To whom then thus the noble Youth; "May be,
Sir Knight, that, by discovering my estate,
Harme may arise unweeting unto me;
Nathelesse, sith ye so courteous seemed late,
Το you I will not feare it to relate.
Then wote ye that I am a Briton borne,
Sonne of a King, (however thorough fate
Or fortune I my countrie have forlone,
And lost the Crowne which should my head by right adorne.)
"And Tristram is my name; the onely heire
Of good King Meliogras which did rayne
In Cornewale, till that he through lives despeire
Untimely dyde, before I did attaine
Ripe yeares of reason, my right to maintaine :
After whose death his brother, seeing mee
An infant, weake a Kingdome to sustaine,
Upon him tooke the roiall high degree,
And sent me, where him list, instructed for to bee.
"The widow queene my mother, which then hight
Faire Emiline, conceiving then great feare
Of my fraile safetie, resting in the might
Of him that did the Kingly Scepter beare,
Whose gealous dread induring not a peare
Is wont to cut off all that doubt may breed;
Thought best away me to remove somewhere
Into some forrein Land, whereas no need
Of dreaded daunger might his doubtfull humor feed.
So, taking counsell of a wise man red,
She was by him adviz'd to send me quight
Out of the Countrie wherein I was bred,
The which the fertile Lionesse is hight,
Into the Land of Faerie, where no wight
Should weet of me, nor worke me any wrong:
To whose wise read she hearkning sent me streight
Into this Land, where I have wond thus long
Since I was ten yeares old, now grown to stature strong.
“All which my daies I have not lewdly spent,
Nor spilt the blossome of my tender yeares
In ydlenesse; but, as was convenient,
Have trayned bene with many noble feres
In gentle thewes and such like seemly leres :
Mongst which my most delight hath alwaies been
To hunt the salvage chace, amongst my peres,
Of all that raungeth in the forrest greene,
Of which none is to me unknowne that ev'r was seene.
"Ne is there hauke which mantleth her on pearch,
Whether high towring or accoasting low,
But I the measure of her flight doe search,
And all her pray and all her diet know:
Such be our joyes which in these forrests grow:
Onely the use of armes, which most I joy,
And fitteth most for noble Swayne to know,
I have not tasted yet; yet past a Boy,
And being now high time these strong joynts to imploy.
"Therefore, good Sir, sith now occasion fit
Doth fall, whose like hereafter seldome may,
Let me this crave, unworthy though of it,
That ye will make me Squire without delay,
That from henceforth in batteilous array
beare armes, and learne to use them right; The rather, since that fortune hath this day
Given to me the spoile of this dead Knight,
These goodly gilden armes which I have won in fight.”
All which when well Sir Calidore had heard,
Him much more now, then earst, he gan admire
For the rare hope which in his yeares appear'd,
And thus replide; "Faire Chyld, the high desire
To love of armes, which in you doth aspire,
I may not certes without blame denie ;
But rather wish that some more noble hire
(Though none more noble then is Chevalrie)
I had, you to reward with greater dignitie."
There him he causd to kneele, and made to sweare
Faith to his Knight, and truth to Ladies all,
And never to be recreant for feare
Of perill, or of ought that might befall:
So he him dubbed, and his Squire did call.
Full glad and joyous then young Tristram grew;
Like as a flowre, whose silken leaves small
Long shut up in the bud from heavens vew,
At length breaks forth, and brode displayes his smyling
Thus when they long had treated to and fro,
And Calidore betooke him to depart,
Chyld Tristram prayd that he with him might goe
On his adventure, vowing not to start,
But wayt on him in every place and part:
Whereat Sir Calidore did much delight,
And greatly joy'd at his so noble hart,
In hope he sure would prove a doughtie Knight:
Yet for the time this answere he to him behight;
"Glad would I surely be, thou courteous Squire,
To have thy presence in my present quest,
That mote thy kindled courage set on fire,
And flame forth honour in thy noble brest :
But I am bound by vow, which I profest
To my dread Soveraine, when I it assayd,
That in atchievement of her high behest
I should no creature joyne unto mine ayde;
Forthy I may not graunt that ye so greatly prayde.
"But since this Ladie is all desolate,
And needeth safegard now upon her way,
Ye may doe well in this her needfull state
To succour her from daunger of dismay,
That thankfull guerdon may to you repay."
The noble Ympe, of such new service fayne,
It gladly did accept, as he did say :
So taking courteous leave they parted twayne;
And Calidore forth passed to his former payne.
But Tristram, then despoyling that dead Knight 39
Of all those goodly implements of prayse,
Long fed his greedie eyes with the faire sight
Of the bright mettall shyning like Sunne rayes ; .
Handling and turning them a thousand wayes :
And, after having them upon him dight,
He tooke that Ladie and her up did rayse
Upon the steed of her owne late dead Knight :
So with her marched forth, as she did him behight.
There to their fortune leave we them awhile,
And turne we backe to good Sir Calidore;
Who, ere he thence had traveild many a mile,
Came to the place whereas ye heard afore
This Knight, whom Tristram slew, had wounded sore
Another Knight in his despiteous pryde;
There he that Knight found lying on the flore
With many wounds full perilous and wyde,
That all his garments and the grasse in vermeill dyde:
And there beside him sate upon the ground
His wofull Ladie, piteously complayning
With loud laments that most unluckie stound,
And her sad selfe with carefull hand constrayning
To wype his wounds, and ease their bitter payning:
Which sorie sight when Calidore did vew,
With heavie eyne from teares uneath refrayning,
His mightie hart their mournefull case can rew,
And for their better comfort to them nigher drew.
Then, speaking to the Ladie, thus he sayd;
"Ye dolefull Dame, let not your griefe empeach
To tell what cruell hand hath thus arayd
This Knight unarm'd with so unknightly breach
Of armes, that, if I yet him nigh may reach,
I may avenge him of so foule despight."
The Ladie, hearing his so courteous speach,
Gan reare her eyes as to the chearefull light,
And from her sory hart few heavie words forth sigh't:
In which she shew'd, how that discourteous Knight, 43
Whom Tristram slew, them in that shadow found
Joying together in unblam'd delight;
And him unarm'd, as now he lay on ground,
Charg'd with his speare, and mortally did wound,
Withouten cause, but onely her to reave
From him, to whom she was for ever bound:
Yet, when she fled into that covert greave,
He, her not finding, both them thus nigh dead did leave.
When Calidore this ruefull storie had
Well understood, he gan of her demand,
What manner wight he was, and how yclad,
Which had this outrage wrought with wicked hand.
She then, like as she best could understand,
Him thus describ'd, to be of stature large,
Clad all in gilden armes, with azure band
Quartred athwart, and bearing in his targe
A Ladie on rough waves rowed in a sommer barge.
Then gan Sir Calidore to ghesse streightway,
By many signes which she described had,
That this was he whom Tristram earst did slay,
And to her sayd; Dame, be no longer sad;
For he, that hath your Knight so ill bestad,
Is now himselfe in much more wretched plight;
These eyes him saw upon the cold earth sprad,
The meede of his desert for that despight,
Which to yourselfe he wrought and to your loved Knight.
"Therefore, faire Lady, lay aside this griefe,
Which ye have gathered to your gentle hart
For that displeasure; and thinke what reliefe
Were best devise for this your Lovers smart;
And how ye may him hence, and to what part,
Convay to be recur'd." She thankt him deare,
Both for that newes he did to her impart,
And for the courteous care which he did beare
Both to her Love and to herselfe in that sad dreare.
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