The Canterbury tales and Faerie queene &c., &c., &c., ed. for popular perusal with current illustrations and explanatory notes, by D. Laing Purves.

CANTO VI.] THE FAERIE QRUEEN 333
He snatch'd the veil that hung her face before; Which, quit from death, yet quakes in every limb
Then gan her beauty shine as brightest sky, With change of fear, to.see the lion look so-grim.
And burn'd his beastly heart t' enforce her fehertremblingeart
Such fearful fit assay'd 10 her trembling lheart;
chastity. No word to speak nor joint to move she had;
So, when he saw his flattering arts to fail, The salvage nation feel her secret smart,
And subtle engines beat from battery, And read her sorrow in her count'nance sad;
With greedy force he gan the fort assail, Theirfrowningforeheads,withroughhornsyclad,
Whereof he ween'd possessed soon to be, And rustic horror, all aside do lay,
And win rich spoil of ransack'd chastity. And, gently grinning, shew a semblance glad,
Ah heav'ns! that do this hideous act behold, To comfort her; and, fear to put away,
And heav'nly virgin thus outraged see, Their backward-bent knees 11 teach her humbly
How can ye vengeance just so long withhold, to obey.
And hurl not flashing flames upon that Paynim
bold 9 The doubtful damsel dare not yet commit
bold?. ~~. ~ ~,Her single person to their barbarous truth;
The piteous maiden, careful,2 comfortless,
The piteous maiden, carefl,2 comfortless,. But still'twixt fear and hope amaz'd does sit,
Does throw out thrilling shrieks, and shrieking Late learn'd what harm to hasty truthensu't;i:, cries -,. They in compassion of her tender youth,
(The last vain help of women's great distress); And wonder of her beauty sovreign
And with loud plaints imp6rtuneth the skies, Are won with pity and unwonted ruth 12
That molten stars do drop like weeping eyes; And, prostrate all uon the lowly plain
And Phoebus,'flying so most shameful sight,
And Phebus, flying so most shameful sight,'Do kiss.her feet, and fawn' on her with count'.
His blushing face in foggy cloud.implies,3nance fin.3
And hides for shame. What wit of mortal wight
Can now devise to quit a thrall from such a Their hearts she guesseth by their humble guise,
plight? And yields her to extremity of time:14
Eternal Providence, exceeding thought, So from the ground she fearless doth arise,
Where none appears can make herself a Way! And walketh forth without suspct of cre:
A wondrous way it for this Lady wrought, They, all as glad as birds of joyous prime,'1
Thence lead her forth, about her dancing round,
From lions' claws to pluck the griped prey. herforth outherda round
Her shrill outcries and shrieks soloud did bray,4 Shuting, and singing'all a shepherd's rhyme;
That all the woods and forests did resound: And,withgreenbranchesstrowingalltheground,.Atroop of Fauns and.Satyrs far-away Do worship her as queen, with olive garland
A troop of Fauns and Satyrs far away
Within the wood were dancing in a round,
While old Sylvanus slept in shady arbbur sound: And all the way their merry pipes they sound,
Whowhen theyheard that piteousstrainedvoice, That all the woods with doubled echo ring;
In haste forsook their rural merriment And with their horned feet do wear the ground,
In haste forsook their rural merriment,
And ran towird the far rebounded 6 noise, Leaping like wanton kids in pleasant spring.
And ran toward old Sylnoise,
To weet 6 what wight so.loudly did lament. o toward old ylvanus they her bring;
Unto the place they come incontinent: Who, with the noise awaked, cometh out
Whom when the raging Saracen espied, To weet the cause, his weak steps governing,
A rude, misshapen, monstrous rabblement, nd ed libs, o cypress stadlel stout;
Whose like he never saw, he durst not bide;7 And with an ivy twine his waist is girt about.
But got his ready steed, and fast away gan ride. Far off he wonders what them makes so glad,
The wild wood-gods, arrived in the place, Or Bacchus' merry fruit they did invent,l8
There find the Virgin, doleful, desolate, Or Cybele's frantic rites have made them mad:
With ruffled raiments, and fair blubber'd 8 face, They, drawing nigh, unto their god present
As her outrageous foe had left her late; That flower of faith and beauty excellent:
And trembling yet through fear of former hate: The god himself, viewing that mirror rare,
All stand amazed at so Uncouth sight, Stood long amaz'd; and burnt in his intent:
And gin to pity her unhappy state; His own fair Dryop' now hethinks not fair,
All stand astonish'd at her beauty bright, And Pholoe foul, when her to this he doth
In their rude eyes unworthy of so woeful plight. compare.
She, more amaz'd, in double dread doth dwell, The wood-born pe6ple fall before her flat,
And every tender part for fear does shake. And worship her as goddess of the wood;
As when a greedy wolf, through hunger fell, And old Sylvanus' self bethinks not what
A seely 9 lamb far from the flock does take, To think of wight so fair; but gazing stood
Of whom he means his bloody feast to make, In doubt to deem her born of earthly brood:
A lion spies fast running toward him, Sometimes dame Venus' self he seems to see;
Th' innocent prey in haste he does forsake; But Venus never had so sober mood:
I Thought. 2 Sorrowful. 11 Like those of fauns and satyrs in antique works
3 Enwraps, enfolds. 4 Sound re-echo, of art. 12 Compassion.
5 Reverberated. 6 Know, learn. 13 Glad. 14 The emergency of the moment.
7 Tarry on the spot. 8 Tear-stained. 15 Suspicion, apprehension. 16 Spring.
9 Simple, innocent. 10 Tested, attacked,'17.taff, support. 18 Discover grapes,