Did drive the Romanes to the weaker syde, That they to peace agreed. So all was pacifyde.
Was never king more highly magnifide,
Nor dredd of Romanes, then was Arvirage;
For which the Emperour to him allide
His daughter Genuiss' in marriage:
Yet shortly he renounst the vassallage
Of Rome againe, who hither hastly sent
Vespasian, that with great spoile and rage
Forwasted all, till Genuissa gent
Persuaded him to ceasse, and her lord to relent.
He dide, and him succeeded Marius,
Who joyd his dayes in great tranquillity.
Then Coyll; and after him good Lucius,
That first received Christianity,
The sacred pledge of Christes Evangely.
Yet true it is, that long before that day
Hither came Joseph of Arimathy,
For Asclepiodate him overcame, And left inglorious on the vanquisht playne, Without or robe or rag to hide his shame: Then afterwards he in his stead did raigne, But shortly was by Coyll in batteill slaine: [say, Who after long debate, since Lucies tyme, Who brought with him the holy grayle, they Was of the Britons first crownd Soveraine. And preacht the truth; but since it greatly Then gan this Realme renew her passed prime: He of his name Coylchester built of stone and lime.
Two brethren were their Capitayns, which hight
But by the helpe of Vortimere his sonne,
He is againe unto his rule restord;
And Hengist, seeming sad for that was donne,
Received is to grace and new accord, [word.
Through his faire daughters face and flattring
Soone after which three hundred Lords he slew
Of British blood, all sitting at his bord;
Whose dolefull moniments who list to rew,
Th' eternall marks of treason may at Stonheng
By this the sonnes of Constantine, which fled,
Ambrose and Uther, did ripe yeares attayne,
And, here arriving, strongly challenged
The crowne which Vortiger did long detayne:
Who, flying from his guilt, by them was
slayne;
[death.
And Hengist eke soon brought to shamefull
Thenceforth Aurelius peaceably did rayne,
Till that through poyson stopped was his breath;
So now entombed lies at Stoneheng by the
heath.
After him Uther, which Pendragon hight,
Succeeding-There abruptly it did end,
Without full point, or other Cesure right;
As if the rest some wicked hand did rend,
Or th' Author selfe could not at least attend
To finish it: that so untimely breach
The Prince him selfe halfe seemed to offend;
Yet secret pleasure did offence empeach,
And wonder of antiquity long stopt his speach.
The royall Ofspring of his native land,
At last, quite ravisht with delight to heare
Cryde out; 'Deare countrey! O! how dearely
deare
Ought thy remembraunce and perpetuall band
Did commun breath and nouriture receave.
Be to thy foster Childe, that from thy hand
How brutish is it not to understand
How much to her we owe, that all us gave;
That gave unto us all what ever good we have.
But Guyon all this while his booke did read, Ne yet has ended, for it was a great
Hengist and Horsus, well approv'd in warre,
And both of them men of renowmed might;
Who making vantage of their civile jarre,
And of those forreyners which came from And ample volume, that doth far excead
farre,
My leasure so iong leaves here to repeat:
Grew great, and got large portions of land, It told how first Prometheus did create
That in the Realme ere long they stronger A man, of many parts from beasts deryv'd,
[hand, And then stole fire from heven to animate
Then they which sought at first their helping His worke, for which he was by Jove depryv'd
And Vortiger have forst the kingdome to Of life him self, and hart-strings of an Aegle
ryv'd.
Which with incessaunt force and endlesse hate They battred day and night, and entraunce did awate.
But in a body which doth freely yeeld
His partes to reasons rule obedient,
And letteth her that ought the scepter weeld,
All happy peace and goodly government
Is setled there in sure establishment.
There Alma, like a virgin Queene most bright,
Doth florish in all beautie excellent;
And to her guestes doth bounteous banket dight,
Attempred goodly well for health and for They all that charge did fervently apply
Early, before the Morne with cremosin ray
The windowes of bright heaven opened had,
Through which into the world the dawning
day
Might looke, that maketh every creature glad,
Uprose Sir Guyon, in bright armour clad,
And to his purposd journey him prepar❜d:
With him the Palmer eke in habit sad
Him selfe addrest to that adventure hard:
So to the rivers syde they both together far'd:
Where them awaited ready at the ford
The Ferriman, as Alma had behight,
With his well-rigged bote: They goe abord,
And he eftsoones gan launch his barke forth-
right.
Ere long they rowed were quite out of sight,
And fast the land behynd them fled away.
But let them pas, whiles wind and wether
right
Doe serve their turnes: here I a while must stay,
To see a cruell fight doen by the prince this
day.
For all so soone as Guyon thence was gon
Upon his voyage with his trustie guyde,
That wicked band of villeins fresh begon
That castle to assaile on every side,
And lay strong siege about it far and wyde.
So huge and infinite their numbers were,
That all the land they under them did hyde;
So fowle and ugly, that exceeding feare
Their visages imprest when they approched
Them in twelve troupes their Captein did
dispart,
And round about in fittest steades did place,
Where each might best offend his proper part,
And his contrary object most deface,
As every one seem'd meetest in that cace.
Seven of the same against the Castle gate
In strong entrenchments he did closely place,
The other five five sondry wayes he sett
Against the five great Bulwarkes of that pyle,
And unto each a Bulwarke did arrett,
T' assayle with open force or hidden guyle,
In hope thereof to win victorious spoile.
With greedie malice and importune toyle,
And planted there their huge artillery,
With which they dayly made most dreadfull
battery.
Whose hideous shapes were like to feendes of
hell,
[dismayd,
Some like to houndes, some like to Apes,
Some like to Puttockes, all in plumes arayd;
All shap't according their conditions:
For by those ugly formes weren pourtrayd
Foolish delights, and fond abusions,
Which doe that sence besiege with
The noble Virgin, Ladie of the Place,
Was much dismayed with that dreadful sight,
For never was she in so evill cace,
Till that the Prince, seeing her wofull plight,
Gan her recomfort from so sad affright,
Offring his service, and his dearest life
For her defence against that Carle to fight,
Which was their chiefe and th' authour of that
strife:
And that fourth band which cruell battry She him remercied as the Patrone of her life. bent
Against the fourth Bulwarke, that is the Taste,
Was, as the rest, a grysie rablement; [faste Eftsoones himselfe in glitterand armes he Some mouth'd like greedy Oystriges; some
Like loathly Toades; some fashioned in the And his well proved weapons to him hent;
Like swine for so deformd is luxury, [waste So, taking courteous congé, he behight
Surfeat, misdiet, and unthriftie waste,
Vaine feastes, and ydle superfluity:
All those this sences Fort assayle incessantly.
Those gates to be unbar'd, and forth he went.
Fayre mote he thee, the prowest and most
That ever brandished bright steele on hye!
Whome soone as that unruly rablement
With his gay Squyre issewing did espye, [cry:
They reard a most outrageous dreadfull yelling
Upon his shield their heaped hayle he bore, And with his sword disperst the raskall flockes,
Which fled asonder, and him fell before;
As withered leaves drop from their dryed
stockes,
[locks:
When the wroth Western wind does reave their
And underneath him his courageous steed,
The fierce Spumador, trode them downe like
docks;
The fierce Spumador, borne of heavenly seed,
Such as Laomedon of Phoebus race did breed.
Which suddeine horrour and confused cry
When as their Capteine heard, in haste he yode
The cause to weet, and fault to remedy:
Upon a Tygre swift and fierce he rode,
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