Who ever heard of th' Indian Peru?

Or who in venturous vessell measured

The Amazon huge river, now found trew? Or fruitfullest Virginia who did ever vew?

III.

Yet all these were, when no man did them know,
Yet have from wisest ages hidden beene;

And later times thinges more unknowne shall show.
Why then should witlesse man so much misweene,1
That nothing is, but that which he hath seene?
What, if within the moones fayre shining spheare,
What, if in every other starre unseene

Of other worldes he happily should heare?

He wonder would much more; yet such to some appeare.

IV.

Of Faery lond yet if he more inquyre,

By certein signes, here sett in sondrie place,

He may
But yield his sence to bee too blunt and bace,
That no'te 2 without an hound fine footing trace.
And thou, O fayrest Princesse under sky,
In this fayre mirrhour maist behold thy face,
And thine owne realmes in lond of Faëry,
And in this antique ymage thy great auncestry.

it fynd; ne let him then admyre,

V.

The which O! pardon me thus to enfold
In covert vele, and wrapt in shadowes light,
That feeble eyes your glory may behold,

1 Misweene, misjudge. 2 No'te, knows not, contracted from ne wote.

II. 6. Who ever heard, &c.] That is, until the present age.

IV. 6. — Fayrest Princesse.] Queen Elizabeth.

Which ells could not endure those beamës bright,
But would bee dazled with exceeding light.
O! pardon, and vouchsafe with patient eare
The brave adventures of this Faery Knight,
The good Sir Guyon, gratiously to heare;

In whom great rule of Temp'raunce goodly doth appeare.

CANTO I.

Guyon, by Archimage abusd,

The Redcrosse Knight awaytes;
Fyndes Mordant and Amavia slaine
With Pleasures poisoned baytes.

I.

THAT conning Architect of cancred guyle,
Whom Princes late displeasure left in bands,
For falsed letters, and suborned wyle;
Soone as the Redcrosse Knight he understands
To beene departed out of Eden landes,
To serve againe his Soveraine Elfin Queene:
His artes he moves, and out of caytives handes1
Himselfe he frees by secret meanes unseene;
His shackles emptie lefte, himselfe escaped cleene;

II.

And forth he fares, full of malicious mynd,
To worken mischiefe, and avenging woe,
Whereever he that godly Knight may fynd,
His onely 2 hart-sore and his onely 2 foe;
Sith 3 Una now he algates must forgoe,
Whom his victorious handes did earst 5 restore

1 Caytives handes, hands of menials employed to keep him.

2 Onely, greatest.

3 Sith, since.

4 Algates, entirely.

5 Earst, before.

I. 1. That conning Architect.] This is Archimago, who plays so important a part in the first book, and who, at its close, was left in prison.

To native crowne and kingdom late ygoe1;

Where she enjoyes sure peace

for evermore,

As wetherbeaten ship arryv'd on happie shore.

III.

Him therefore now the obiect of his spight
And deadly food he makes: him to offend
By forged treason, or by open fight,
He seekes, of all his drifte the aymed end:
Thereto his subtile engins he does bend,
His practick witt and his fayre fyled tonge,
With thousand other sleightes; for well he kend 3
His credit now in doubtfull ballaunce hong:
For hardly could bee hurt, who was already stong.

IV.

Still, as he went, he craftie stales did lay,
With cunning traynes him to entrap unwares,
And privy spyals 5 plast in all his way,

To weete what course he takes, and how he fares;

To ketch him at a vauntage in his snares,

But now so wise and wary was the Knight

By tryall of his former harmes and cares,

That he descryde, and shonned still, his slight:

The fish, that once was caught, new bayt wil hardly byte.

V.

Nath'lesse th' Enchaunter would not spare his payne, In hope to win occasion to his will;

Which when he long awaited had in vayne,

1 Late ygoe, lately.

2 Food, feud.

3 Kend, knew.

4 Stales, baits, devices.

Spyals, spies.

6 Weete, know.

III. 9.- For hardly could, &c.] As the knight had been already injured by him, he would be on his guard, and make it more difficult to do him any hurt a second time.

He chaungd his mynd from one to other ill:
For to all good he enimy was still.
Upon the way him fortuned to meete,
Fayre marching underneath a shady hill,

A goodly Knight, all armd in harnesse meete,
That from his head no place appeared to his feete.

VI.

His carriage was full comely and upright;
His countenance demure and temperate;

But yett so sterne and terrible in sight,

That cheard his friendes, and did his foes amate1:
He was an Elfin borne, of noble state

And mickle worship in his native land;
Well could he tourney, and in lists debate,

And knighthood tooke of good Sir Huons hand,
When with king Oberon he came to Fary land.

VII.

Him als 2 accompanyd upon the way
A comely Palmer, clad in black attyre,
Of rypest yeares, and heares all hoarie gray,
That with a staffe his feeble steps did stire,3

1 Amate, daunt.

2 Als, also.

3 Stire, support.

VI. 8.- Sir Huons hand.] This is Sir Huon of Bourdeaux, the hero of one of the romances of chivalry, bearing his name. He is represented as having been a great favorite of Oberon, the Fairy King. See the abstract of this romance in Dunlop's History of Fiction. The adventures of Sir Huon form the subject of Wieland's beautiful poem of Oberon, known to the English reader by Mr. Sotheby's translation.

VII. 2.-A comely Palmer.] Upton conjectures that Sir Guyon represents the Earl of Essex, and the "comely Palmer," Dr. Whitgift, Spenser's tutor. As to the latter, it is as difficult to disprove as to prove; but the "demure and temperate" Guyon can hardly find his prototype in the fervid and impetuous Essex. The Palmer is a type of reason or reflection.