So forth they rode, he feining seemely merth, And shee coy lookes: so dainty, they say, maketh derth.

28 Long time they thus together traveiled;
Til, weary of their way, they came at last
Where grew two goodly trees, that faire did spred
Their armes abroad, with gray mosse overcast ;
And their greene leaves, trembling with every blast,
Made a calme shadowe far in compasse round:
The fearefull shepheard, often there aghast,
Under them never sat, ne wont there sound
His mery oaten pipe; but shund th' unlucky ground.

29 But this good Knight, soone as he them can spie, For the coole shade him thither hastly got:

For golden Phoebus, now ymounted hie,
From fiery wheeles of his faire chariot
Hurled his beame so scorching cruell hot,
That living creature mote it not abide;
And his new Lady it endured not.

There they alight, in hope themselves to hide From the fierce heat, and rest their weary limbs a tide.1

8

30 Faire-seemely pleasaunce 2 each to other makes,
With goodly purposes, there as they sit ;
And in his falsed fancy he her takes

1 Tide, while.

4

2 Pleasaunce, pleasure.

8 Purposes, discourses
4 Falsed, deceived.

XXVII. 9.- Dainty maketh derth.] "Niceness makes an arti ficial scarcity, without necessity. The affected shyness of the lady was the only obstacle to familiarity." NARES.

To be the fairest wight, that lived yit;

Which to expresse, he bends his gentle wit;
And, thinking of those braunches greene to frame
A girlond for her dainty forehead fit,

He pluckt a bough; out of whose rifte there came Smal drops of gory bloud, that trickled down the same.

31 Therewith a piteous yelling voice was heard,
Crying, "O spare with guilty hands to teare
My tender sides in this rough rynd embard1;
But fly, ah! fly far hence away, for feare
Least to you hap that happened to me heare,
And to this wretched lady, my deare love;

O too deare love, love bought with death too deare!"
Astond2 he stood, and up his heare did hove3;
And with that suddein horror could no member move.

At last whenas the dreadfull passion

Was overpast, and manhood well awake;

Yet musing at the straunge occasion,

And doubting much his sence, he thus bespake: "What voice of damned ghost from Limbo Lake, Or guilefull spright wandring in empty aire, (Both which fraile men doe oftentimes mistake,) Sends to my doubtful eares these speaches rare,* And ruefull plants,5 me bidding guiltlesse blood to spare?"

33 Then groning deep: "Nor damned ghost," quoth he, "Nor guileful sprite, to thee these words doth speake;

But once a man, Fradubio, now a tree;
Wretched man, wretched tree! whose nature weake
A cruell witch, her cursed will to wreake,
Hath thus transformd, and plast1 in open plaines,
Where Boreas doth blow full bitter bleake,

And scorching sunne does dry my secret vaines; For though a tree I seme, yet cold and heat me paines."

34 "Say on, Fradubio, then, or man or tree,"
Quoth then the Knight; "by whose mischievous arts
Art thou misshaped thus, as now I see?
He oft finds med'cine who his griefe imparts;
But double griefs afflict concealing harts;
As raging flames who striveth to suppresse."
"The author then," said he, " of all my smarts,
Is one Duessa, a false sorceresse,

That many errant knights hath broght to wretched

nesse.

85 "In prime of youthly yeares, when corage hott
The fire of love and ioy of chevalree
First kindled in my brest, it was my lott
To love this gentle lady, whome ye see
Now not a lady, but a seeming tree;
With whome as once I rode accompanyde,
Me chaunced of a knight encountred bee,

1 Plast, placed.

XXXIII. 3.- Fradubio.] Fradubio is the Doubter.

XXXIV. 8.- Duessa.] Duessa (double-faced) is the true name of the woman attending the Knight under the assumed name of Fidessa.

That had a like faire lady by his syde; Lyke a faire lady, but did fowle Duessa hyde;

36 "Whose forged1 beauty he did take in hand
All other dames to have exceded farre;

I in defence of mine did likewise stand,
Mine, that did then shine as the morning starre.
So both to batteill fierce arraunged arre:

In which his harder fortune was to fall
Under my speare; such is the dye3 of warre.
His lady, left as a prise martiall,

Did yield her comely person to be at my call.

37 "So doubly lov'd of ladies unlike faire,
Th' one seeming such, the other such indeede,
One day in doubt I cast for to compare
Whether in beauties glorie did exceede;
A rosy girlond was the victors meede.

Both seemde to win, and both seemde won to bee : So hard the discord was to be agreede.

Fralissa was as faire as faire mote bee,

And ever false Duessa seemde as faire as shee.

38 "The wicked Witch, now seeing all this while
The doubtfull ballaunce equally to sway,
What not by right, she cast to win by guile;
And, by her hellish science, raisd streight way

1 Forged, false.

2 Take in hand, maintain.

8 Dye, lot.

4 Whether, which of the two.

XXXVII. 8. — Fralissa,] i. e. fragile, or frail. H.

A foggy mist that overcast the day,
And a dull blast, that, breathing on her face,
Dimmed her former beauties shining ray,

And with foule ugly forme did her disgrace:
Then was she fayre alone, when none was faire in

place.1

39" Then cride she out, Fye, fye, deformed wight, Whose borrowed beautie now appeareth plaine To have before bewitched all mens sight:

O leave her soone, or let her soone be slaine!' Her loathly visage viewing with disdaine, Eftsoones I thought her such as she me told, And would have kild her; but with faigned paine The false Witch did my wrathfull hand withhold: So left her, where she now is turnd to treën mould.

40 "Thensforth I tooke Duessa for my dame,
And in the Witch unweeting 2 ioyd long time;
Ne ever wist, but that she was the same:
Till on a day (that day is everie Prime,
When witches wont do penance for their crime)
I chaunst to see her in her proper hew,

Bathing her selfe in origane and thyme:

A filthy foule old woman I did vew,

That ever to have toucht her I did deadly rew.

1 In place, that was present.

2 Unweeting, unknowing.

XXXVIII. 5. A foggy mist.]

8 Origane, wild marjoram.

Here the effects of calumny

in blasting a fair reputation are expressed. H.

XL. 4.- Everie Prime.] Prime here means spring. It was believed that witches were obliged to do penance at certain seasons in their proper shape.