XXIII.
And him before, I faw with bitter eyes
The bold Sans-foy fhrink underneath his fpear;
And now the prey of fowls in field he lyes,
Nor waild of friends, nor laid on groaning bier,
That whylome was to me too dearly dear.
O! what of Gods then boots it to be born,
If old Aveugles fons fo evil hear?
Or who shall not great Nightes children fcorn,
When two of three her Nephews are fo foul forlorn?
XXIV.
Up then, up dreary Dame of darkness Queen,
Go gather up the reliques of thy race,
Or else go them avenge, and let be feen
That dreaded Night in brigtheft day hath place,
And can the children of fair Light deface,
Her feeling speeches fome compaffion mov'd
In heart, and change in that great mothers face:
Yet pity in her heart was never prov'd
Till then for evermore fhe hated, never lov'd,
XXV.
And faid, dear Daughter rightly may I rue
The fall of famous children born of me,
And good fucceffes, which their foes enfue;
But who can turn the ftream of destiny,
Or break the chain of strong neceffity,
Which faft is tide to Joves eternal feat?
The fons of Day he favoureth, I fee,
And by my ruins thinks to make them great:
To make one great by others lofs, is bad excheat,
XXVI.
Yet fhall they not escape fo freely all;
For fome fhall pay the price of others guilt
And he the man that made Sans-foy to fall,
Shall with his own blood price that he hath spilt.
But what art thou, that tellft of Nephews kilt?
I that do feem not I, Duela am
(Quoth fhe) how ever now in garments gilt, And gorgeous gold arrayd I to thee came; Duela I, the Daughter of deceit and shame,
Then bowing down her aged back, fhe kist
The wicked Witch; faying, in that fair face,
The false resemblance of deceit, I wift,
Did closely lurk; yet fo true-feeming grace
It carried, that I scarce in darkfome place
Could it difcern, though I the mother be
Of falfhood, and root of Dueffas race.
O welcome child, whom I have long'd to fee, And now have feen unwares. Lo, now I go with thee, XXVIII.
Then to her iron wagon fhe betakes,
And with her bears the foul ill-favour'd Witch:
Through mirksome air her ready way she makes.
Her twyfold teme (of which, two black as pitch,
And two were brown, yet each to each unlich)
Did foftly fwim away, ne ever ftamp,
Unless fhe chaunct their ftubborn mouths to twitch; Then foaming tarre, their bridles they would champ And trampling the fine element, would fiercely ramp. XXIX.
So well they fped, that they be come at length
Unto the place whereas the Paynim lay,
Devoyd of outward fenfe, and native strength,
Covered with charmed cloud from view of day,
And fight of men, fince his late luckless fray.
His cruel wounds with cruddy blood congeal'd.
They binden up so wifely as they may,
And handle foftly, till they can be heal'd:
So lay him in her charet, close in night conceal'd.
XXX.
And all the while fhe ftood upon the ground,
The wakeful dogs did never cease to bay;
As giving warning of th' unwonted found,
With which her iron wheels did them affray,
And her dark griefly look them much dismay;
The meffenger of death, the ghaftly Owl,
With dreary fhrieks did also her bewray:
And hungry Wolves continually did howl,
At her abhorred face, fo filthy and fo foul.
Thence turning back in filence foft they ftole,
And brought the heavy corfe with eafie pace
To yawning gulf of deep Avernus hole.
By that fame hole, an entrance, dark and bace
With fmoak and fulphure hiding all the place,
Defcends to hell: there creature never past,
That back returned without heavenly grace;
But dreadful Furies, which their chains have braft,
And damned fprites fent forth to make ill men aghast.
XXXII.
By that fame way the direful Dames do drive
Their mournful charet, fill'd with rusty blood,
And down to Plutos houfe are come bilive :
Which paffing through, on every fide them ftood
The trembling ghofts with fad amazed mood,
Chattring their iron teeth, and staring wide
With ftony eyes; and all the hellish brood
Of fiends infernal flockt on every fide,
To gaze on earthly wight, that with the Night durft ride.
XXXIII.
They pafs the bitter waves of Acheron,
Where many fouls fit wayling woefully;
And come to fiery flood of Phlegeton,
Whereas the damned ghosts in torments fry,
And with fharp fhrilling fhrieks do bootless cry,
Curfing high Jove, the which them thither fent.
The houfe of endless pain is built thereby,
In which ten thousand forts of punishment
The curfed creatures do eternally torment.
XXXIV.
Before the threshold, dreadful Cerberus
His three deformed heads did lay along,
Curled with thousand Adders venemous,
And lolled forth his bloody flaming tong:
At them he 'gan to rear his briftles ftrong,
And felly gnarre, until days enemy
Did him appeafe; then down his tail he hong,
And fuffered them to paffen quietly:
For fhe in hell and heaven had power equally.
There was Ixion turned on a wheel,
For daring tempt the Queen of heaven to fin;
And Sifyphus an huge round ftone did reel
Against an hill, ne might from labour lin;
There thirsty Tantalus hung by the chin;
And Tityus fed a vulture on his maw;
Typhæus joints were stretched on a gin,
Thefeus condemn'd to endless floth by law,
And fifty Sifters water in leak veffels draw.
XXXVI.
They all beholding worldly wights in place,
Leave off their work, unmindful of their smart,
To gaze on them; who forth by them do pace,
Till they be come unto the furtheft part:
Where was a cave ywrought by wondrous art,
Deep, dark, uneafie, doleful, comfortless;
In which fad Efculapius far apart
Emprifond was in chains remedilefs,
For that Hippolytus rent corfe he did redress.
XXXVII.
Hippolytus a jolly huntfman was,
That wont in charet chace the foming bore;
He all his peers in beauty did furpafs,
But Ladies love, as lofs of time, forbore:
His wanton stepdame loved him the more.
But when the faw her offred fweets refufd,
Her love fhe turn'd to hate, and him before
His father fierce, of treafon falfe accused,
And with her jealous terms, his open ears abusd.
XXXVIII.
Who, all in rage, his Sea-god fyre befought
Some curfed vengeance on his fon to caft:
From furging gulf two monfters ftraight were brought,
With dread whereof his chaceing steeds aghaft,
Both charet fwift and huntsman overcaft.
His goodly corps on ragged cliffs yrent,
Was quite difmembred, and his members chaft,
Scattred on every mountain, as he went,
That of Hippolytus was left no moniment.
XXXIX.
His cruel stepdame feeing what was done,
Her wicked days with wretched knife did end,
In death avowing th' innocence of her fon.
Which hearing, his rash Sire began to rend
His hair, and hafty tongue, that did offend:
Tho gathering up the relicks of his smart
By Dians means, who was Hippolyts friend,
Them brought to Æfculape, that by his art
Did heal them all again, and joyned every part.
XL.
Such wondrous fcience in mans wit to reign
When Jove aviz'd, that could the dead revive,
And fates expired could renew again,
Of endless life he might him not deprive,
But unto hell did thruft him down alive,
With flashing thunderbolt ywounded fore:
Where long remaining, he did always strive
Himself with falves to health for to reftore,
And flake the heavenly fire that raged evermore.
XLI.
There ancient Night arriving, did alight
From her nigh weary wain, and in her arms
To Efculapius brought the wounded Knight :
Whom having foftly difarraid of arms,
Tho 'gan to him difcover all his harms,
Befeeching him with prayer, and with praise,
If either falves, or oyls, or herbs, or charms
A fordone wight from door of death mote raife,
He would at her request prolong her Nephews days.
XLII.
Ah Dame (quoth he) thou tempteft me in vain,
To dare the thing which daily yet I rue,
And the old cause of my continued pain
With like attempt to like end to renue.
Is not enough, that thrust from heaven due
Here endless penance for one fault I pay,
But that redoubled crime with vengeance new
Thou biddeft me to eke? can Night defray
The wrath of thundring Jove, that rules both night and day.
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