VI.

Buskins he wore of costliest cordwayne,1
Pinckt upon gold, and paled part per part,
As then the guize 2 was for each gentle swayne:
In his right hand he held a trembling dart,
Whose fellow he before had sent apart;

And in his left he held a sharpe bore-speare,
With which he wont to launch the salvage hart
Of many a lyon and of many a beare,

That first unto his hand in chase did happen neare.

VII.

Whom Calidore awhile well having vewed,

At length bespake; "What meanes this, gentle Swaine ! Why hath thy hand too bold itselfe embrewed

In blood of Knight, the which by thee is slaine, By thee no Knight; which armes impugneth plaine!" 66 Certes,3 ,3" said he, “loth were I to have broken The Law of Armes; yet breake it should againe, Rather then let myselfe of wight be stroken,1 So long as these two armes were able to be wroken.5

VIII.

"For not I him, as this his Ladie here

May witnesse well, did offer first to wrong,

1 Cordwayne, Spanish leather.

2 Guize, fashion.

3 Certes, certainly.

4 Stroken, struck.

5 Wroken, avenged.

VI. 2. ·Pinckt upon gold, and paled part per part.] Adorned with golden points, or eyelets, and regularly intersected with stripes. In heraldry, a shield is said to be parted per pale when it is longitudinally divided by a pale, or broad bar.

VII. 5. Which armes impugneth plaine.] Which your arms plainly declare. He perceived by his dress and arms that he had not reached the degree of a knight.

Ne surely thus unarm'd I likely were;

But he me first through pride and puissance strong Assayld, not knowing what to armes doth long.'' "Perdie 2 great blame," then said Sir Calidore, "For armed Knight a wight unarm'd to wrong: But then aread,3 thou gentle Chyld, wherefore Betwixt you two began this strife and sterne uprore."

IX.

"That shall I sooth,4" said he, "to you declare.
I, whose unryper yeares are yet unfit

For thing of weight or worke of greater care,
Doe spend my dayes and bend my carelesse wit
To salvage chace, where I thereon may hit
In all this forrest and wyld woodie raine 5:
Where, as this day I was enraunging it,

I chaunst to meete this Knight who there lyes slaine, Together with this Ladie, passing on the plaine.

X.

"The Knight, as ye did see, on horsebacke was,
And this his Ladie, that him ill became,

On her faire feet by his horse-side did pas
Through thicke and thin, unfit for any Dame:
Yet not content, more to increase his shame,
Whenso she lagged, as she needs mote so,
He with his speare (that was to him great blame)
Would thumpe her forward and inforce to goe,
Weeping to him in vaine and making piteous woe.

XI.

"Which when I saw, as they me passed by, Much was I moved in indignant mind,

1 Long, belong.
4 Sooth, truly.

2 Perdie, truly. 3 Arcad, explain.
5 Raine, reign, region.

And gan to blame him for such cruelty
Towards a Ladie, whom with usage kind
He rather should have taken up behind.
Wherewith he wroth and full of proud disdaine
Tooke in foule scorne that I such fault did find,
And me in lieu thereof revil'd againe,

Threatning to chastize me, as doth t'a chyld pertaine.

XII.

"Which I no lesse disdayning, backe returned His scornefull taunts unto his teeth againe,

That he streightway with haughtie choler burned, And with his speare strooke me one stroke or twaine; Which I, enforst to beare though to my paine, Cast to requite; and with a slender dart, Fellow of this I beare, throwne not in vaine, Strooke him, as seemeth, underneath the hart, That through the wound his spirit shortly did depart."

XIII.

Much did Sir Calidore admyre his speach

Tempred so well, but more admyr'd the stroke
That through the mayles had made so strong a breach
Into his hart, and had so sternely wroke

His wrath on him that first occasion broke:
Yet rested not, but further gan inquire

Of that same Ladie, whether what he spoke
Were soothly1 so, and that th' unrighteous ire
Of her owne Knight had given him his owne due hire.

XIV.

Of all which whenas she could nought deny,
But cleard that Stripling of th' imputed blame;
Sayd then Sir Calidore; "Neither will I

1 Soothly, truly.

Him charge with guilt, but rather doe quite clame1:
For, what he spake, for you he spake it, Dame;
And what he did, he did himselfe to save:

Against both which that Knight wrought knightlesse 2 shame:

For Knights and all men this by nature have, Towards all womenkind them kindly to behave.

XV.

"But, sith 3 that he is gone irrevocable,

Please it you, Ladie, to us to aread 4
What cause could make him so dishonourable

To drive you so on foot, unfit to tread

And lackey by him, gainst all womanhead."
"Certes,5 Sir Knight," sayd she, “full loth I were
To rayse a lyving blame against the dead:
But, since it me concernes myselfe to clere,
I will the truth discover as it chaunst whylere.

XVI.

"This day, as he and I together roade
Upon our way to which we weren bent,
We chaunst to come foreby a covert glade
Within a wood, whereas a Ladie gent

7

Sate with a Knight in ioyous iolliment

8

Of their franke loves, free from all gealous spyes:
Faire was the Ladie sure, that `mote content
An hart not carried with too curious eyes,

And unto him did shew all lovely courtesyes.

XVII.

"Whom when my Knight did see so lovely faire,

1 Quite clame, quitclaim, release.

2 Knightlesse, unworthy of a knight.

3 Sith, since.

4 Aread, explain.

5 Certes, certainly.

Whylere, lately.

7 Foreby, near to.

8 Gent, gentle.

He inly gan her Lover to envý,

And wish that he part of his spoyle might share:
Whereto whenas my presence he did spy

To be a let,' he bad me by and by
For to alight: but, whenas I was loth

My Loves owne part to leave so suddenly,

He with strong hand down from his steed me throw'th, And with presumpteous powre against that Knight streight

go'th.

XVIII.

"Unarm'd all was the Knight, as then more meete For Ladies service and for loves delight,

Then 2 fearing any foeman there to meete:

4

Whereof he taking oddes,3 streight bids him dight1
Himselfe to yeeld his Love or else to fight:
Whereat the other starting up dismayd,
Yet boldly answer'd, as he rightly might,
To leave his Love he should be ill apayd,5

In which he had good right gaynst all that it gainesayd.

XIX.

"Yet since he was not presently in plight

Her to defend, or his to iustifie,

He him requested, as he was a Knight,

To lend him day his better right to trie,
Or stay till he his armes, which were thereby,
Might lightly fetch: but he was fierce and whot,
Ne time would give, nor any termes aby,7
But at him flew, and with his speare him smot;
From which to thinke to save himselfe it booted not.

1 Let, hinderance.

2 Then, than.

3 Oddes, advantage.

• Dight, prepare.

5 Ill apayd, ill satisfied.

6 Whot, hot, impetuous.

7 Aby, abide