And when the lift pour out her larger fpright,
She would command the hafty fun to ftay,
Or backward turn his courfe from heavens height;
Sometimes great hofts of men fhe could difmay:
Dry-fhod to pafs, fhe parts the floods in tway;
And eke huge mountains from their native feat
She would command, themselves to bear away,
And throw in raging fea with roaring threat:
Almighty God her gave fuch powre, and puiffance great.
XXI.
The faithful Knight now grew in little space,
By hearing her, and by her fifters lore,
To fuch perfection of all heavenly grace,
That wretched world he 'gan for to abhor,
And mortal life 'gan loath, as thing forlore,
Griev'd with remembrance of his wicked ways,
And prickt with anguifh of his fins fo fore,
That he defir'd to end his wretched days:
So much the dart of finful guilt the foul difmays.
But wife Speranza gave him comfort fweet,
And taught him how to take affured hold
Upon her filver anchor, as was meet;
Elfe had his fins fo great and manifold,
Made him forget all that Fidelia told.
In this diftreffed doubtful agony,
When him his dearest Una did behold,
Difdaining life, defiring leave to dye,
She found her felf affaild with great perplexity;
XXIII.
And came to Calia to declare her fmart :
Who well acquainted with that common plight,
Which finful horror works in wounded heart,
Her wifely comforted all that fhe might,
With goodly counfel and advisement right:
And ftraightway fent with careful diligence
To fetch a Leach, the which had great infight
In that disease of grieved confcience,
And well could cure the fame; his name was Patience.
Who coming to that foul-diseased Knight,
Could hardly him intreat to tell his grief:
Which known, and all that noyd his heavy fpright,
Well fearcht, eftfoons he 'gan apply relief
Of falves and med'cines, which had paffing prief,
And thereto added words of wondrous might:
By which, to cafe he him recured brief,
And much affwag'd the paffion of his plight,
That he his pain endur'd, as feeming now more light.
XXV.
But yet the cause and root of all his ill,
Inward corruption, and infected fin,
Not purg❜d nor heal'd, behind remained still,
And feftring fore did rankle yet within,
Clofe creeping 'twixt the marrow and the skin.
Which to extirpe, he laid him privily
Down in a darkfome lowly place, far in,
Whereas, he meant his corrofives t' apply,
And with strict diet tame his stubborn malady.
XXVI.
In ashes and fackcloth he did array
His dainty corfe, proud humours to abate,
And dieted with fafting every day,
The swelling of his wounds to mitigate,
And made him pray both early andˇeke late :
And ever as fuperfluous flefh did rot,
Amendment ready ftill at hand did wait,
To pluck it out with pincers fiery hot,
That foon in him was left no one corrupted jot.
XXVII.
And bitter Penance, with an iron whip,
Was wont him once to difple every day:
And sharp Remorfe his heart did prick and nip,
That drops of blood thence like a Well did play
And fad Repentance used to embay
His fmarting body in falt water fore,
The filthy blots of fin to wash away.
So in fhort space they did to health restore
The man that would not live, but erft lay at deaths dore.
In which his torment often was fo great,
That like a Lyon he would cry and rore,
And rend his flesh and his own finews eat,
His own dear Una hearing evermore
His rueful fhricks and groanings, often tore
Her guiltlefs garments, and her golden hair,
For pity of his pain and anguifh fore,
Yet all with patience wifely fhe did bear;
For well fhe wift, his crime could elfe be never clear.
XXIX.
Whom thus recover'd by wife Patience,
And true Repentance, they to Una brought:
Who joyous of his cured confcience,
Him dearly kift, and fairly eke befought
Himfelf to cherifh, and confuming thought
To put away out of his careful breaft.
By this, Chariffa, late in child-bed brought,
Was woxen ftrong, and left her fruitful neft;
To her fair Una brought this unacquainted gueft.
XXX.
She was a woman in her fresheft age,
Of wondrous beauty, and of bounty rare,
With goodly grace and comely perfonage,
That was on earth not eafie to compare ;
Full of great love: but Cupids wanton fnare
As hell the hated, chafte in work and will;
Her neck and breafts were ever open bare,
That aye thereof her babes might fuck their fill;
The reft was all in yellow robes arrayed ftill.
XXXI.
A multitude of babes about her hung,
Playing their fports that joyd her to behold; Whom ftill fhe fed, whiles they were weak and young, But thrust them forth ftill as they wexed old: And on her head fhe wore a tyre of gold, Adorn'd with gemms and owches wondrous fair, Whose paffing price uneath was to be told; And by her fide there fate a gentle pair Of turtle doves, fhe fitting in an ivory chair.
The Knight and Una entring, fair her greet,
And bid her joy of that her happy brood;
Who them requites with court'fies feeming meet,
And entertains with friendly chearful mood.
Then Una her befought to be fo good,
As in her vertuous rules to school her Knight,
Now after all his torment well withstood,
In that fad house of Penance, where his spright Had past the pains of hell, and long enduring night. XXXIII.
She was right joyous of her juft request;
And taking by the hand that Fairies fon,
Gan him inftruct in every good behest
Of love and righteoufnefs, and well to done,
And wrath and hatred warily to fhun,
That drew on men Gods hatred and his wrath,
And many fouls in dolours had fordone :
In which, when him fhe well inftructed hath,
From thence to heaven fhe teacheth him the ready path.
XXXIV.
Wherein his weaker wandring steps to guide,
An ancient matrone fhe to her does call,
Whose sober looks her wifdome well difcride:
Her name was Mercy, well known over all,
To be both gracious, and eke liberal:
To whom the careful charge of him fhe gave,
To lead aright, that he fhould never fall
In all his ways through this wide worldës wave, That mercy in the end his righteous foul might fave. XXXV.
The godly matrone by the hand him bears
Forth from her prefence, by a narrow way,
Scattred with bushy thorns, and ragged brears,
Which still before him fhe remov'd away,
That nothing might his ready passage stay;
And ever when his feet encombred were,
Or 'gan to fhrink, or from the right to ftray,
She held him faft, and firmly did upbear,
As careful nurfe her child from falling oft does rear.
Eftfoons unto an holy hospital,
That was foreby the way, fhe did him bring,
In which seven bead-men, that had vowed all
Their life to service of high heavens King,
Did spend their days in doing godly thing:
Their gates to all were open evermore,
That by the weary way were traveling,
And one fate waiting ever them before,
To call in commers-by, that needy were and poor.
XXXVII.
The first of them that eldest was, and beft,
Of all the house had charge and government
As guardian and fteward of the rest:
His office was to give entertainment
And lodging, unto all that came, and went:
Not unto fuch as could him feaft again,
And double quite for that he on them 1pent,
But fuch as want of harbour did constrain :
Thofe for Gods fake his duty was to entertain.
XXXVIII.
The fecond was an Almner of the place:
His office was, the hungry for to feed,
And thirsty give to drink, a work of grace:
He feard not once himself to be in need,
Ne car'd to hoard for those, whom he did breed:
The grace of God he laid up ftill in ftore,
Which as a stock he left unto his feed;
He had enough, what need him care for more? And had he lefs; yet fome he would give to the poor, XXXIX.
The third had of their wardrobe custody,
In which were not rich tires, nor garments gay,
The plumes of pride, and wings of vanity,
But cloathës meet to keep keen cold away,
And naked nature feemly to array,
With which, bare wretched wights he daily clad,
The images of God in earthly clay;
And if that no fpare cloaths to give he had, His own coat he would cut, and it diftribute glad.
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