24 And fiercely tooke his trenchand blade in hand, With which he stroke so furious and so fell,

That nothing seemd the puissaunce could withstand:
Upon his crest the hardned yron fell,

But his more hardned crest was armd so well,
That deeper dint therein it would not make;
Yet so extremely did the buffe him quell,

That from thenceforth he shund the like to take,
But, when he saw them come, he did them still forsake.

25 The knight was wroth to see his stroke beguyld,
And smote againe with more outrageous might;
But backe againe the sparckling steele recoyld,
And left not any marke, where it did light,
As if in adamant rocke it had beene pight.
The beast impatient of his smarting wound,
And of so fierce and forcible despight,

Thought with his wings to stye above the ground;
But his late wounded wing unserviceable found.

26 Then full of griefe and anguish vehement,
He lowdly brayd, that like was never heard,
And from his wide devouring oven sent
A flake of fire, that, flashing in his beard,
Him all amazd, and almost made afeard:
The scorching flame sore swinged all his face,
And through his armour all his body seard,
That he could not endure so cruell cace,

But thought his armes to leave, and helmet to unlace.
27 Not that great champion of the antique world,
Whom famous poetes verse so much doth vaunt,
And hath for twelve huge labours high extold,
So many furies and sharpe fits did haunt,
When him the poysond garment did enchaunt,
With Centaures blood and bloody verses charm'd;
As did this knight twelve thousand dolours daunt,
Whom fyrie steele now burnt, that erst him arm'd;
That erst him goodly arm'd, now most of all him harm'd.

28 Faint, wearie, sore, emboyled, grieved, brent

With heat, toyle, wounds, armes, smart, and inward fire,
That never man such mischiefes did torment;
Death better were, death did he oft desire,
But death will never come, when needes require.
Whom so dismayd when that his foe beheld,
He cast to suffer him no more respire,
But gan his sturdy sterne about to weld,

And him so strongly stroke, that to the ground him feld.

29 It fortuned, (as faire it then befell,)

Behind his backe unweeting, where he stood,
Of auncient time there was a springing well,
From which fast trickled forth a silver flood,
Full of great vertues, and for med'cine good.
Whylome, before that cursed dragon got
That happy land, and all with innocent blood
Defyld those sacred waves, it rightly hot
The well of life, ne yet his vertues had forgot.

30 For unto life the dead it could restore,

And guilt of sinfull crimes cleane wash away;
Those that with sicknesse were infected sore
It could recure, and aged long decay
Renew, as one were borne that very day.
Both Silo this, and Jordan, did excell,

And th' English Bath, and eke the German Spau;
Ne can Cephise, nor Hebrus, match this well:
Into the same the knight back overthrowen fell.

31 Now gan the golden Phoebus for to steepe
His fierie face in billowes of the west,
And his faint steedes watred in ocean deepe,
Whiles from their journal labours they did rest,
When that infernall monster, having kest
His wearie foe into that living well,

Can high advance his broad discoloured brest
Above his wonted pitch, with countenance fell,
And clapt his yron wings, as victor he did dwell.

32 Which when his pensive lady saw from farre,
Great woe and sorrow did her soule assay,
As weening that the sad end of the warre,
And gan to highest God entirely pray
That feared chance from her to turne away;
With folded hands, and knees full lowly bent,
All night she watcht, ne once adowne would lay
Her dainty limbs in her sad dreriment,

But praying still did wake, and waking did lament.

33 The morrow next gan early to appeare,

That Titan rose to runne his daily race;
But early, ere the morrow next gan reare
Out of the sea faire Titans deawy face,
Up rose the gentle virgin from her place,
And looked all about, if she might spy
Her loved knight to move his manly pace:
For she had great doubt of his safety,
Since late she saw him fall before his enemy.

34 At last she saw, where he upstarted brave
Out of the well, wherein he drenched lay:
As eagle fresh out of the ocean wave,
Where he hath left his plumes all hoary gray,
And deckt himselfe with feathers youthly gay,
Like eyas hauke up mounts unto the skies,
His newly budded pineons to assay,

And marveiles at himselfe, still as he flies:

So new this new-borne knight to battell new did rise.

35 Whom when the damned feend so fresh did spy,
No wonder if he wondred at the sight,
And doubted whether his late enemy
It were, or other new supplied knight.
He, now to prove his late renewed might,
High brandishing his bright deaw-burning blade,
Upon his crested scalp so sore did smite,
That to the scull a yawning wound it made:
The deadly dint his dulled sences all dismaid.

36 I wote not, whether the revenging steele
Were hardned with that holy water dew
Wherein he fell, or sharper edge did feele,
Or his baptized hands now greater grew;
Or other secret vertue did ensew;

Else never could the force of fleshly arme,

Ne molten mettall in his blood embrew:

For till that stownd could never wight him harme By subtilty, nor slight, nor might, nor mighty charme.

37 The cruell wound enraged him so sore,

That loud he yelded for exceeding paine;
As hundred ramping lions seem'd to rore,
Whom ravenous hunger did thereto constraine :
Then gan he tosse aloft his stretched traine,
And therewith scourge the buxome aire so sore,
That to his force to yielden it was faine;

Ne ought his sturdy strokes might stand afore,
That high trees overthrew, and rocks in peeces tore.

38 The same advauncing high above his head,

With sharpe intended sting so rude him smot,
That to the earth him drove, as stricken dead;
Ne living wight would have him life behot:
The mortall sting his angry needle shot

Quite through his shield, and in his shoulder seasd,
Where fast it stucke, ne would there out be got:
The griefe thereof him wondrous sore diseasd,

Ne might his ranckling paine with patience be appeasd.

39 But yet, more mindfull of his honour deare

Then of the grievous smart, which him did wring,
From loathed soile he can him lightly reare,
And strove to loose the far infixed sting:
Which when in vaine he tryde with struggeling,
Inflam'd with wrath, his raging blade he heft,
And strooke so strongly, that the knotty string
Of his huge taile he quite a sunder cleft;

Five joints thereof he hewd, and but the stump him left.

40 Hart cannot thinke, what outrage, and what cries,
With foule enfouldred smoake and flashing fire,
The hell-bred beast threw forth unto the skies,
That all was covered with darkenesse dire:
Then fraught with rancour, and engorged ire,
He cast at once him to avenge for all,
And gathering up himselfe out of the mire
With his uneven wings, did fiercely fall
Upon his sunne-bright shield, and gript it fast withall.

41 Much was the man encombred with his hold,
In feare to lose his weapon in his paw,
Ne wist yet, how his talants to unfold;
For harder was from Cerberus greedy jaw
To plucke a bone, then from his cruell claw
To reave by strength the griped gage away:
Thrise he assayd it from his foot to draw,
And thrise in vaine to draw it did assay,

It booted nought to thinke to robbe him of his pray.

42 Tho when he saw no power might prevaile,

His trusty sword he cald to his last aid,
Wherewith he fiercely did his foe assaile,
And double blowes about him stoutly laid,
That glauncing fire out of the yron plaid;
As sparckles from the andvile used to fly,
When heavy hammers on the wedge are swaid;
Therewith at last he forst him to unty

One of his grasping feete, him to defend thereby.

43 The other foot, fast fixed on his shield,

Whenas no strength nor stroks mote him constraine
To loose, ne yet the warlike pledge to yield,
He smot thereat with all his might and maine,
That nought so wondrous puissaunce might sustaine;
Upon the joint the lucky steele did light,

And made such way, that hewd it quite in twaine;
The paw yett missed not his minisht might,
But hong still on the shield, as it at first was pight.