.

LVII

The yeares of Nestor nothing were to his,
Ne yet Mathusalem, though longest liv'd;
For he remembred both their infancis ;
Ne wonder then, if that he were depriv'd
Of native strength now that he them surviv'd.
His chamber all was hangd about with rolls
And old records from auncient times derivd,

LVIII

Amidst them all he in a chaire was sett,
Tossing and turning them withouten end;
But for he was unhable them to fett,
A litle boy did on him still attend
To reach, when ever he for ought did send;
And oft when thinges were lost, or laid amis,
That boy them sought and unto him did lend:
Therefore he Anamnestes cleped is;

And that old man Eumnestes, by their pro-
pertis.

[blocks in formation]

I

CANTO X.

A chronicle of Briton kings,
From Brute to Uthers rayne;
And rolls of Elfin Emperours,
Till time of Gloriane,

WHO now shall give unto me words and sound
Equall unto this haughty enterprise? [ground
Or who shall lend me wings, with which from
My lowly verse may loftily arise,

And lift it selfe unto the highest skyes?
More ample spirit than hitherto was wount
Here needes me, whiles the famous auncestryes

Of my most dreaded Soveraigne I recount,
By which all earthly Princes she doth far sur-

mount.

II

Ne under Sunne that shines so wide and faire, Whence all that lives does borrow life and light, Lives ought that to her linage may compaire; Which though from earth it be derived right

Yet doth it selfe stretch forth to hevens hight,
And all the world with wonder overspred;
A labor huge, exceeding far my might.
How shall fraile pen, with feare disparaged,
Conceive such soveraine glory and great
bountyhed?

III

Argument worthy of Mæonian quill;
Or rather worthy of great Phoebus rote,
Whereon the ruines of great Ossa hill,
And triumphes of Phlegræan Jove, he wrote,
That all the Gods admird his lofty note.
But if some relish of that hevenly lay
His learned daughters would to me report
To decke my song withall, I would assay
Thy name, O soveraine Queene! to blazon far
away.

IV

And flying fast as Roebucke through the fen,
All naked without shame or care of cold,
By hunting and by spoiling liveden;
Of stature huge, and eke of corage bold,
That sonnes of men amazd their sternnesse to
behold.

VIII

But whence they sprong, or how they were
begott,

Uneath is to assure ; uneath to wene
That monstrous error, which doth some assott,
That Dioclesians fifty daughters shene
Into this land by chaunce have driven bene;
Where, companing with feends and filthy
Sprights

Through vaine illusion of their lust unclene,
They brought forth Geaunts, and such dread-
ful wights

Thy name, O soveraine Queene! thy realme, As far exceeded men in their immeasurd mights.

and race,

IX

From this renowmed Prince derived arre,
Who mightily upheld that royall mace [farre They held this land, and with their filthinesse
Which now thou bear'st, to thee descended Polluted this same gentle soyle long time;
From mighty kings and conquerours in warre, That their owne mother loathd their beastli-
Thy fathers and great Grandfathers of old,
Whose noble deeds above the Northern starre
Immortall fame for over hath enrold; [told.
As in that old mans booke they were in order

[blocks in formation]

Which all along the Southerne sea-coast lay
Threatning unheedy wrecke and rash decay,
For safety that same his sea-marke made,
And namd it ALBION : But later day,
Finding in it fit ports for fishers trade,

nesse,

And gan abhorre her broods unkindly crime,
All were they borne of her owne native slime:
Until that Brutus, anciently deriv'd
From roiall stocke of old Assaracs line,
Driven by fatall error here arriv'd,
And them of their unjust possession depriv'd.

X

But ere he had established his throne,
And spred his empire to the utmost shore,
He fought great batteils with his salvage fone;
In which he them defeated evermore,
And many Giaunts left on groning flore:
That well can witnes yet unto this day
The westerne Hogh, besprincled with the gore
Of mighty Goëmot, whome in stout fray
Corineus conquered, and cruelly did slay.

ΧΙ

And eke that ample Pitt, yet far renownd
Coulin to make, being eight lugs of grownd,
For the large leape which Debon did compell
Into the which retourning backe he fell:
But those three monstrous stones doe most
excell,

Which that huge sonne of hideous Albion,

Gan more the same frequent, and further to Whose father Hercules in Fraunce did quell,

invade.

VII

But far in land a salvage nation dwelt
Of hideous Giaunts, and halfe beastly men,
That never tasted grace, nor goodnes felt;
But wild like beastes lurking in loathsome den,

Great Godmer threw, in fierce contention,
At bold Canutus; but of him was slaine anon.

XII

In meed of these great conquests by them Corineus had that Province utmost west [gott,

To him assigned for his worthy lott,
Which of his name and memorable gest
He called Cornwaile, yet so called best;
And Debons shayre was that is Devonshyre:
But Canute had his portion from the rest,
The which he cald Canutium, for his hyre;
Now Cantium, which Kent we comenly inquyre.

[ocr errors]

XVII

The king retourned proud of victory,
And insolent wox through unwonted ease,
That shortly he forgot the jeopardy,
Which in his land he lately did appease,
And fell to vaine voluptuous disease:
He lov'd faire Ladie Estrild, leudly lov'd,
Whose wanton pleasures him too much did
please,

Thus Brute this Realme unto his rule sub- That quite his hart from Guendolene remov'a,

[blocks in formation]

From Guendolene his wife, though alwaies faithful prov'd.

XVIII

The noble daughter of Corineus
Would not endure to bee so vile disdaind,
But, gathering force and corage valorous,
Encountred him in batteill well ordaind,
But she so fast pursewd, that him she tooke
In which him vanquisht she to fly constraind:
And threw in bands, where he till death re-
maind;

Als his faire Leman flying through a brooke
She overhent, nought moved with her piteous
looke;

XIX

But both her selfe, and eke her daughter deare,
Begotten by her kingly Paramoure,
The faire Sabrina, almost dead with feare,
She there attached, far from all succoure;
The one she slew upon the present floure;
But the sad virgin, innocent of all,
Adowne the rolling river she did poure,
Which of her name now Severne men do call:
Such was the end that to disloyall love did fall.

XX

Then for her sonne, which she to Locrin bore,
Madian was young, unmeet the rule to sway,
In her owne hand the crowne she kept in store,
Till ryper years he raught and stronger stay;
During which time her powre she did display
Through all this Realme, the glory of her sex,
And first taught men a woman to obay :
But, when her sonne to mans estate did wex,
She it surrendred, ne her selfe would lenger

vex.

XXI

Tho Madan raignd, unworthie of his race,
For with all shame that sacred throne he fild.
Next Memprise, as unworthy of that place;
In which being consorted with Manild,
For thirst of single kingdom him he kild.
But Ebranck salved both their infamies
With noble deedes, and warreyd on Brunchild
In Henault, where yet of his victories
Brave moniments remaine, which yet that land
envies.

XXII

An happy man in his first dayes he was,
And happy father of faire progeny:
For all so many weekes as the yeare has,
So many children he did multiply:

Of which were twentie sonnes, which did apply
Their mindes to prayse and chevalrous desyre:
Those germans did subdew all Germany,
Of whom it hight; but in the end their Syre
With foule repulse from Fraunce was forced to
retyre.

XXIII

Which blott his sonne succeeding in his seat, The second Brute, the second both in name And eke in semblaunce of his puissaunce great, Right well recur'd, and did away that blame With recompence of everlasting fame: He with his victour sword first opened The bowels of wide Fraunce, a forlorne Dame, And taught her first how to be conquered; Since which, with sondrie spoiles she hath been ransacked.

XXIV

Let Scaldis tell, and let tell Hania, And let the marsh of Esthambruges tell, What colour were their waters that same day, And all the moore twixt Elversham and Dell, With blood of Henalois which therein fell. How oft that day did sad Brunchildis see The greene shield dyde in dolorous vermell? That not Scuith guiridh it mote seeme to bee, But rather y scuith gogh, signe of sad crueltee.

XXV

His sonne, king Leill, by fathers labour long,
Enjoyd an heritage of lasting peace,
And built Cairleill, and built Cairleon strong.

Next Huddibras his realme did not encrease,
But taught the land from wearie wars to cease:
Whose footsteps Bladud following, in artes
Exceld at Athens all the learned preace,
From whence he brought them to these salvage
parts,

And with sweet science mollifide their stubborne harts.

XXVI

Ensample of his wondrous faculty,
Behold the boyling bathes at Cairbadon,
Which seeth with secret fire eternally,
And in their entrailles, full of quick Brimston,
Nourish the flames which they are warmd
проп,

That to their people wealth they forth do well,
And health to every forreyne nation:
Yet he at last, contending to excell

[blocks in formation]

The wretched man gan then avise too late, That love is not where most it is profest; Too truely tryde in his extremest state. At last, resolv'd likewise to prove the rest, He to Cordelia him selfe addrest, Who with entyre affection him receav'd, As for her Syre and king her seemed best; And after all an army strong she leav'd,

The reach of men, through flight into fond To war on those which him had of his realme

[blocks in formation]
« PreviousContinue »