7 And other whiles vaine toyes she would devize,
As her fantasticke wit did most delight:
Sometimes her head she fondly would aguize
With gaudy girlonds, or fresh flowrets dight
About her necke, or rings of rushes plight 2:
Sometimes, to do him laugh, she would assay
To laugh at shaking of the leaves light,
Or to behold the water worke and play
About her little frigot, therein making way.

8 Her light behaviour and loose dalliaunce Gave wondrous great contentment to the Knight, That of his way he had no sovenaunce,3

Nor care of vow'd revenge and cruell fight; But to weake wench did yield his martiall might.. So easie was to quench his flamed minde With one sweete drop of sensuall delight! So easie is t' appease the stormy winde Of malice in the calme of pleasaunt womankind!

9 Diverse discourses in their way they spent;
Mongst which Cymochles of her questioned
Both what she was, and what that usage ment,
Which in her cott4 she daily practized :

"Vaine man," saide she, "that wouldest be reckoned. A straunger in thy home, and ignoraunt

Of Phædria, (for so my name is red,3)

Of Phædria, thine owne fellow servaúnt ;

For thou to serve Acrasia thyselfe doest vaunt.

1 Aguize, deck.

2 Plight, plat.

3 Sovenaunce, remembrance.

4 Cott, little boat (?).

5 Red, called.

VOL. I.

29

10 "In this wide inland sea, that hight by name The Idle Lake, my wandring ship I row,

That knowes her port, and thether sayles by

ayme,

Ne care ne feare I how the wind do blow, Or whether swift I wend or whether slow: Both slow and swift alike do serve my tourne: Ne swelling Neptune ne lowd-thundring Iove Can chaunge my cheare, or make me ever mourne My little boat can safely passe this perilous bourne.1"

11 Whiles thus she talked, and whiles thus she toyd,
They were far past the passage which he spake,
And come unto an island waste and voyd,2
That floted in the midst of that great lake;
There her small gondelay her port did make,
And that gay payre issewing on the shore
Disburdned her. Their way they forward take
Into the land that lay them faire before,
Whose pleasaunce she him shewd, and plentifull great

store.

12 It was a chosen plott of fertile land,
Emongst wide waves sett, like a litle nest,
As if it had by Natures cunning hand
Bene choycely picked out from all the rest,
And laid forth for ensample of the best:

No dainty flowre or herbe that growes on grownd,
No arborett with painted blossomes drest

3

1 Bourne, boundary.

2 Waste and voyd, i. e. uninhabited.

3 Arborett, shrub.

And smelling sweete, but there it might be fownd To bud out faire, and throwe her sweete smels al arownd.

13 No tree, whose braunches did not bravely1 spring; No braunch, whereon a fine bird did not sitt ;

No bird, but did her shrill notes sweetely sing;
No song, but did containe a lovely ditt.2

Trees, braunches, birds, and songs, were framed fitt

For to allure fraile mind to carelesse ease.

Carelesse the man soone woxe, and his weake witt Was overcome of thing that did him please: So pleased did his wrathfull purpose faire appease.

14 Thus when shee had his eyes and sences fed With false delights, and fild with pleasures vayn, Into a shady dale she soft him led,

And laid him downe upon a grassy playn;

And her sweete selfe without dread or disdayn
She sett beside, laying his head disarmd

In her loose lap, it softly to sustayn,

Where soone he slumbred fearing not be harmd : The whiles with a love lay she thus him sweetly charmd:

1 Bravely, beautifully.

2 Ditt, ditty.

XIII. 9. — Did his wrathfull purpose faire appease.] In Cymo chles we are shown the fickleness of purpose which habits of selfindulgence beget. "One sweet drop of sensual delight" makes him forget the purpose of revenge he had so lately formed. The nearest temptation is the strongest. H.

15 "Behold, O man, that toilesome paines doest take, The flowrs, the fields, and all that pleasaunt growes, How they themselves doe thine ensample make, Whiles nothing-envious nature them forth throwes Out of her fruitfull lap; how, no man knowes, They spring, they bud, they blossome fresh and faire, And decke the world with their rich pompous showes;

Yet no man for them taketh paines or care, Yet no man to them can his carefull paines compare.

16"The lilly, lady of the flowring field,

The flowre-de-luce, her lovely paramoure,
Bid thee to them thy fruitlesse labors yield,
And soone leave off this toylsome weary stoure1:
Loe! loe, how brave she decks her bounteous boure,
With silkin curtens and gold coverletts,

Therein to shrowd her sumptuous belamoure 2! Yet nether spinnes nor cards, ne cares nor fretts, But to her mother Nature all her care she letts.

17" Why then doest thou, O man, that of them all Art lord, and eke of nature soveraine,

Wilfully make thyselfe a wretched thrall,

And waste thy ioyous howres in needelesse paine,
Seeking for daunger and adventures vaine?
What bootes it al to have and nothing use?

1 Stoure, contention.

2 Belamoure, lover.

XV. 1.— Behold, O man, &c.] This song is imitated from one sung to Rinaldo, upon an enchanted island, in the fourteenth Canto of the Jerusalem Delivered.

Who shall him rew1 that swimming in the maine Will die for thrist, and water doth refuse? Refuse such fruitlesse toile, and present pleasures chuse."

18 By this she had him lulled fast asleepe,
That of no worldly thing he care did take:
Then she with liquors strong his eies did steepe,
That nothing should him hastily awake.
So she him lefte, and did herselfe betake
Unto her boat again, with which she clefte
The slouthfull wave of that great griesy 2 lake:
Soone shee that Island far behind her lefte,
And now is come to that same place where first she
wefte.s

19 By this time was the worthy Guyon brought Unto the other side of that wide strond

5

Where she was rowing, and for passage sought: Him needed not long call; shee soone to hond Her ferry brought, where him she byding 4 fond With his sad guide: himselfe she tooke aboord, But the blacke Palmer suffred still to stond, Ne would for price or prayers once affoord To ferry that old man over the perlous foord.

1 Rew, pity.

2 Griesy, i. e. sluggish, or thick.

3 Wefte, departed.

4 Byding, waiting.

5 Sad, grave.

6

6 Affoord, accord, grant. 7 Perlous, dangerous.

XIX. 8.- Ne would, &c.] When Temperance or Self-government embarks on the waters of Idleness, under the guidance of immodest Mirth, Reason is left behind. H.