Page images
PDF
EPUB

XXIII.

"He, in the first flowre of my freshest age,
Betrothed me unto the onely haire

Of a most mighty king, most rich and sage;
Was never prince so faithfull and so faire,
Was never prince so meeke and debonaire;
But, ere my hoped day of spousall shone,
My dearest lord fell from high honors staire
Into the hands of hys accursed fone,

And cruelly was slaine; that shall I ever mone.

66

XXIV.

'His blessed body, spoild of lively breath, Was afterward, I know not how, convaid,

And fro me hid: of whose most innocent death When tidings came to mee, unhappy maid, O, how great sorrow my sad soule assaid! Then forth I went his woefull corse to find, And many yeares throughout the world I straid, A virgin widow; whose deepe wounded mind With love long time did languish, as the striken hind.

XXV.

"At last it chaunced this proud Sarazin

To meete me wandring; who perforce me led
With him away; but yet could never win;

There lies he now with foule dishonor dead,

Who, whiles he livde, was called proud Sans foy, The eldest of three brethren; all three bred Of one bad sire, whose youngest is Sans joy; And twixt them both was born the bloudy bold Sans loy.

XXVI.

"In this sad plight, friendlesse, unfortunate,

Now miserable I Fidessa, dwell,

Craving of you, in pitty of my state,

To doe none ill, if please ye not doe well.”

He in great passion al this while did dwell,
More busying his quicke eies her face to view,
Then his dull eares to heare what shee did tell;
And said, "Faire lady, hart of flint would rew
The undeserved woes and sorrowes, which ye shew,

XXVII.

"Henceforth in safe assuraunce may ye rest, Having both found a new friend you to aid, And lost an old foe that did you molest; Better new friend then an old foe is said." With chaunge of chear the seeming simple maid. Let fall her eien, as shamefast, to the earth, And yeelding soft, in that she nought gainsaid, So forth they rode, he feining seemely merth, And shee coy lookes: so dainty, they say, maketh derth.

XXVIII.

Long time they thus together traveiled;

Til, weary of their way, they came at last

Where grew two goodly trees, that faire did spred Their armes abroad, with gray mosse overcast ; And their greene leaves, trembling with every blast, Made a calme shadowe far in compasse round: The fearefull shepheard, often there aghast, Under them never sat, ne wont there sound His mery oaten pipe; but shund th' unlucky ground.

XXIX.

But this good knight, soone as he them can spie,

For the coole shade him thither hastly got:

For golden Phoebus, now ymounted hie,

From fiery wheeles of his faire chariot

Hurled his beame so scorching cruell hot,

That living creature mote it not abide;

And his new lady it endured not.

There they alight, in hope themselves to hide

From the fierce heat, and rest their weary limbs a tide.

XXX.

Faire seemely pleasaunce each to other makes,
With goodly purposes, there as they sit ;
And in his falsed fancy he her takes

To be the fairest wight that lived yit;

Which to expresse, he bends his gentle wit;
And, thinking of those braunches greene to frame
A girlond for her dainty forehead fit

He pluckt a bough; out of whose rifte there came
Smal drops of gory bloud, that trickled down the same.

XXXI.

Therewith a piteous yelling voice was heard,
Crying, "O spare with guilty hands to teare
My tender sides in this rough rynd embard ;
But fly, ah! fly far hence away, for feare
Least to you hap that happened to me heare,
And to this wretched lady, my deare love;

O too deare love, love bought with death too deare!
Astond he stood, and up his heare did hove;
And with that suddein horror could no member move.

[ocr errors]

XXXII.

At last whenas the dreadfull passion
Was overpast, and manhood well awake;

Yet musing at the straunge occasion,

And doubting much his sence, he thus bespake :

66

What voice of damned ghost from Limbo lake,

Or guilefull spright wandring in empty aire,

Both which fraile men doe oftentimes mistake, Sends to my doubtful eares these speaches rare, And ruefull plaints, me bidding guiltlesse blood to spare?"

XXXIII.

Then, groning deep; "Nor damned ghost," quoth he, "Nor guileful sprite to thee these words doth speake; But once a man Fradubio, now a tree;

Wretched man, wretched tree! whose nature weake

A cruell witch, her cursed will to wreake,
Hath thus transformed, and plast in open plaines,
Where Boreas doth blow full bitter bleake,

And scorching sunne does dry my secret vaines;
For though a tree I seme, yet cold and heat me paines."

66

XXXIV.

Say on, Fradubio, then, or man or tree,”

Quoth then the knight; "by whose mischievous arts
Art thou misshaped thus, as now I see?

He oft finds med'cine who his griefe imparts;
But double griefs afflict concealing harts;

As raging flames who striveth to suppresse."

66

The author then," said he,

66

of all my smarts,

Is one Duessa, a false sorceresse,

That many errant knights hath broght to wretchednesse.

XXXV.

"In prime of youthly yeares, when corage hott

The fire of love, and joy of chevalree

First kindled in my brest, it was my lott
To love this gentle lady, whome ye see
Now not a lady, but a seeming tree;
With whome, as once I rode accompanyde,
Me chaunced of a knight encountered bee,
That had a like faire lady by his syde;
Lyke a faire lady, but did fowle Duessa hyde.

XXXVI.

"Whose forged beauty he did take in hand

All other dames to have exceeded farre;

I in defence of mine did likewise stand,

Mine, that did then shine as the morning starre.
So both to batteill fierce arraunged arre;

In which his harder fortune was to fall

Under my speare; such is the dye of warre.
His lady, left as a prise martiall,

Did yield her comely person to be at my call,

XXXVII.

"So doubly lov'd of ladies, unlike faire,

Th' one seeming such, the other such indeede,
One day in doubt I cast for to compare

Whether in beauties glorie did exceede;
A rosy girlend was the victors meede,

Both seemde to win, and both seemde won to bee;
So hard the discord was to be agreede.

Frælissa was as faire as faire mote bee,

And ever false Duessa seemde as faire as shee.

XXXVIII.

"The wicked witch, now seeing all this while
The doubtfull ballaunce equally to sway,
What not by right, she cast to win by guile;
And, by her hellish science raisd streight way
A foggy mist that overcast the day,
And a dull blast that breathing on her face
Dimmed her former beauties shining ray,
And with foule ugly forme did her disgrace:

Then was she fayre alone, when none was faire in place.

XXXIX.

[ocr errors]

"Then cride she out, Fye, fye, deformed wight,

Whose borrowed beautie now appeareth plaine

To have before bewitched all mens sight:
O! leave her soone, or let her soone be slaine.'
Her loathly visage viewing with disdaine,
Eftsoones I thought her such as she me told,
And would have kild her; but with faigned paine
The false witch did my wrathfull hand withhold:
So left her, where she now is turned to treën mould.

XL.

"Thensforth I tooke Duessa for my dame,
And in the witch unweeting joyd long time;
Ne ever wist but that she was the same;
Till on a day (that day is everie prime,

« PreviousContinue »