"Then seek this path that I to thee presage,
Which after all to heaven shall thee send;
Then peaceably thy painful pilgrimage.
To yonder same Hierusalem do bend,
Where is for thee ordain'd a blessed end:
For thou amongst those saints whom thou dost see,
Shalt be a saint, and thine own nation's friend
And patron; thou Saint George shalt called be,
Saint George of merry England, the sign of victory.
"Unworthy wretch," quoth he, " of so great grace, How dare I think such glory to attain !"
"These, that have it attain'd, were in like case,"
Quoth he, "as wretched, and liv'd in like pain.".
"But deeds of arms must I at last be fain
And ladies' love to leave, so dearly bought?"
"What need of arms, where peace doth ay remain,"
Said he, "and battles none are to be fought?
As for loose loves, they 're vain, and vanish into nought.”
"O let me not," quoth he, "then turn again
Back to the world, whose joys so fruitless are;
But let me here for aye in peace remain,
Or straightway on that last long voyage fare,
That nothing may my present hope impair."
"That may not be," said he, "nor mayst thou yet
Forget that royal maid's bequeathed care,
Who did her cause into thy hand commit,
Till from her cursed foe thou have her freely quit."
"Then shall I soon," quoth he, “
Abet that virgin's cause disconsolate,
And shortly back return unto this place,
To walk this way in pilgrim's poor estate.
But now aread,* old father, why of late
Didst thou behight† me born of English blood,
Whom all a Faeries son do nominate ?"
"That word shall I," quoth he, "avouchen good,
Since to thee is unknown the cradle of thy brood.
“For well I wot thou springst from ancient race
Of Saxon kings, that have with mighty hand,
And many bloody battles fought in place,
High rear'd their royal throne in Britain land,
And vanquish'd them, unable to withstand:
From thence a Faëry thee unweeting reft,
There as thou slepst in tender swadling band,
And her base Elfin brood there for thee left:
Such, men do changelings call, so chang'd by Faëries theft.
"Thence she thee brought into this Faëry land,
And in an heaped furrow did thee hide;
Where thee a ploughman all unweeting found,
As he his toilsome team that way did guide,
And brought thee up in ploughman's state to bide,
Whereof Georgos he thee gave to name;
Till prick'd with courage, and thy force's pride,
To Faery court thou cam'st to seek for fame,
And prove thy puissant arms, as seems thee best became." ↑ Behight, call.
“O holy sire,” quoth he, "how shall I quite*
The many favors I with thee have found,
That hast my name and nation read aright,
And taught the way that does to heaven bound!"
This said, adown he looked to the ground
To have returned, but dazed were his eyne
Through passing brightness which did quite confound His feeble sense, and too exceeding shine.
So dark are earthly things compar'd to things divine!
At last, whenas himself he gan to find,
To Una back he cast him to retire;
Who him awaited still with pensive mind.
Great thanks, and goodly meed, to that good sire
He thence departing gave for his pains' hire.
So came to Una, who him joy'd to see;
And, after little rest, gan him desire
Of her adventure mindful for to be.
So leave they take of Cælia and her daughters three.
The knight with that old dragon fights
Two days incessantly:
The third him overthrows; and gains
Most glorious victory.
HIGH time now 'gan it wax for Una fair
To think of those her captive parents dear,
And their forwasted kingdom to repair:
Whereto whenas they now approached near,
With hearty words her knight she gan to cheer,
And in her modest manner thus bespake;
"Dear knight, as dear as ever knight was dear,
That all these sorrows suffer for my sake,
High heaven behold the tedious toil, ye for me take!
"Now are we come unto my native soil,
And to the place where all our perils dwell;
Here haunts that fiend, and does his daily spoil;
Therefore henceforth be at your keeping well,
And ever ready for your foeman fell:
That spark of noble courage now awake,
And strive your excellent self to excel;
That shall ye evermore renowned make
Above all knights on earth, that battle undertake."
And pointing forth, "Lo! yonder is,” said she,
"The brazen towre, in which my parents dear,
For dread of that huge fiend emprison'd be ;
Whom I from far see on the walls appear,
Whose sight my feeble soul doth greatly cheer,
And on the top of all I do espy
The watchman waiting tidings glad to hear,
That, O my parents, might I happily
Unto you bring, to ease you of your misery!"
With that they heard a roaring hideous sound,
That all the air with terror filled wide,
And seem'd uneath to shake the stedfast ground.
Eftsoons that dreadful dragon they espied,
Where stretch'd he lay upon the sunny side
Of a great hill, himself like a great hill:
But, all so soon as he from far descry'd
Those glistring arms that heaven with light did fill, He rous'd himself full blithe, and hastened them until.
Then bade the knight his lady yode* aloof,
And to an hill herself withdraw aside :
From whence she might behold that battle's proof,
And eke be safe from danger far descry'd:
She him obey'd, and turned a little wide.
Now, O thou sacred Muse, most learned dame,
Fair imp of Phoebus and his aged bride,
The nurse of time and everlasting fame,
That warlike hands ennoblest with immortal name;
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