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

420 THE FAERIE QUEEN. [BOOK II.
Outwearing the wearynight in restless anguish into the ford he sent." But now he fell to earth
and unquiet pain, ere morn the Prince arose and in deadly swoon from his own wound; and
went-forth with heavy look and lumpish pace, death seemed at hand, if Providence had not
betraying the discomposure of his mind. sent to his aid the "noble huntress " Belphcebe,
who had so affrighted Braggadocio.
She on a day, as she pursued thp chase
Of some wild beast, which with her arrows keen
She wounded had, the same along did trace
CANTO V. By track of blood, which she had freshly seen
To have besprinkled all the grassy green;
Prince Arthur hears of Florimell: By the great persue 2 which she there perceiv'd,
Three fosters 1 Timias wound; Well hoped she the beast engor'd 3 had been,
Belphoebefinds him almost dead,
Belphebelincds him almost cdead, And made more haste the life to have bereav'd:
And reareth out of swound.
But ah! her expectation greatly was deceiv'd.
SEEKING an issue from the forest, the Prince Shortly she came where as that woeful squire,
met a dwarf, who seemed terrified and was all With blood deformed,4 lay in deadly swvound;
bescratched and lamed by running through the In whose fair eyes, like lamps of quench6d fire,
thick wood. He learned from the dwarf that The crystal humour stood congealed round;
his lady, Florimell, had quitted Faery Court, His locks, like faded leaves fallen to ground,
in great grief at the news that her only love, Knotted with blood in bunches rudely ran;
Marinell, the sea-nymph's son, had been slain And his sweet lips, on which, before that
by a foreign foe. All her delight was set on stound,5
Marinell, though he set naught at all by Flori- The bud of youth to blossom fair began,
mell; and she had vowed never to return till Spoil'd of their rosy red, were waxen pale and
she found her love, alive or dead. The Prince, wan.
who recognised in the description of Florimell
the lady whom he had pursued in vain co- Saw never living eye more heavy sight,
forted the ladyarf w ith he promise never to for- That could have made a rock of stone to rue,6
forted the dwarf with the promise never to for-t Lady bright,
sake him till he found tidings of his dame; and Or rive i twan: which when that Lady bright,
the two journeyed together-the Prince greatly Beside all hope with melting eyes did view,
lamenting the absence of his squire. Meanwhile, All suddenly abash'd she changed hue,
Timias had ridden fiercely after the forester foul And with stern horror backward ga to start
to take vengeance for the insult to the lady; But, when she better him beheld, she grew
but the villain escaped for the time, by the Full of soft passion and unwonted smart:
swiftness of his steed or his own knowledge of The point of pity piercid through her tender
the wood-paths. Coming to his two brothers- heart.
for they were three ungracious children of Stooping down, she felt by his pulse that life
one graceless sire "-he stirred them up to aid yet remained in his frozen members; then, unhim in revenge on the " foolhardy squire;" and doing his armour, she "rubb'd his temples, and'the trio placed themselves in ambush for Timias each trembling vein," and went hastily into the
in the thick wood, beside a covert glade, near a woods to seek remedial herbs, of which she had
narrow ford. Timias rode unsuspectingly down great knowledge. Returning with "the sove-,to the ford; and when he was entangled in reign weed," she pounded and bruised it; with
-the water, the forester, who had formerly fled, her lily hands she squeezed the juice into the:appeared on the steep bank, and launched a wound, softening theflesh allaround; and bound
javelin at him. Though unwounded, the squire the wound with her scarf, to keep it from cold.
could not mount the bank, from which the h s lif r
forester kept him off with his long boar-spear; s e ad set le e d s agan,
while one of the brothers shot from the thicket And, groaning inly deep, last his yes,
"a cruel shaft headed with deadly ill and watery eyes drizzling like dewy rain,
feathered with an unlucky quill," that sank He up gan lift toward the azure skies,
deep into his thigh. Stung by wrath and ven- From whence descend all hopeless 9 remedies:
geance, Timias struggled up the bank, when Therewith he sigh'd; and, turning him aside,
geance, olymas strugged up t ban aid, full of divinities
the, third brother "drove at him with all his The goodly mad, full of divinites
might and main" a forest-bill but avoiding And gifts of heavenly grace, he by him spied,
might and main" a forest-bill; but, avoiding
the bl6w, the squire pierced both sides of his Her bow and gilden quiver lying him beside.
assailant with his spear, and tumbled him dead " Mercy! dear Lord," said he, "what grace is
to the ground. Ere long the two others shared this
the same fate; the pursuer of Florimell had his That thou hast showid to me,'sinful wight,
head cleft to the chin; at the third, who sought To send thine angel from her bow'r of bliss
to fly after discharging a useless arrow, Timias To comfort me in my distressed plight!
struck " with force so violent, that headless him Angel, or goddess, do I call thee right?
1 Foresters. 4 Disfigured. 5 Misfortune.
2 Trail, continuous track, of blood, which she " pur- 6 Pity. 7 Beyond all expectation.
sued" in quest of the beast. 3 Pierced through. 8 Recovered. 9 Unhoped for.