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With that great chaine, wherewith not long ygoe He bound that pitteous Lady prisoner now relest, Himselfe she bound, more worthy to be so, And captive with her led to wretchednesse and wo.

XLII.

Returning back, those goodly rowmes, which erst
She saw so rich and royally arayd,
Now vanisht utterly and cleane subverst
She found, and all their glory quite decayd;
That sight of such a chaunge her much dismayd.
Thence forth descending to that perlous porch,
Those dreadfull flames she also found delayd
And quenched quite like a consumed torch,
That erst all entrers wont so cruelly to scorch.

XLIII.

More easie issew now then entrance late

She found; for now that fained-dreadfull flame,
Which chokt the porch of that enchaunted gate
And passage bard to all that thither came,
Was vanisht quite, as it were not the same,
And gave her leave at pleasure forth to passe.
Th' Enchaunter selfe, which all that fraud did
frame

To have efforst the love of that faire Lasse, Seeing his worke now wasted, deepe engrieved was.

XLIV.

But when the Victoresse arrived there

Where late she left the pensife Scudamore With her own trusty Squire, both full of feare, Neither of them she found where she them lore: Thereat her noble hart was stonisht sore; But most faire Amoret, whose gentle spright Now gan to feede on hope, which she before Conceived had, to see her own deare Knight, Being thereof beguyld, was fild with new affright.

XLV.

But he, sad man, when he had long in drede
Awayted there for Britomarts returne,
Yet saw her not, nor signe of her good speed,
His expectation to despaire did turne,
Misdeeming sure that her those flames did burne;
And therefore gan advize with her old Squire,
Who her deare nourslings losse no lesse did
mourne,

Thence to depart for further aide t' enquire: Where let them wend at will, whilest here I doe respire.

[When Spenser printed his first three Books of the Faerie Queene, the two lovers, Sir Scudamore and Amoret, have a happy meeting: but afterwards, when he printed the fourth, fifth, and sixth Books, he reprinted likewise the three first Books; and, among other alterations of the lesser kind, he left out the five last stanzas, and made three new stanzas viz. XLIII. XLIV. XLV. More easie issew now, &c. By these alterations this third Book not only connects better with the fourth, but the reader is kept in that The suspense which is necessary in a well-told story. stanzas which are mentioned above, as omitted in the second edition, and printed in the first, are the following:

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"Twixt dolour and despight half desperate, "Of his loues succour, of his owne redresse, "And of the hardie Britomarts successe: "There on the cold earth him now thrown she found, "In wilfull anguish, and dead heavinesse,

"And to him cald; whose voices knowen sound "Soone as he heard, himself he reared light from ground.

XLIV.

"There did he see, that most on earth him ioyd, "His dearest loue, the comfort of his dayes, "Whose too long absence him had sore annoyd, "And wearied his life with dull delayes: "Straight he upstarted from the loathed layes, "And to her ran with hasty eagernesse, "Like as a deare, that greedily embayes "In the coole soile, after long thirstinesse, "Which he in chace endured hath, now nigh breathlesse.

XLV.

"Lightly he clipt her twixt his armës twaine,
"And streightly did embrace her body bright,
"Her body, late the prison of sad paine,
"Now the sweet lodge of loue and dear delight:
"But the faire lady, overcommon quight
"Of huge affection, did in pleasure melt,

"And in sweet ravishment pourd out her spright. "No word they spake, nor earthly thing they felt, "But like two senceless stocks in long embracements dwelt.

XLVI.

"Had ye them seene, ye would have surely thought "That they had been that faire Hermaphrodite, "Which that rich Roman of white marble wrought, "And in his costly bath causd to be site. "So seemd those two, as growne together quite; "That Britomart, halfe enuying their blesse, "Was much empassiond in her gentle sprite, "And to her selfe oft wisht like happinesse : "In vaine she wisht, that fate n'ould let her yet possesse

XLVII

"Thus doe those louers with sweet counteruayle, "Each other of loues bitter fruit despoile. "But now my teme begins to faint and fayle, "All woxen weary of their iournal toyle; "Therefore I will their sweatie yokes assoyle "At this same furrowes end, till a new day: "And ye, fair Swayns, after your long turmoyle, "Now cease your worke, and at your pleasure play; "Now cease your worke; to-morrow is an holy day."

Suppose we take a review of this THIRD BOOK; and, as from the summit of a hill, cast our eye backward on the Fairy ground, which we have travelled over in company with Britomartis, the British heroine, and representative of chaste affection. But remember, that Spenser never sets up for imitation any such character, either in men or women, as haters of matrimony: affection and love to one, and only to one, is the chaste affection, which he holds up to your view, and to your imitation. Such is Britomartis; who is in love with an unknown Hero, and yet not so unknown, but her passion is justifiable: Such is the love between Sir Scudamore and Amoret. And who can but pity the distressed Florimell, for casting her affections on one, who for a time disregards her?

What a variety of chaste females, and yet with different characters, has our poet brought together into Fairy land? Britomartis, the heroine; the persecuted Florimell; the two sisters Belphobe and Amoret; Belphabe nurtured by Diana in the perfection of maidenhood; and Amoret brought up by Venus in goodly womanhood, to be the ensample of true love. How miraculously, and yet speciously, is the birth, nurture, and education of Amoret described in the gardens of Adonis? our poet shows himself as good a philosopher as poet, and as well acquainted with all kind of metaphysical lore, as with the romances of Charlemagne and Arthur. And, that the beauty of chaste affection may the better be seen by its opposite, we

have introduced the wanton wife of old Malbecco, and the not very chaste Malecasta. To these may be added those characters, which though out of Nature's ordinary ways, yet are highly proper for a Fairy poem, as the giant and giantess, the three fosters, and the Satyrs; all fit emblems of Lust.

If it be objected to the above remark, that Belphabe is a character set up for admiration; and that she envied all the unworthy world, C. v. st. 51.

"That dainty rose the daughter of her morn"

I answer, that every reader of Spenser knows whom Belphoebe, in every circumstance of the allegory, represents; and if she envied all the world, it was because no one in the world was yet found worthy of her: Have patience; our poet has found a magnificent hero worthy of Gloriana, or Belphæbe, or this his Fairy Queen, (for these names figure to us the same person,) and GLORY will be allied to MAGNIFICENCE, completed in all the Virtues.

As Homer often mentions his chief hero Achilles, to show that he has this unrelenting hero's resentment still in view; so likewise does Spenser keep still in view the magnificent Prince Arthur, who is in pursuit of Gloriana. There are many historical allusions in this Book: the poet himself hints as much in many places: See the Introduct. st. iv. and v. That gracious servaunt there mentioned, is his honoured friend Timias: we see the fatal effects of the wound which Lust inflicted on him in C. v. st. 20. Queen Elizabeth we may see "in mirrours more than one;" even in Britomartis, though covertly; in Belphoebe more apparently. The whole third Canto relates to the English history: Queen Elizabeth is as elegantly complimented by Spenser, as Augustus Cæsar was by Virgil, or Cardinal Hippolito by Ariosto: and though Britomartis is shown her progeny by narration only, yet the poetry is so animated, as to vie with the sixth Eneid, or to rival the third Canto of Ariosto; where the heroes themselves, or their idols and images, pass in review. How nervous are the verses, where the son of Arthegal and Britomartis is described? Like as a lion, &c. Merlin, rapt in vision, paints as present, though absent, the heroical Malgo: 'Tis all as finely imagined, as expressed: Behold the Man, &c. The pathos is very remarkable, where he describes the Britons harassed and conquered by the Saxons,

"Then woe, and woe, and everlasting woe”

This is truly Spenserian both passion and expression.* Presently after, how poetically and prophetically are kingdoms represented by their arms and ensigns! The restoration of the British blood, and the glories of Queen Elizabeth's reign, must in an historical view close the narration. But how finely has the poet contrived to make

Merlin break off? But yet the end is not! Intimating there shall be no end of the British glory. I take it for granted that Spenser intended these historical facts as so many openings and hints to the reader, that his poem "a continued allegory" should sometimes be considered in an historical, as well as in a moral, view.

But let us see how this third Book differs from the two former; for in difference, opposition, and contrast, as well as in agreement, we must look for what is beautiful. And here first appears a Woman-Knight, armed with an enchanted spear, like another Pallas,

"which in her wrath o'erthrowes "Heroes and hosts of men."

There is likewise a most material difference from the two former Books in this respect, namely, that the two several Knights of Holiness and of Temperance succeed in their adventures; but, in this Book, Sir Scudamore, who at the Court of the Fairy Queen undertook to deliver Amoret from the cruel enchanter Busirane, is forced to give over his attempt; when unexpectedly he is assisted by this emblem of Chastity, Britomartis; who releases the fair captive from her cruel tormentor: and thus Love is no longer under the cruel vassalage of LUST.

We have in this Book many of the heathen deities introduced as Fairy beings: Cymoente or Cymodoce the Nereid; (for by both these names she is called ;) Proteus, Diana, Venus, and Cupid. But this is not peculiar to this Book alone: nor the introducing of characters, which have power to controul the laws of Nature. We have heard of Merlin before, but here we visit him in his own Cave. The Witch is a new character; for Duessa and Acrasia are Witches of another mould go and see her pelting habitation, C. vii. st. 6, 7. One would think the poet was painting some poor hovel of a pitiful Irish wretch, whom the rude vulgar stigmatized for a witch on account of her poverty and frowardness. The enchanted House of Busirane is a new piece of machinery, and exceeds, in beauty of description, all the fictions of romance-writers that I ever yet could meet with. The story of Busirane is just hinted in the sixth Canto, to raise the expectation of the reader, and to keep up that kind of suspense which is so agreeable to Sper.ser's perpetual method and manner. We have seen Braggadochio and Trompart before, which are comick characters, or characters of humour; such likewise are the Squire of Dames, and Malbecco.

The various adventures are remarkably adapted to the Moral. Notwithstanding the distresses of all these faithful lovers, yet by constancy and perseverance they obtain their desired ends: but not altogether in this Book ; for the constant Florimell is still left in doleful durance; Amoret is delivered from the cruel Enchanter, but finds not her lover; Britomartis is still in pursuit of Arthegall: And the suspense is kept up, that this Book might connect with the following, and that the various parts might be so

I think this expression improper in the mouth of Merlin; for it judiciously joined as to make one Poem. is Scriptural. TODD.

UPTON.]

THE FOURTH BOOK OF

THE FAERIE QUEENE;

CONTAYNING

THE LEGEND OF CAMBEL AND TRIAMOND, OR OF FRIENDSHIP.

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XI. 7. Cast how to salve,] Cast in her mind how to save appearances. UPTON. XI. 9.

so far in dout.] So difficult. CHURCH. XII. 1. The seneschall] The household-steward, the master of the ceremonies. Fr. "Le grand seneschal de France," synonymous with our "Lord high steward of the king's household." TODD.

XIII. 6. Like as the shining skie &c.] Spenser here gives a description of what we call Aurora Borealis. JORTIN. creasted] Tufted, plumed, from the Lat. cristatus; in allusion to the hairy beams which these meteors fling out. UPTON.

XIII. 8.

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