Let me not die in languor and long teares."

"Why, Dame," (quoth he,) "what hath ye thus difmayd?

What frayes ye, that were wont to comfort me affrayd?"

53.

"Love of your felfe," fhe faide, "and deare conftraint, Lets me not fleepe, but waste the wearie night In fecret anguish and unpittied plaint,

Whiles you in careleffe fleepe are drowned quight.” Her doubtfull words made that redoubted knight Suspect her truth; yet since no' untruth he knew, Her fawning love with foule difdainefull spight He would not fhend; but faid, "Deare dame, I rew, That for my fake unknowne such griefe unto you grew. 54.

"Affure your felfe, it fell not all to ground; For all fo deare as life is to my hart,

I deeme your love, and hold me to you bound: Ne let vaine feares procure your needleffe smart, Where cause is none; but to your reft depart." Not all content, yet feemd she to appease Her mournefull plaintes, beguiled of her art, And fed with words that could not chose but please : So, flyding foftly forth, fhe turnd as to her ease.

55.

Long after lay he mufing at her mood,

Much griev'd to thinke that gentle Dame fo light,
For whofe defence he was to fhed his blood.
At laft, dull wearines of former fight
Having yrockt afleepe his irkefome spright,
That troublous dreame gan freshly toffe his braine
With bowres, and beds, and ladies deare delight:
But, when he saw his labour all was vaine,

With that misformed spright he backe returnd againe.

farre

CANTO II.

The guilefull great Enchaunter parts
The Redcroffe Knight from Truth:
Into whofe ftead faire falfhood steps,
And workes him woefull ruth.

I.

Y this the Northerne wagoner had fet
His fevenfold teme behind the ftedfaft

ftarre

That was in Ocean waves yet never wet,
But firme is fixt, and fendeth light from

To al that in the wide deepe wandring arre;
And chearefull Chaunticlere with his note fhrill
Had warned once, that Phoebus fiery carre
In haft was climbing up the Easterne hill,
Full envious that night fo long his roome did fill:

Into whofe ftead.] This line affords an inftance how old compofitors were fometimes mifled by the occurrence of a fimilar word in, or near, the fame line: " ftead " is mifprinted fteps in the edit. 1590, but it was afterwards corrected. C.

b By this the Northerne wagoner bad fet.] The northerne wagoner is Boötes, one of the conftellations; his fevenfold teme are the feven stars in the tail and hinder part of the Greater Bear, and vulgarly called Charles's wain; and the ftedfaft ftarre is the Pole-ftar. CHURCH.

2.

When those accurfed meffengers of hell,

That feigning dreame, and that faire-forged Spright,
Came to their wicked maister, and gan tel
Their booteleffe paines, and ill fucceeding night:
Who, all in rage to see his skilfull might
Deluded fo, gan threaten hellish paine,

And fad Proferpines wrath, them to affright;
But, when he saw his threatning was but vaine,
He cast about, and fearcht his baleful bokes againe.

3.

Eftfoones he tooke that mifcreated faire,

And that falfe other Spright, on whom he spred
A feeming body of the fubtile aire,

Like a young Squire, in loves and lufty hed
His wanton daies that ever loosely led,
Without regard of armes and dreaded fight:
Those twoo he tooke, and in a secrete bed,
Covered with darkenes and mifdeeming night,
Them both together laid to joy in vaine delight.

4.

Forthwith he runnes with feigned faithfull hast
Unto his gueft, who, after troublous fights
And dreames, gan now to take more found repast;
Whom fuddenly he wakes with fearful frights,
As one aghaft with feends or damned sprights,
And to him cals; "Rife, rife! unhappy Swaine,
That here wex old in fleepe, whiles wicked wights
Have knit themselves in Venus fhameful chaine :
Come, fee where your falfe Lady doth her honor staine.”

5.

All in amaze he fuddenly up ftart

With fword in hand, and with the old man went; Who foone him brought into a fecret part,

Where that falfe couple were full closely ment
In wanton luft and leud enbracement:
Which when he faw, he burnt with gealous fire;
The eie of reason was with rage yblent;

And would have flaine them in his furious ire,
But hardly was reftreined of that aged fire.

6.

Retourning to his bed in torment great,
And bitter anguish of his guilty fight,

He could not reft; but did his stout heart eat,
And waft his inward gall with deepe despight,
Yrkefome of life, and too long lingring night.
At laft faire Hefperus in highest skie

Had spent his lampe, and brought forth dawning light; Then up he rofe, and clad him hastily:

The dwarfe him brought his steed; so both away do fly.

7.

Now when the rofy fingred Morning faire,

Weary of aged Tithones faffron bed,

Had fpred her purple robe through deawy aire,

And the high hils Titan difcovered,

The royall virgin shooke off droufy hed;

And, rifing forth out of her baser bowre,

Lookt for her knight, who far away was fled,

And for her dwarfe, that wont to wait each howre: Then gan fhe wail and weepe to fee that woeful ftowre.

8.

And after him she rode, with so much speede

As her flowe beast could make; but all in vaine,
For him fo far had borne his light-foot steede,
Pricked with wrath and fiery fierce disdaine,

c full clofely ment.] We have already had meint in the sense of mingled, in "The Shep. Cal." p. 132, and here it occurs again, with the fame meaning, but differently fpelt. C.

That him to follow was but fruitlesse paine : Yet fhe her weary limbes would never reft; But every hil and dale, each wood and plaine, Did fearch, fore grieved in her gentle breft, He fo ungently left her, whome she loved beft.

9.

But fubtill Archimago, when his guests
He faw divided into double parts,

And Una wandring in woods and forrests,
Th' end of his drift, he praifd his divelish arts,
That had fuch might over true meaning harts:
Yet refts not so, but other meanes doth make,
How he may worke unto her further smarts;
For her he hated as the hifling fnake,

And in her many troubles did most pleasure take.

IO.

He then devifde himfelfe how to disguise;
For by his mighty fcience he could take

As many formes and shapes in feeming wife, As ever Proteus to himselfe could make: Sometime a fowle, fometime a fish in lake, Now like a foxe, now like a dragon fell; That of himselfe he ofte for feare would quake, And oft would flie away. O! who can tell The hidden powre of herbes, and might of Magick spel?

II.

But now seemde beft the perfon to put on

Of that good knight, his late beguiled guest:
In mighty armes he was yclad anon,
And filver shield; upon his coward brest
A bloody croffe, and on his craven crest

A bounch of heares difcolourd diverfly.
Full jolly knight he seemde, and wel addreft
And when he fate uppon his courfer free,

Saint George himselfe ye would have deemed him to be.