XIV.

Nath'lefs, the villain fped himself so well,
Whether through fwiftnefs of his fpeedy beast,
Or knowledge of those woods, where he did dwell,
That shortly he from danger was releast,
And out of fight efcaped at the leaft;
Yet not escaped from the due reward
Of his bad deeds, which daily he increast,
Ne ceafed not, till him oppreffed hard
The heavy plague, that for fuch leachours is prepar'd.

XV.

For foon as he was vanifht out of fight,
His coward courage 'gan emboldned be,
And caft t'avenge him of that foul despight,
Which he had borne of his old enimee.
Tho to his brethren came: for they were three
Ungracious children of one graceless Sire,
And unto them complained, how that he
Had ufed been of that fool-hardy Squire;
So them with bitter words he ftir'd to bloody ire.
XVI.

Forth-with, themselves with their fad inftruments
Of spoil and murder they 'gan arm bylive,
And with him forth into the foreft went,
To wreak the wrath, which he did earft revive
In their ftern breafts, on him which late did drive
Their brother to reproch and fhameful flight:
For they had vow'd, that never he alive

Out of that foreft fhould escape their might;
Vile rancour their rude hearts had fill'd with fuch defpight.
XVII.

Within that wood there was a covert glade,

Fore-by a narrow ford (to them well known)
Through which it was uneath for wight to wade;
And now by fortune it was overflown :

By that fame way, they knew that Squire unknown
Mote algates pafs; forthy themselves they fet
There in await, with thick woods over-grown,
And all the while their malice they did whet

With cruel threats, his paffage through the ford to let.

XVIII.

It fortuned, as they devised had,

The gentle Squire came riding that fame way,
Unweeting of their wile and treafon bad,
And through the ford to paffen did affay;
But that fierce Fofter, which late fled away,
Stoutly forth ftepping on the further fhore,
Him boldly bade his paffage there to stay,
Till he had made amends, and full restore
For all the damage which he had him doen afore.
XIX.

With that, at him a quiv'ring dart he threw,
With fo fell force and villainous defpite,
That through his haberjeon the forkhead flew,
And through the linked mails empierced quite,
But had no powre in his foft flesh to bite :

That stroke the hardy Squire did fore difplease,
But more that him he could not come to fmite;
For by no means the high bank he could feize,
But labour'd long in that deep ford with vain disease.)
XX.

And still the Fofter with his long boar-fpear
Him kept from landing at his wifhed will;
Anon one fent out of the thicket near
A cruel fhaft headed with deadly ill,
And feathered with an unlucky quill,
The wicked steel ftaid not, till it did light
In his left thigh, and deeply did it thrill:
Exceeding grief that wound in him empight;

But more, that with his foes he could not come to fight.
XXI.

At laft (through wrath and vengeance making way)
He on the bank arriv'd with mickle pain,

Where the third brother him did fore afsay,
And drove at him with all his might and main
A foreft-bill, which both his hands did strain;
But warily he did avoid the blow,

And with his fpear requited him again,

That both his fides were thrilled with the throw,

And a large ftream of blood out of the wound did flow.

XXII.

He tumbling down, with gnashing teeth did bite,
The bitter earth, and bade to let him in
Into the baleful house of endless night,
Where wicked ghofts do wail their former fin.
Tho 'gan the battle freshly to begin;
For nathemore for that fpectacle bad,
Did th'other two their cruel vengeance blin,
But both attonce on both fides him beftad,
And load upon him laid, his life for to have had.
XXIII.

Tho when that villain he aviz'd, which late
Affrighted had the fairest Florimell,
Full of fierce fury, and indignant hate,
To him he turned; and with rigour fell
Smote him fo rudely on the pannikell,
That to the chin he cleft his head in twain :
Down on the ground his carcafs grovelling fell;
His finful foul, with defperate difdain,
Out of her fleshly ferm fled to the place of pain.
XXIV.

That seeing now the only last of three,

Who with that wicked fhaft him wounded had,
Trembling with horrour, as that did foresee
The fearful end of his avengement fad,

Through which he follow fhould his brethren bad,
His bootless bow in feeble hand upcaught,
And there-with fhot an arrow at the lad;

Which faintly fluttring, fcarce his helmet raught. And glauncing fell to ground, but him annoyed nought, XXV.

With that he would have fled into the wood;

But Timias him lightly overhent,

Right as he entring was into the flood,
And ftrook at him with force so violent,

That headless him into the ford he fent:
The carcass with the ftream was carried down,
But th'head fell backward on the continent.
So mischief fell upon the meaners crown;

They three bedead with fhame, the Squire lives with renown,

XXVI.

He lives but takes fmall joy of his renown;
For of that cruel wound he bled fo fore,
That from his fteed he fell in deadly fwoun;
store,
Yet ftill the blood forth gufht in fo great
That he lay wallow'd all in his own gore.
Now God thee keep, thou gentle Squire alive:
Else shall thy loving Lord thee fee no more;
But both of comfort him thou fhalt deprive,
And eke thy felf of honour, which thou didst atchive.
XXVII.

Providence heavenly paffeth living thought,

And doth for wretched mens relief make way;
For lo, great grace or fortune thither brought
Comfort to him, that comfortless now lay.
In those fame woods, ye well remember may,
How that a noble hunteress did wonne
She that base Braggadochio did affray,

And made him faft out of the foreft run;
Belpbabe was her name, as fair as Phabus fun.
XXVIII.

She on a day, as fhe purfu'd the chace

Of fome wild beaft, which with her arrows keen
She wounded had, the fame along did trace
By tract of blood, which fhe had freshly seen
To have befprinkled all the graffie green;
By the great pursue which the there perceiv'd,
Well hoped the the beaft engor'd had been,
And made more hafte, the life to have bereav'd:
But ah! her expectation greatly was deceiv'd.
XXIX.

Shortly the came, whereas that woeful Squire
With blood deformed lay in deadly fwound:
In whose fair eyes, like lamps of quenched fire,
The chrystal humour stood congealed round;
His locks, like faded leaves fallen to ground,
Knotted with blood, in bunches rudely ran,
And his fweet lips, on which before that stound
The bud of youth to bloffom fair began,
Spoild of their rofie red, were woxen pale and wan.
Dd 4

"

XXX.

Saw never living eye more heavy fight,

That could have made a rock of stone to rew,
Or rive in twain: which when that Lady bright
(Befide all hope) with melting eyes did view,
All fuddainly abafht, fhe changed hew,
And with ftern horrour backward 'gan to ftart:
But when the better him beheld, fhe grew
Full of foft paffion and unwonted smart :
The point of pity pierced through her tender heart.
XXXI.

Meekly the bowed down, to weet if life
Yet in his frozen members did remain;
And feeling by his pulfes beating rife,
That the weak foul her feat did yet retain,
She caft to comfort him with bufie pain:
His double folded neck the rear'd upright,
And rub'd his temples, and each trembling vein;
His mail'd haberjeon the did undight,

And from his head his heavy burganet did light.
XXXII.

Into the woods thenceforth in hafte fhe went,
To feek for herbs, that mote him remedy;
For the of herbs had great intendiment,
Taught of the nymph, which from her infancy
Her nurfed had in true nobility:

There, whether it divine Tobacco were,

Or Pannachæa, or Polygony,

She found, and brought it to her patient dear, Who all this while lay bleeding out his heart-blood near.

XXXIII.

The foveraine weed betwixt two marbles plain
She pounded fmall, and did in pieces bruize,
And then atween her lilly handës twain,
Into his wound the juice thereof did fcruze,
And round about (as fhe could well it ufe)
The flesh there-with fhe fuppled and did steep,
T'abate all fpafm, and foke the swelling bruize;
And after having fearcht the intufe deep,

She with her fcarf did bind the wound from cold to keep.