CANTO VIL

The Redcrosse Knight is captive made,
By Gyaunt proud opprest:

Prince Arthure meets with Una great-
ly with those newes distrest.

1 WHAT man so wise, what earthly witt so ware,1 As to discry the crafty cunning traine,

By which Deceipt doth maske in visour faire,
And cast her coulours died deepe in graine,

To seeme like Truth whose shape she well can

faine,

And fitting gestures to her purpose frame, The guiltlesse man with guile to entertaine? Great maistresse of her art was that false dame, The false Duessa, cloked with Fidessaes name.

2 Who when, returning from the drery Night,
She fownd not in that perilous Hous of Pryde,
Where she had left, the noble Redcross Knight,
Her hoped pray, she would no lenger byde,
But forth she went to seeke him far and wide.
Ere long she fownd, whereas he wearie sate
To rest him selfe, foreby a fountaine syde,

1 Ware, cautious.

2 Foreby, near.

Disarmed all of yron-coted plate;

And by his side his steed the grassy forage ate.

Hee feedes upon the cooling shade, and bayes1
His sweatie forehead in the breathing wynd,
Which through the trembling leaves full gently
playes,

Wherein the chearefull birds of sundry kynd
Doe chaunt sweet musick, to delight his mynd:
The Witch approching gan him fayrely greet,
And with reproch of carelesnes unkynd
Upbrayd, for leaving her in place unmeet,
With fowle words tempring faire, soure gall with
hony sweet.

4 Unkindnesse past, they gan of solace treat,
And bathe in pleasaunce of the ioyous shade,
Which shielded them against the boyling heat,
And, with greene boughes decking a gloomy glade,
About the fountaine like 2 a girlond made;
Whose bubbling wave did ever freshly well,
Ne ever would through fervent sommer fade:
The sacred Nymph, which therein wont to dwell,
Was out of Dianes favor, as it then befell.

The cause was this: One day, when Phoebe fayre
With all her band was following the chace,
This Nymph, quite tyr'd with heat of scorching ayre
Satt downe to rest in middest of the race:

The goddesse wroth gan fowly her disgrace,

1 Bayes, bathes.

2 Like, as it were.

And badd the waters, which from her did flow, Be such as she her selfe was then in place. Thenceforth her waters wexed dull and slow; And all, that drinke thereof, do faint and feeble grow.

6 Hereof this gentle Knight unweeting1 was;
And, lying downe upon the sandie graile,
Dronke of the streame, as cleare as christall glas:
Eftsoones his manly forces gan to fayle,

And mightie strong was turnd to feeble frayle.
His chaunged powres at first themselves not felt;
Till crudled cold his corage1 gan assayle,
And chearefull blood in fayntnes chill did melt,
Which, like a fever fit, through all his bodie swelt.5

Yet goodly court he made still to his Dame,
Pourd out in loosnesse on the grassy grownd,
Both carelesse of his health, and of his fame :
Till at the last he heard a dreadfull sownd,
Which through the wood loud bellowing did re-
bownd,

That all the earth for terror seemd to shake,

And trees did tremble. Th' Elfe, therewith astownd, Upstarted lightly from his looser make,

And his unready weapons gan in hand to take.

8 But ere he could his armour on him dight,
Or gett his shield, his monstrous enimy
With sturdie steps came stalking in his sight,

1 Unweeting, ignorant.

2 Graile, gravel.

3 Crudled, curdled.

4 Corage, heart.

5 Suelt, swelled, sproad.

6 Make, mate.

An hedious geaunt, horrible and hye,

That with his tallnesse seemd to threat the skye;
The ground eke groned under him for dreed:
His living like saw never living eye,

Ne durst behold; his stature did exceed

The hight of three the tallest sonnes of mortall seed.

The greatest Earth his uncouth mother was,
And blustring Æolus his boasted syre;

Who with his breath, which through the world

doth pas,

Her hollow womb did secretly inspyre,

And fild her hidden caves with stormie yre, That she conceiv'd; and trebling the dew time, In which the wombes of wemen do expyre,1 Brought forth this monstrous masse of earthly slyme, Puft up with emptie wynd, and fild with sinfull cryme.

10 So growen great, through arrogant delight
Of th' high descent whereof he was yborne,
And through presumption of his matchlesse might,
All other powres and knighthood he did scorne.
Such now he marcheth to this man forlorne,
And left to losse; his stalking steps are stayde
Upon a snaggy oke, which he had torne

Out of his mothers bowelles, and it made

His mortall mace, wherewith his foemen he dismayde.

That, when the Knight he spyde, he gan advaunce With huge force and insupportable mayne,2

1 Expyre, bring forth.

2 Mayne, strength.

And towardes him with dreadfull fury praunce; Who haplesse, and eke hopelesse, all in vaine Did to him pace sad battaile to darrayne,1 Disarmd, disgraste, and inwardly dismayde; And eke so faint in every ioynt and vayne,

Through that fraile fountain, which him feeble made, That scarsely could he weeld his bootlesse single blade.

4

12 The Geaunt strooke so maynly mercilesse,
That could have overthrowne a stony towre;
And, were not hevenly grace that did him blesse,
He had beene pouldred all, as thin as flowre:
But he was wary of that deadly stowre,5
And lightly lept from underneath the blow:
Yet so exceeding was the villeins powre,
That with the winde it did him overthrow,
And all his sences stoond, that still he lay full low.

13 As when that divelish yron engin, wrought
In deepest hell, and framd by furies skill,
With windy nitre and quick sulphur fraught,
And ramd with bollet rownd, ordaind to kill,
Conceiveth fyre; the heavens it doth fill
With thundring noyse, and all the ayre doth choke,
That none can breath, nor see, nor heare at will,
Through smouldry' cloud of duskish stincking smok;
That th' onely breath him daunts, who hath escapt
the stroke.

1 Darrayne, contest.

2 Disgraste, degraded, enfeebled.

3 Maynly, strongly.

4 Pouldred, powdered.

5 Store, peril.

6 Stoond, stunned.

7 Smouldry, smothering.