That all the ground, with precious dew bedight,1

Threw forth most dainty odours and most sweet delight.

5 And in the thickest covert of that shade
There was a pleasant arbour, not by art
But of the trees' own inclination made,
Which knitting their rank 2 branches part to part,
With wanton ivy-twine entrailed athwart,3
And eglantine and caprifole among,

Fashioned above within their inmost part,

That nether Phoebus' beams could through them throng,

Nor Eolus' sharp blast could work them any wrong.

6 And all about grew every sort of flow'r,

To which sad lovers were transformed of yore;
Fresh Hyacinthus,8 Phoebus' paramour

And dearest love;

Foolish Narcisse,9 that likes the wat'ry shore ;
Sad Amaranthus, 10 made a flow'r but late,
Sad Amaranthus, in whose purple gore

1 Bedight, covered.

2 Rank, luxuriant.

3 Entrailed athwart, twisted

across.

4 Eglantine, wild rose. 5 Caprifole, woodbine.

6 Phœbus, Apollo, the sun-god. Eolus, the ruler of the winds. 8 Hyacinthus, a youth beloved by Apollo and accidentally killed

by him. The hyacinth was fabled to have sprung from his blood.

9 Narcisse, Narcissus, a beautiful youth who fell in love with his own reflection as seen in a fountain. He was changed to the flower Narcissus.

10 Amaranthus, amaranth, which signifies unfading. Among the ancients this flower was the symbol of immortality.

Meseems I see Amintas' wretched fate,1

To whom sweet poets' verse hath given endless date.

7 Hether great Venus brought this infant fair,
The younger daughter of Chrysogonee,
And unto Psyche 2 with great trust and care
Committed her, yfosterèd to be,

And trainèd up in true feminitee3:
Who no less carefully her tenderèd

Than her own daughter Pleasure, to whom she
Made her companion, and her lessonèd 5
In all the lore of love and goodly womanhead.

8 In which when she to perfect ripeness grew,
Of grace and beauty noble paragon,
She brought her forth into the worldës view,
To be th' ensample of true love alone,
And loadstar of all chaste affection 6

To all fair ladies that do live on ground.
To Faery court she came; where many one
Admired her goodly 'haviour, and found
His feeble heart wide launchèd

wound.

1 Amintas' wretched fate. This is supposed to allude to the untimely fate of Sir Philip Sidney. Hillard.

2 Psyche (breath or soul); a maiden beloved by Cupid and made immortal by Jupiter.

with love's cruel

8 Feminitee, womanhood.
4 Tendered, cared for.
5 Lessoned, taught.

6 Affection, pronounced as word of four syllables.

7 Launched, pierced.

9 But she to none of them her love did cast,
Save to the noble knight, Sir Scudamore,
To whom her loving heart she linkèd fast
In faithful love, t' abide for evermore;
And for his dearest sake endured sore,
Sore trouble of an heinous enemy,

Who her would forcèd have to have forlore1
Her former love and steadfast loyalty,

As ye may elsewhere read that rueful history.

1 Forlore, abandoned.

VII.

After separating from Satyrane, Britomart meets Scudamour, the husband of Amoret. Together they proceed to the house of the enchanter Busyrane.

I O HATEFUL hellish snake! what fury first
Brought thee from baleful house of Prosperine,1
Where in her bosom she thee long hath nurst,
And fost❜red up with bitter milk of tine 2;
Foul Jealousy! that turnest love divine
To joyless dread, and mak'st the loving heart
With hateful thoughts to languish and to pine,
And feed itself with self-consuming smart,
Of all the passions in the mind thou vilest art!

2 O let him far be banishèd away,

And in his stead let Love forever dwell!
Sweet Love, that doth his golden wings embay3
In blessed nectar and pure pleasure's well,
Untroubled of vile fear or bitter fell.4

And ye, fair ladies, that your kingdoms make
In th' hearts of men, them govern wisely well,
And of fair Britomart ensample take,

That was as true in love as turtle 5 to her make.6

1 Proserpine, Proserpina, the daughter of Ceres, who was carried down to Hades by Pluto to be his bride.

2 Tine, woe.
3 Embay, bathe.
4 Fell, gall.

5 Turtle, turtle-dove.

6 Make, mate.

3 Who, with Sir Satyrane, as erst1 ye read,
Forth riding from Malbecco's hostless 2 house,
Far off espied a young man, the which fled
From an huge giant, that with hideous
And hateful outrage long him chasèd thus;
It was that Ollyphant,3 the brother dear

Of that Argantè vile and vicious,1

From whom the Squire of Dames was reft 5
whilere 6;

This all as bad as she, and worse, if worse ought

were.

4.

Whom when as Britomart beheld behind
The fearful boy so greedily pursue,

She was emmovèd in her noble mind

T'employ her puissance to his rescue,

And pricked fiercely forward where she did him view.

5 Ne9 was Sir Satyrane her far behind,

But with like fierceness did ensue 10 the chase;
Whom when the giant saw, he soon resigned
His former suit,11 and from them fled apace :

1 Erst, first, formerly.

2 Hostless, inhospitable.

3 It was that Ollyphant, etc. This refers to an incident related in Book III, Canto VII.

4 Vicious, pronounced as a word

of three syllables.

5 Reft, torn away.

6 Whilere, formerly.

7 Emmoved, moved.

8 Pricked, rode fast, using spurs.

9 Ne, nor.

10 Ensue, follow.

11 Resigned his former suit, i.e. gave up his former pursuit.