Harvey's letter of 1580, had been ingeniously worked out by Spenser in his younger days, and he now thought it worth re-writing and incorporating in "The Faerie Queene." The fancy of the wedding of the rivers preludes the twelfth and last canto of the fourth book, in which marriage is typified by the love of Marinell and Florimell.

Among the guests was fair Cymodocé, the mother of unlucky Marinell, who came with her to learn the manner of the gods at banquet.

Marinell, wandering outside, heard Florimell within in plaint of love for him; then his heart yearned towards her. When Marinell's mother knew her son's desire, she felt

"It was no time to scan the prophecy

Whether old Proteus true or false had said,
That his decay should happen by a maid."

But as Proteus held Florimell in his prison, the nymph, Cymodocé, pleaded for her son to Neptune himself, and obtained his command to Proteus to set Florimell free. Marinell, when his mother brought Florimell to him, was healed by the sight of

"that angel's face

Adorned with all divine perfection."

So ends the fourth book, with the ceremony yet to come of the marriage between Marinell and Florimell.

The Fifth Book

-of Justice-follows Artegall in the pursuit of his adventure,

"That was to succour a distresséd Dame
Whom a strong tyrant did unjustly thrall,
And from the heritage, which she did clame,

Did with strong hand withhold; Grantorto was his name.

"Wherefore the Lady, which Irena hight,

Did to the Faery Queene her way addresse,
To whom complayning her afflicted plight,
She her besought of gratious redresse.

That soveraine Queene, that mightie Emperesse,

Whose glorie is to aide all suppliants pore,
And of weake princes to be Patronesse,
Chose Artegall to right her to restore;

For that to her he seem'd best skild in righteous lore."

Artegall was bred in his infancy by the daughter of Jove and Themis,
Astræa, Goddess of Justice, last of the celestials to quit earth during
the iron age. She taught him to weigh right and wrong in equal
balance with true recompense.
She trained him till he reached the
ripeness of man's years. She gave him the sword, Chrysaor, of perfect
metal tempered with adamant, that nothing could resist. And when
Astræa, parting from the sinful world, returned to heaven, whence she
derived her race, she left her groom, an iron man, to follow Artegall.

"His name was Talus, made of yron mould,
Immoveable, resistlesse, without end;
Who in his hand an yron flale did hould,

With which he thresht out falshood, and did truth unfould.”

Grantorto, who keeps Irena from her heritage, is Wrong- the word means great wrong—which it is the work of Justice to overcome, and which keeps Peace-eipńvn-from her own. Any glance there may be at Ireland in Irena, or at Arthur Lord Grey of Wilton in Artegall, plays on the surface of the allegory. Throughout "The Faerie Queene," and especially in the first and fifth books, Spenser makes his poem mirror incidents and persons of his time; but his care is to represent in his allegory the calm depths of essential truth, with the life of his own world reflected from their surface.

Talus, the iron man, who is Artegall's companion, takes in this book a place answering to that of Una in the Legend of the Red Cross Knight, or the Black Palmer in the Legend of Sir Guyon. He represents the abstract principle of Justice-swift to overtake offenders, strong to punish, untouched by passion or pity, irresistible. Talus is said in Plato's "Minos," which is a dialogue of law and justice, to have been a man who, when Minos ruled in Crete, went three times a year through the villages, showing to the people their laws written upon brazen tablets, whence he was called Talus, meaning brazen. But Apollonius Rhodius, in the " Argonautics," says that he was actually made of brass, body and limbs, and invulnerable; that he traversed the island three times a day on his brazen feet; and that he was made for Minos by Vulcan.

Sir Artegall, with Talus by his side, finds a squire mourning by a

headless lady. A knight-Sir Sanglier-who bore on his shield a broken sword within a bloody field, had discarded his own lady to carry off the squire's, and had struck off the head of his own lady when she cried to him not to leave her. Though it was long since Sir Sanglier had ridden away, Talus, being sent after him, soon fetched him back, and the lady with him. Brought before Artegall, Sir Sanglier defied his accuser, and declared the lady with him to be his. Then Artegall decided between them, and the Book of Justice opens with a romance version of the judgment of Solomon, as told in the third chapter of the first Book of Kings.

In the second canto Artegall meets Dony, Florimell's dwarf (who had before appeared in the fifth canto of the Third Book), and is told of the finding of Florimell, to whose spousals, which are to be held within three days at the Castle of the Strand, the dwarf is hastening. But, close by, the way is barred by a cruel Saracen, who keeps a bridge over which none may pass without paying him passage money. This Saracen is

66 Expert in battle and in deeds of arms,

And more emboldened by the wicked charms
With which his daughter doth him still support."

The daughter is the Lady Munera-gifts-and the form of injustice here to be battled with is that which keeps the narrow bridge of licensing, or corrupt favour, and bars the way to those who cannot show gold in assurance of their rights. The giant's name is Pollentè-prevailing—and the bridge he keeps has many trapfalls set in it. He spoils those whom he ruins, for enrichment of his daughter Munera. Artegall overcame the Saracen, entered his castle, dragged Munera from her hiding-place under a heap of gold, and had no pity on her beauty.

Artegall's next encounter was with a giant about whom gathered a great rout of people, tempted by his promises; and now we have Spenser's dealing with the communism of his time.

"There they beheld a mighty Gyant stand
Upon a rocke, and holding forth on hie
An huge great paire of ballaunce in his hand,
With which he boasted, in his surquedrie,
That all the world he would weigh equallie,
If ought he had the same to counterpoys;
For want whereof he weighéd vanity,
And fild his ballaunce full of idle toys;

Yet was admiréd much of fooles, women, and boys."

He offered to reduce all things to an equality, wherefore the vulgar flocked about him as the flies about a honey crock. Artegall reasoned with him of the Divine ordering of the world: "All change is perilous and all chance unsound." The Giant replied: "Seest not how badly all things present be?—

"Were it not good that wrong were then surceast,

And from the most that some were given to the least?

"Therefore I will throw downe these mountaines hie,
And make them levell with the lowly plaine;
These towring rocks, which reach unto the skie,
I will thrust downe into the deepest maine,
And, as they were, them equalize againe.
Tyrants, that make men subject to their law,

I will suppresse, that they no more may raine;

And Lordlings curbe that commons over-aw,

And all the wealth of rich men to the poore will draw."

Artegall replied that all was in God's power and ordained by Him, "for all we have is His: what He lists do, He may.' Man cannot weigh His works anew until he know their cause and their courses—

"For take thy ballaunce, if thou be so wise,
And weigh the winde that under heaven doth blow;
Or weigh the light that in the East doth rise;
Or weigh the thought that from man's mind doth flow.
But if the weight of these thou canst not show,
Weigh but one word which from thy lips doth fall :
For how canst thou those greater secrets know,
That doest not know the least thing of them all ?

Ill he can rule the great that cannot reach the small.”

The angry Giant said he could weigh the least word put into his balance. True words were put into the balance to be weighed against false, but true and false words flew away. Words are light, said the Giant, but I can weigh right against wrong. Try, then, said Artegall. The Giant put the right into one scale, and no heaping of wrong on the other side would make the balance turn. It was so when he weighed true and false. There was further argument, till Talus, going to the giant

"Shoulderéd him from off the higher ground,

And down the rock him throwing, in the sea him drowned.”

Then Talus, with his iron flail, laid about him among the people, and when the "rascal rout " was scattered, he returned to follow Artegall.

The third canto tells of the feast at the spousals of Florimell. Marinell was taken prisoner in the tilting, when Artegall entered the tilt-yard with Braggadochio and Florimell (whom he had met with in the fifth canto of the Fourth Book). Artegall for better disguise changed shields with Braggadochio, plunged into the game and rescued Marinell. Then he restored his shield to Braggadochio. When Florimell came into the hall to give each knight his guerdon, Braggadochio claimed what Sir Artegall abstained from claiming. Braggadochio brought forward his snowy Florimell whom Trompart had in keeping there beside. He removed her veil and showed her to the people, who said

"That surely Florimell it was,

Or if it were not Florimell so tride,

That Florimell her selfe she then did pas.

So feeble skill of perfect things the vulgar has."

But Artegall disclosed himself, brought Braggadochio to shame, and taking the true beauty of womanhood, Florimell,—

"Then did he set her by that snowy one,
Like the true saint beside the image set,
Of both their beauties to make paragone
And triall, whether should the honour get.
Streight-way, so soone as both together met,
Th' enchaunted Damzell vanisht into nought:
Her snowy substance melted as with heat,
Ne of that goodly hew remaynéd ought,

But th' emptie girdle which about her wayst was wrought."

Sir Guyon also came out of the press and claimed his horse that Braggadochio had stolen, the horse proving knowledge of his master. So justice was done here also between the false and true. Talus executed sentence of public disgrace on Braggadochio, and openly scourged Trompart out of court.

In the fourth canto Artegall, having left Marinell and Florimell happily wedded, proceeds on his adventure, and arbitrates between two brethren who are in dispute. They are Amidas and Bracidas, sons of Milesio, who left to each an island. The sea wasted the island of Bracidas and heaped land upon that of Amidas. Amidas loved Lucy with little dower; Bracidas the wealthy Philtera. But Philtera