CANTO VI.

From lawlesse lust by wondrous grace

fayre Una is releast;

Whom salvage nation does adore,

and learnes her wise bebeast.

I As when a ship, that flyes faire under saile,
An hidden rocke escaped hath unwares,
That lay in waite her wrack for to bewaile,
The mariner yet halfe amazed stares
At perill past, and yet in doubt ne dares
To joy at his foolhappie oversight:
So doubly is distrest twixt joy and cares
The dreadlesse courage of this Elfin knight,
Having escapt so sad ensamples in his sight.

2 Yet sad he was that his too hastie speede
The fayre Duess' had forst him leave behind;
And yet more sad, that Una his deare dreed
Her truth had staind with treason so unkind:
Yet crime in her could never creature find;
But for his love, and for her owne selfe sake,
She wandred had from one to other Ynd,
Him for to seeke, ne ever would forsake,

Till her unwares the fiers Sansloy did overtake.

Does throw out thrilling shriekes, and shrieking cryes,
(The last vaine helpe of womens greate distresse,)
And with loud plaints importuneth the skyes,
That molten starres doe drop like weeping eyes;
And Phoebus, flying so most shameful sight,
His blushing face in foggy cloud implyes,

And hides for shame. What wit of mortall wight
Can now devise to quit a thrall from such a plight?

7 Eternall providence exceeding thought,

Where none appeares can make her selfe a way:
A wondrous way it for this Lady wrought,
From Lyons clawes to pluck the griped pray.
Her shrill outcryes and shriekes so loud did bray,
That all the woodes and forestes did resownd:
A troupe of Faunes and Satyres far away
Within the wood were dauncing in a rownd,
Whiles old Sylvanus slept in shady arber sownd:

8 Who when they heard that pitteous strained voice,
In haste forsooke their rurall merriment,
And ran towardes the far rebownded noyce,
To weet what wight so loudly did lament.
Unto the place they come incontinent:
Whom when the raging Sarazin espide,
A rude, mishapen, monstrous rablement,
Whose like he never saw, he durst not bide;
But got his ready steed, and fast away gan ride.

9 The wyld wood-gods, arrived in the place,
There find the virgin, doleful, desolate,

With ruffled rayments, and faire blubbred face,
As her outrageous foe had left her late;
And trembling yet through feare of former hate:
All stand amazed at so uncouth sight,
And gin to pittie her unhappie state;
All stand astonied at her beautie bright,

In their rude eyes unworthy of so wofull plight.

10 She, more amazd, in double dread doth dwell;
And every tender part for feare does shake:
As when a greedy Wolfe, through honger fell,
A seely Lamb far from the flock does take,
Of whom he meanes his bloudy feast to make,
A Lyon spyes fast running towards him,
The innocent pray in hast he does forsake;

Which, quitt from death, yet quakes in every lim

With chaunge of feare, to see the Lyon look so grim.

F

II Such fearefull fit assaid her trembling hart;

Ne worde to speake, ne joynt to move, she had:
The salvage nation feele her secret smart,
And read her sorrow in her count'nance sad;
Their frowning forheads, with rough hornes yclad
And rustick horror, all aside doe lay;

And, gently grenning, show a semblance glad
To comfort her; and, feare to put away,

Their backward bent knees teach her humbly to obay.

12 The doubtfull Damzell dare not yet commit
Her single person to their barbarous truth;
But still twixt feare and hope amazd does sit,
Late learnd what harme to hasty trust ensu'th:
They, in compassion of her tender youth,
And wonder of her beautie soveraine,

Are wonne with pitty and unwonted ruth;

And, all prostrate upon the lowly plaine,

[faine.

Do kisse her feete, and fawne on her with count'nance

13 Their harts she ghesseth by their humble guise,

And yieldes her to extremitie of time:

So from the ground she fearlesse doth arise,
And walketh forth without suspect of crime :
They, all as glad as birdes of joyous Prime,
Thence lead her forth, about her dauncing round,
Shouting, and singing all a shepheards ryme,

And with greene braunches strowing all the ground,
Do worship her, as Queene, with olive girlond cround.

14 And all the way their merry pipes they sound,
That all the woods with double Eccho ring;
And with their horned feet do weare the ground,
Leaping like wanton kids in pleasant Spring.
So towards old Sylvanus they her bring;
Who, with the noyse awaked, commeth out
To weet the cause, his weake steps governing
And aged limbs on cypresse stadle stout;
And with an yvie twyne his wast is girt about.

15 Far off he wonders what them makes so glad,
Or Bacchus merry fruit they did invent,

Or Cybeles franticke rites have made them mad:
They, drawing nigh, unto their God present
That flowre of fayth and beautie excellent.
The God himselfe, vewing that mirrhour rare,
Stood long amazd, and burnt in his intent:

His owne faire Dryope now he thinkes not faire,
And Pholoe fowle, when her to this he doth compaire.

16 The wood borne people fall before her flat,
And worship her as Goddesse of the wood;
And old Sylvanus selfe bethinkes not, what
To thinke of wight so faire; but gazing stood
In doubt to deeme her borne of earthly brood:
Sometimes Dame Venus selfe he seemes to see;
But Venus never had so sober mood:

Sometimes Diana he her takes to be;

But misseth bow, and shaftes, and buskins to her knee.

17 By vew of her he ginneth to revive

His ancient love, and dearest Cyparisse;
And calles to mind his pourtraiture alive,
How faire he was, and yet not faire to this;
And how he slew with glauncing dart amisse
A gentle hynd, the which the lovely boy
Did love as life, above all worldly blisse;
For griefe whereof the lad n'ould after joy;
But pynd away in anguish and selfe-wild annoy.

18 The wooddy Nymphes, faire Hamadryades,
Her to behold do thither runne apace,
And all the troupe of light-foot Naiades
Flocke all about to see her lovely face:
But, when they vewed have her heavenly grace,
They envy her in their malitious mind,

And fly away for feare of fowle disgrace:

But all the Satyres scorne their woody kind,

And henceforth nothing faire, but her, on earth they find.

19 Glad of such lucke, the luckelesse lucky maid
Did her content to please their feeble eyes,
And long time with that salvage people staid,
To gather breath in many miseries:

During which time her gentle wit she plyes,
To teach them truth, which worshipt her in vaine,
And made her th' Image of Idolatryes:

But when their bootlesse zeale she did restraine
From her own worship, they her Asse would worship fayn.

20 It fortuned, a noble warlike knight

By just occasion to that forrest came

To seeke his kindred, and the lignage right,
From whence he tooke his well deserved name:
He had in armes abroad wonne muchell fame,
And fild far lands with glorie of his might;
Plaine, faithfull, true, and enimy of shame,
And ever lov'd to fight for Ladies right:
But in vaine glorious frayes he litle did delight.

21 A Satyres sonne yborne in forrest wyld,
By straunge adventure as it did betyde,
And there begotten of a Lady myld,

Faire Thyamis, the daughter of Labryde;
That was in sacred bands of wedlocke tyde

To Therion, a loose, unruly swayne,

Who had more joy to raunge the forrest wyde,

And chase the salvage beast with busie payne,

Then serve his Ladies love, and wast in pleasures vayne.

24 For all he taught the tender ymp was but

To banish cowardize and bastard feare;
His trembling hand he would him force to put
Upon the Lyon and the rugged Beare;

*

And from the she Beares teats her whelps to teare;
And eke wyld roring Buls he would him make
To tame, and ryde their backes not made to beare;
And the Robuckes in flight to overtake:

That everie beast for feare of him did fly and quake.