To keep the enemy, and fear,

From equal falling on his rear.

And though with kicks and bangs he ply'd
The further and the nearer side,

(As seamen ride with all their force,
And tug as if they row'd the horse,
And when the hackney sails most swift,
Believe they lag, or run adrift)

So, though he posted e'er so fast,
His fear was greater than his haste:
For fear, though fleeter than the wind,
Believes 'tis always left behind.

But when the morn began t' appear,
And shift t' another scene his fear,
He found his knew officious shade,
That came so timely to his aid,
And forc'd him from the foe t' escape,
Had turn'd itself to Ralpho's shape;
So like in person, garb, and pitch,
'Twas hard t' interpret which was which.
For Ralpho had no sooner told

The Lady all he had t' unfold,
But she convey'd him out of sight,
To entertain th' approaching Knight;
And, while he gave himself diversion,

Par la crainte ou par l'ennemi.

Et bien que par grands coups de bottes
Du cheval il battît les côtes,

Comme à cheval vont matelots, (8)
Qui semblent ramer leurs chevaux,
Et quand ils sont au galop croient
Qu'ils ne vont pas ou se fourvoient;
Il eut ainsi beau se presser,

Sa crainte il ne put dépasser;

Car, quoique mieux qu'un vent volante,
Crainte se croit toujours trop lente.
Mais quand le jour recommença,
Pour lui la scène se changea.
Il vit que l'esprit charitable,
Qui très-à-propos secourable,
L'avait sauvé des ennemis,
De Ralpho la forme avait pris
A s'y tromper, pour la figure,
La taille, la mine et l'allure.

Car, quand Ralph eut fait son rapport

A la dame, elle fit d'abord

Retirer en un coin le traître,
Pour aller recevoir son maître;
Et dans le temps qu'il attachait
Sa bête, et sa barbe arrangeait

T'accommodate his beast and person.
And put his beard into a posture
At best advantage to accost her,
She order'd th' anti-masquerade
(For his reception) aforesaid :
But when the ceremony was done,
The lights put out, and furies gone,
And Hudibras, among the rest,
Convey'd away, as Ralpho guess'd,
The wretched caitiff, all alone,
(As he believ'd) began to moan,
And tell his story to himself,
The Knight mistook him for an elf;
And did so still, till he began
To scruple at Ralph's outward man,
And thought, because they oft agreed
T' appear in one another's stead,
And act the saint's and devil's part
With undistinguishable art,

They might have done so now, perhaps,
And put on one another's shapes:
And therefore, to resolve the doubt,
He star'd upon him, and cry'd out,
What art? My Squire, or that bold spright
That took his place and shape to-night?

Pour lui faire sa révérence

Avec un peu plus de décence,

Elle donna l'ordre en secret
Pour la mascarade qu'on sait;
Mais après les cérémonies,
Lutins et lumières parties,
Qu'Hudibras aussi disparut,
Du moins à ce que Ralpho crut,
Se croyant seul, ce pauvre diable
Commença d'un ton lamentable
A se plaindre de son destin;
Hudibras le crut un lutin,

Et même le croyait encore

Quand Ralph, au lever de l'aurore,
Fit voir ses traits, imaginant

Que puisqu'ils changeaient fort souvent

L'un avec l'autre de figure,

Tantôt du saint prenant l'allure,

Et tantôt celle du démon,
De méconnaissable façon,
Un démon ce pouvait bien être,
Qui l'écuyer voulait paraître.
Il résolut donc de douter,
Et de le bien examiner;

Enfin, sur lui fixant la vue,

Cria d'une voix résolue:

Dis-moi, qu'es-tu? Ralph ou l'esprit (9) Qui l'a contrefait cette nuit,

Some busy independent pug,
Retainer to his synagogue?

Alas! quoth he, I'm none of those
Your bosom friends, as you suppose;
But Ralph himself, your trusty Squire,
Wh' has dragg'd your Donship out o' th' mire,
And from th' enchantments of a widow,

Wh' had turn'd you int' a beast, have freed you;
And, though a prisoner of war,

Have brought you safe where now you are;
Which you would gratefully repay

Your constant presbyterian way.

That's stranger, quoth the Knight, and stranger: Who gave thee notice of my danger?

Quoth he, Th' infernal conjurer Pursu'd and took me prisoner; And knowing you were hereabout, Brought me along to find you out; Where I, in hugger-mugger hid, Have noted all they said or did;

And though they lay to him the pageant,