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

CANTO XI.] Y2Hr FAERIE QUEEN. 357
Where stretch'd he lay upon the sunny side For, as the clashing of an armour bright,
Of a great hill, himself like a great hill: Such noise his roused scales did send unto the
But, all so soon as he from far descried Knight.
Those glist'ring arms that heav'n with light did His aggy9 wings, when forth he did display,
fill, His flaggy 9 wings, when forth he did display,
He rous'd himself full blithe, and hastened Were like two sails, in which the hollow wind
He rous'd himself full blithe, and hastened,
^them untilz Is gather'd full, and worketh speedy way:
th~em until.'1 ^And eke the pens,1o that did his pinions bind,
Then bade the Knight his Lady yede 2 aloof, Were like main-yards with flying canvas lin'd;
And to a hill herself withdraw aside; With which when as him list the air to beat,
From whence she might behold that battle's And there by force unwonted passage find,
proof, The clouds before him fled for terror great,
And eke be safe from danger far descried: And all the heav'ns stood still, amazed with his
She him obey'd, and turn'd a little wide.- threat.
Now, O thou sacred Muse, most learned Dame, His huge long tail, wound up in hundred folds,
Fair imp 3 of Phoebus and his aged bride,4 Does overspread his long brass-scaly 11 back,
The nurse of Time and everlasting Fame, Whosewreathed boughts 2 whenever he unfolds,
That warlike hands ennoblest with immortal And thick-entangled knots adown does slack,
name; Bespotted as with shields of red and black,
0 gently come into my feeble breast; It sweepeth all the land behind him far,
Come gently; but not with that mighty rage And of three furlongs does but little lack;
Wherewith the martial troops thou dost infest, And at the point two stings infixd are,
And hearts of great her6es dost enrage,
And hearts of great her6os dost enrage, Both deadly sharp, that sharpest steel exceeden
That naught their kindled courage may assuage: far.
Soon as thy dreadful trump begins to sound, But stings and sharpest steel did far exceed
The god of war with his fierce equipage The sharpness of his cruel rending claws:
Thou dost awake, sleep never he so sound; Dead was it sure, as sure as death indeed,
And scared nations dost with horror stern Whatever thing does touch his ravenous paws,
astound. Or what within his reach he ever draws.
But his most hideous head my tongue to tell
Fair Goddess, lay that furious fit aside, Does tremble; for his deep devouring jaws
Till I of wars and bloody Mars do sing,5ide gapd, ke the grisly mouth of hell
And Briton fields with Saracen blood bedy'd, Throughwhich into his dark abyss all ravinl3fell.'Twixt that great Faery Queen and Paynim king,
That with their horror heav'n and earth did ring; And, what more wondrous was, in either jaw
A work of labour long, and endless praise: Three ranks of iron teeth enranged were,
But now awhile let down that haughty string, In which yet trickling blood, and gobbets raw,
And to my1 tunes thy second tenor raise, Of late-devoured bodies did appear;
That I this man of God his godlyarms may blaze.6 That sight thereof bred cold congealed fear:
Which to increase, and all at once to kill,
By this the dreadful beast drew nigh to hand, smothrin and s r se
f f g a. A cloud of smoth'ring smoke and sulphur sear 14
Half flying and half footing in his stinking gorge 15 forth steamd still,
That with his largeness measured much land, ht l the air a t with smoke and stench
That all the air about with smoke and stench
And made wide shadow under his huge waist, did fill.
As mountain doth the valley overcast.
Approaching nigh, he reared high afore His blazing eyes, like two bright shining shields,
His body monstrous, horrible, and vast; Did burn with wrath, and sparkled living fire:
Which, to increase his wondrous greatness more, As two broad beacons, set in open fields,
Was swoll'n with wrath and poison, and with Send forth-their flames far off to every shire,
bloody gore; And warning give, that enemies conspire
With fire and sword the region to invade;
LikeAn d over all wiofh brazenel, so cales was r7 So flam'd his eyne with rage and rancorous ire:
Like plated coat of steel, so couched near 7 Bt far within, as in a hollow glade
That naught might pierce; nor might his corseThose glaring lamps were set, that made a
be harm'd dreadful shade.
With dint of sword, nor push of pointed spear:
Which, as an eagle, seeing prey appear, So dreadfully he toward him did pass,
His airy plumes doth rouse full rudely dight; 8 Forelifting up aloft his speckled breast,
So shaked he, that horror was to hear: And often bounding on the bruised grass,
1 Towards. 2 Go.' 3 Offspring. of singing, under the guise of the allegory described
4 Mnemosyne, or Memory; who, in most of the tra- just below, the war between Queen Elizabeth and
ditions about the genealogy of the Muses, is said to Spain, in the later books of the "Faerie Queen."
have been their mother. Most commonly, however, 6 Celebrate. 7 Laid so close together.
their paternity is ascribed to Zeus. The tuneful Nine 8 Doth stir her ruffled or roUghly-trimmed feathers.
were often called the "Mnemonides." The invocation 9 Floating. Io Feathers.
of the poet is addressed to Clio, the historic Muse, to 11 Covered with brazen scales.
whom he had appealed at the outset of his work. 12 Folds, coils. 13 Prey.
5 Spenser is understood here to refer to his purpose 14 Burning. 15 Throat.