A silly man, in simple weeds forworne,
And soild with dust of the long dried way;
His sandales were with toilsome travell torne,
And face all tand with scorching sunny ray,
As he had tarveild many a summers day
Through boyling sands of Arabie and Ynde;
And in his hand a Iacobs staffe, to stay

His

weary limbs upon; and eke behind

[bind.

His scrip did hang, in which his needments he did

The knight, approching nigh, of him inquerd
Tidings of warre, and of adventures new;
But warres, nor new adventures, none he herd.
Then Una gan to aske, if ought he knew
Or heard abroad of that her champion trew,
That in his armour bare a croslet red.

[rew "Ay me! deare dame," quoth he, "well may I To tell the sad sight which mine eies have red; These eies did see that knight both living and eķe ded."

That cruell word her tender hart so thrild,

That suddein cold did ronne through every vaine,
And stony horrour all her sences fild

With dying fitt, that downe she fell for paine.
The knight her lightly reared up againe,
And comforted with curteous kind reliefe:
Then, wonne from death, she bad him tellen plaine
The further processe of her hidden griefe: [chief.
The lesser pangs can beare, who hath endur'd the

Then gan the pilgrim thus; "I chaunst this day, This fatall day, that shall I ever rew,

To see two knights, in travell on my way,

(A sory sight) arraung'd in batteill new,

Both breathing vengeaunce, both of wrathfull hew: My feareful flesh did tremble at their strife,

To see their blades so greedily imbrew,

That, dronke with blood, yet thristed after life: What more? the Redcrosse knight was slain with Paynim knife."

"Ah! dearest lord," quoth she, "how might that And he the stoutest knight, that ever wonne ?" [bee, "Ah! dearest dame," quoth he, " how might I see The thing, that might not be, and yet was donne ?" "Where is," said Satyrane," that Paynims sonne, That him of life, and us of ioy, hath refte?"

"Nor far away," quoth he, "he hence doth wonne, Foreby a fountaine, where I late him left

Washing his bloody wounds, that through the steele were cleft."

Therewith the knight then marched forth in hast,
Whiles Una, with huge heavinesse opprest,
Could not for sorrow follow him so fast;
And soone he came, as he the place had ghest,
Whereas that Pagan proud himselfe did rest
In secret shadow by a fountaine side;

Even he it was, that earst would have supprest
Faire Una; whom when Satyrane espide,
With foule reprochful words he boldly him defide;

And said, "Arise, thou cursed miscreaunt, [train, That hast with knightlesse guile, and trecherous Faire knighthood fowly shamed, and doest vaunt That good knight of the Redcrosse to have slain : Arise, and with like treason now maintain

Thy guilty wrong, or els thee guilty yield.”
The Sarazin, this hearing, rose amain,

And, catching up in hast his three-square shield And shining helmet, soone him buckled to the field;

And, drawing nigh him, said; “ Ah! misborn Elfe,
In evill houre thy foes thee hither sent
Anothers wrongs to wreak upon thy selfe :
Yet ill thou blamest me, for having blent
My name with guile and traiterous intent:
That Redcrosse knight, perdie, I never slew;
But had he beene, where earst his armes were lent,
Th' enchaunter vaine his errour should not rew:
But thou his errour shalt, I hope, not proven trew."

Therewith they gan, both furious and fell,
To thunder blowes, and fiersly to assaile
Each other, bent his enimy to quell;

[maile,

That with their force they perst both plate and
And made wide furrowes in their fleshes fraile,
That it would pitty any living eie:

Large floods of blood adowne their sides did raile;
But floods of blood could not them satisfie:
Both hongred after death; both chose to win, or die.

So long they fight, and full revenge pursue,
That, fainting, each themselves to breathen let;
And, ofte refreshed, battell oft renue.

As when two bores, with rancling malice mett,
Their gory sides fresh bleeding fiercely frett;
Til breathlesse both themselves aside retire,
Where, foming wrath, their cruell tuskes they whett,
And trample th' earth, the whiles they may respire;
Then backe to fight againe, new breathed and entire.
VOL. II.

K

So fiersly, when these knights had breathed once,
They gan to fight retourne; increasing more
Their puissant force, and cruell rage attonce,
With heaped strokes more hugely then before;
That with their drery wounds, and bloody gore,
They both deformed, scarsely could bee known.
By this, sad Una fraught with anguish sore,
Led with their noise which through the aire was
thrown,

Arriv'd, wher they in erth their fruitles blood had

sown.

Whom all so soone as that proud Sarazin
Espide, he gan revive the memory

Of his leud lusts, and late attempted sin;
And lefte the doubtful battel hastily,
To catch her, newly offred to his eie:
But Satyrane, with strokes him turning, staid,
And sternely bad him other business plie
Then hunt the steps of pure unspotted maid
Wherewith he al enrag'd these bitter speaches said

"O foolish Faeries sonne, what fury mad
Hath thee incenst to hast thy dolefull fate?
Were it not better I that lady had

Then that thou hadst repented it too late?
Most sencelesse man he, that himselfe doth hate
To love another: lo then, for thine ayd,
Here take thy lovers token on thy pate."

So they to fight; the whiles the royall mayd

Fledd farre away, of that proud Paynim sore afrayd.

But that false pilgrim, which that leasing told,
Being in deed old Archimage, did stay

In secret shadow all this to behold;

And much rejoyced in their bloody fray:
But, when he saw the damsell passe away,
He left his stond, and her pursewd apace,
In hope to bring her to her last decay.
But for to tell her lamentable cace,

And eke this battels end, will need another place.

CANTO VII.

The Redcrosse knight is captive made
By gyaunt proud opprest:

Prince Arthur meets with Una great-
ly with those news distrest.

WHAT man so wise, what earthly witt so ware,
As to discry the crafty cunning traine,

By which Deceipt doth maske in visour faire,
And cast her coulours died deepe in graine,
To seeme like Truth, whose shape she well can faine,
And fitting gestures to her purpose frame,
The guiltlesse man with guile to entertaine?
Great maistresse of her art was that false dame,
The false Duessa, cloked with Fidessaes name.
Who when, returning from the drery Night,
She found not in that perilous Hous of Pryde,
Where she had left the noble redcrosse knight,
Her hoped pray; she would no lenger byde,
But forth she went to seeke him far and wide.
Ere long she fownd, whereas he wearie sate
To rest him selfe, foreby a fountaine syde,
Disarmed all of yron-coted plate;

And by his side his steed the grassy forage ate.