And to the Clergy now was come at last;

In which such spoile, such havocke, and such theft
He wrought, that thence all goodnesse he bereft,
That endlesse were to tell. The Elfin Knight,

Who now no place besides unsought had left,
At length into a Monastere did light,

Where he him found despoyling all with maine and might.

XXIV.

Into their cloysters now he broken had,

1

Through which the Monckes he chaced here and there, And them pursu'd into their dortours 1 sad, And searched all their cels and secrets neare; In which what filth and ordure did appeare, Were yrkesome to report; yet that foule Beast, Nought sparing them, the more did tosse and teare, And ransacke all their dennes from most to least, Regarding nought religion nor their holy heast.2

XXV.

From thence into the sacred church he broke,

And robd the chancell, and the deskes downe threw,
And altars fouled, and blasphémy spoke,

And the images, for all their goodly hew,

1 Dortours, dormitories, sleeping apartments.

Heast, office.

XXIII. 9.- Where he him found despoyling, &c.] The Blatant Beast, in general, represents Calumny or Slander; but here the poet seems to allude to the outrages committed upon monasteries and religious houses by the Puritans, in the early stages of the reformation.

XXV. 2. The chancell.] The chancel is that part of a church in which the communion table or altar is placed, with the area before it, in which the congregation assemble when the sacrament is administered. It is generally divided from the nave by a screen or railing, (cancellus,) from which the name is derived.

Did cast to ground, whilest none was them to rew1;

So all confounded and disordered there:

But, seeing Calidore, away he flew,

Knowing his fatall hand by former feare;
But he him fast pursuing soone approached neare.

XXVI.

Him in a narrow place he overtooke,

And fierce assailing forst him turne againe:
Sternely he turnd againe, when he him strooke
With his sharpe steele, and ran at him amaine
With open mouth, that seemed to containe
A full good pecke within the utmost 2 brim,
All set with yron teeth in raunges twaine,
That terrifide his foes, and armed him,
Appearing like the mouth of Orcus griesly grim:

XXVII.

And therein were a thousand tongs empight 3
Of sundry kindes and sundry quality;
Some were of dogs, that barked day and night;
And some of cats, that wrawling still did cry;
And some of beares, that groynd 5 continually ;
And some of tygres, that did seeme to gren
And snar 7 at all that ever passed by:

6

But most of them were tongues of mortall men, Which spake reprochfully, not caring where nor when.

XXVIII.

And them amongst were mingled here and there

1 Rew, pity, lament.

2 Utmost, outmost.

3 Empight, placed.

4 Wrawling, mewing.

5 Groynd, growled.

6 Gren, grin.

7 Snar, snarl.

Former feare.] See the twenty-fifth stanza of the third

The tongues of serpents, with three-forked stings,
That spat out poyson, and gore-bloudy gere,1
At all that came within his ravenings;
And spake licentious words and hatefull things
Of good and bad alike, of low and hie,
Ne kesars spared he a whit nor kings;
But either blotted them with infamie,
Or bit them with his banefull teeth of iniury.
XXIX.

But Calidore, thereof no whit afrayd,
Rencountred him with so impetuous might,
That th' outrage of his violence he stayd,
And bet abacke threatning in vaine to bite,
And spitting forth the poyson of his spight
That fomed all about his bloody iawes:
Tho, rearing up his former feete on hight,
He
rampt upon him with his ravenous pawes,

3

As if he would have rent him with his cruell clawes:

XXX.

But he right well aware, his rage to ward,
Did cast his shield atweene; and, therewithall
Putting his puissaunce forth, pursu'd so hard,
That backeward he enforced him to fall;
And, being downe, ere he new helpe could call,
His shield he on him threw, and fast downe held;
Like as a bullocke, that in bloudy stall
Of butchers balefull hand to ground is feld,
Is forcibly kept downe, till he be throughly queld.

XXXI.

Full cruelly the Beast did rage and rore
To be downe held, and maystred so with might,

1 Gere, matter. 2 Tho, then. 3 Rampt, leaped.

That he gan fret and fome out bloudy gore,
Striving in vaine to rere himself upright:

For still, the more he strove, the more the Knight
Did him suppresse, and forcibly subdew;
That made him almost mad for fell despight:
He grind, he bit, he scracht, he venim threw,
And fared1 like a feend right horrible in hew:

XXXII.

Or like the hell-borne Hydra, which they faine
That great Alcides whilome 2 overthrew,
After that he had labourd long in vaine

To crop his thousand heads, the which still new
Forth budded, and in greater number grew.
Such was the fury of this hellish Beast,
Whilest Calidore him under him downe threw ;
Who nathëmore his heavy load releast,
aye, the more he rag'd, the more his powre

But

XXXIII.

increast.

Tho, when the Beast saw he mote nought availe
By force, he gan his hundred tongues apply,
And sharpely at him to revile and raile

With bitter termes of shamefull infamy;

5

Oft interlacing many a forged lie,

Whose like he never once did speake, nor heare,

Nor ever thought thing so unworthily:

Yet did he nought, for all that, him forbeare,

6

But strained him so streightly that he chokt him neare.

XXXIV.

At last, whenas he found his force to shrincke

And rage to quaile, he tooke a muzzle strong

1 Fared, acted.

3 Nathëmore, none the more. 5 Interlacing, interweaving.

2 Whilome, formerly.

4 Tho, then Streightly, closely.

Of surest yron made with many a lincke;
Therewith he mured up his mouth along,
And therein shut up his blasphemous tong,
For never more defaming gentle Knight,
Or unto lovely Lady doing wrong:

And thereunto a great long chaine he tight,

2

With which he drew him forth, even in his own despight.

XXXV.

Like as whylóme 3 that strong Tirynthian swaine
Brought forth with him the dreadfull dog of hell
Against his will fast bound in yron chaine,
And roring horribly did him compell

To see the hatefull sunne, that he might tell
To griesly Pluto, what on earth was donne,

And to the other damned ghosts which dwell
For aye in Darkenesse which day-light doth shonne:
So led this Knight his captyve with like conquest wonne.

XXXVI.

Yet greatly did the Beast repine at those

Straunge bands, whose like till then he never bore,

Ne ever any durst till then impose;

And chauffed inly, seeing now no more

Him liberty was left aloud to rore:

Yet durst he not draw backe, nor once withstand

The proved powre of noble Calidore;

But trembled underneath his mighty hand,

And like a fearefull dog him followed through the land.

1 Mured, enclosed. 2 Tight, tied. 3 Whylome, formerly.

XXXIV. 6. For never more defaming, &c.] That he might never more defame.

XXXV. 1.- Tirynthian swaine.] Hercules, so called from Tyrinthus, a town of Argolis, where he generally resided.