Whom when the Briton Prince afarre beheld
With ods of so unequall match opprest,
His mighty heart with indignation sweld,
And inward grudge fild his heroicke brest.
Eftsoones him selfe he to their aide addrest,
And thrusting fierce into the thickest preace
Divided them, how ever loth to rest;
And would them faine from battell to surceasse, With gentle words perswading them to friendly peace:
But they so farre from peace or patience were,
That all at once at him gan fiercely flie,
And lay on load, as they him downe would beare:
Like to a storme which hovers under skie,
Long here and there and round about doth stie,
At length breakes downe in raine, and haile, and sleet,
First from one coast, till nought thereof be drie,
And then another, till that likewise fleet;
And so from side to side till all the world it weet.
But now their forces greatly were decayd,
The Prince yet being fresh untoucht afore;
Who them with speaches milde gan first disswade
From such foule outrage, and them long forbore :
Till seeing them through suffrance hartned more,
Him selfe he bent their furies to abate,
And layd at them so sharpely and so sore,
That shortly them compelled to retrate,
And being brought in daunger to relent too late.
But now his courage being throughly fired,
He ment to make them know their follies prise, Had not those two him instantly desired T'asswage his wrath, and pardon their mesprise : At whose request he gan him selfe advise To stay his hand, and of a truce to treat In milder tearmes, as list them to devise; Mongst which the cause of their so cruell heat He did them aske; who all that passed gan repeat:
And told at large how that same errant Knight,
To weet faire Britomart, them late had foyled
In open turney, and by wrongfull fight
Both of their publicke praise had them despoyled,
And also of their private loves beguyled,
Of two full hard to read the harder theft :
But she that wrongfull challenge soone assoyled,
And shew'd that she had not that Lady reft,
(As they suppos'd) but her had to her liking left.
To whom the Prince thus goodly well replied:
"Certes, sir Knight, ye seemen much to blame
To rip up wrong that battell once hath tried;
Wherein the honor both of Armes ye shame,
And eke the love of Ladies foule defame;
To whom the world this franchise ever yeelded,
That of their loves choise they might freedom clame,
And in that right should by all knights be shielded :
Gainst which, me seemes, this war ye wrongfully have
wielded."
"And yet" (quoth she)" a greater wrong remaines: 38
For I thereby my former love have lost;
Whom seeking ever since with endlesse paines
Hath me much sorrow and much travell cost:
Aye me, to see that gentle maide so tost!"
But Scudamour, then sighing deepe, thus saide;
"Certes, her losse ought me to sorrow most,
Whose right she is, where ever she be straide,
Through many perils wonne, and many fortunes waide:
"For from the first that her I love profest,
Unto this houre, this present lucklesse howre,
I never joyed happinesse nor rest;
But thus turmoild from one to other stowre
I wast my life, and doe my daies devowre
In wretched anguishe and incessant woe,
Passing the measure of my feeble powre;
That living thus a wretch, and loving so,
I neither can my love ne yet my life forgo."
Then good Sir Claribell him thus bespake:
"Now were it not, sir Scudamour, to you
Dislikefull paine so sad a taske to take,
Mote we entreat you, sith this gentle crew
Is now so well accorded all anew,
That as we ride together on our way,
Ye will recount to us in order dew
All that adventure which ye did assay
For that faire Ladies love: past perils well apay."
gan the rest him likewise to require;
But Britomart did him importune hard
To take on him that paine: whose great desire
He glad to satisfie, him selfe prepar'd
To tell through what misfortune he had far'd
In that atchievement, as to him befell,
And all those daungers unto them declar'd ;
Which sith they cannot in this Canto well
Comprised be, I will them in another tell.
Scudamour doth his conquest tell
Of vertuous Amoret :
Great Venus Temple is describ'd;
And lovers life forth set.
RUE he it said, what ever man it sayd, I
That love with gall and hony doth abound;
But if the one be with the other wayd,
For every dram of hony therein found,
A pound of gall doth over it redound:
That I too true by triall have approved;
For since the day that first with deadly wound
My heart was launcht, and learned to have loved,
I never joyed howre, but still with care was moved.
"And yet such grace is given them from above,
That all the cares and evill which they meet
May nought at all their setled mindes remove,
But seeme, gainst common sence, to them most sweet;
As bosting in their martyrdome unmeet.
So all that ever yet I have endured
I count as nought, and tread downe under feet,
Since of my love at length I rest assured,
That to disloyalty she will not be allured.
"Long were to tell the travell and long toile
Through which this shield of love I late have wonne, And purchased this peerelesse beauties spoile, That harder may be ended, then begonne : But since ye so desire, your will be donne. Then hearke, ye gentle knights and Ladies free, My hard mishaps that ye may learne to shonne; For though sweet love to conquer glorious bee, Yet is the paine thereof much greater then the fee.
"What time the fame of this renowmed prise
Flew first abroad, and all mens eares possest,
I, having armes then taken, gan avise
To winne me honour by some noble gest,
And purchase me some place amongst the best.
I boldly thought, (so young mens thoughts are bold)
That this same brave emprize for me did rest,
And that both shield and she whom I behold
Might be my lucky lot; sith all by lot we hold.
"So on that hard adventure forth I went,
And to the place of perill shortly came:
That was a temple faire and auncient,
Which of great mother Venus bare the name,
And farre renowmed, through exceeding fame,
Much more then that which was in Paphos built,
Or that in Cyprus, both long since this same,
Though all the pillours of the one were guilt,
And all the others pavement were with yvory spilt.
"And it was seated in an Island strong,
Abounding all with delices most rare,
And wall'd by nature gainst invaders wrong,
That none mote have accesse, nor inward fare,
But by one way that passage did prepare.
It was a bridge ybuilt in goodly wize
With curious Corbes and pendants graven faire,
And arched all with porches did arize
On stately pillours fram'd after the Doricke guize.
"And for defence thereof on th' other end
There reared was a castle faire and strong,
That warded all which in or out did wend,
And flancked both the bridges sides along,
Gainst all that would it faine to force or wrong;
And therein wonned twenty valiant Knights,
All twenty tride in warres experience long,
Whose office was against all manner wights
By all meanes to maintaine that castels ancient rights.
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