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

528 THE FAERIE QUEEN. [BOOK VI.
The more he laughs, and does her closely quip,1
To see her sore lament and bite her tender CANTO VIII.
lip.
-*~~ ~~lip..~~ ~Prince Arthur overcomes Disdain;
Whose cruel handling when that squire beheld, Quits Mirabellfrom Dread:
And saw those villains her so vilely use, Serena, found of savages,
His gentle heart with indignation swell'd, By Calepine isfreed.
And could no longer bear so great abuse
And could no longer bear so great abuse YE gentle Ladies, in whose sovereign power
As such a lady so to beat and bruise;
As such a lady so to beat abriseLove hath the glory of his kingdom left,
But, to him stepping, such a stroke him lent, nd thhearts of men, as your e al do
And th' hearts of men, as your eternal dow'r,
That forc'd him th' halter from his hand to I i c o l
In iron chains, of liberty bereft~,
loose,.. Deliver'd hath unto your hands by gift;
And, maugr6 2 all his might, back to relent: Be well aware how ye the same do use,
Else had he surely there been slain, or foully That pride do not to tyranny you lift;
^^'~~shent.4 ~Lest, if men you of cruelty accuse,
The villain, wroth for greeting him so sore, He from you take that chiefdom which ye do
Gather'd himself together soon again, abuse.
And with his iron baton, which he bore, And as ye soft and tender are by kind,12
Let drive at him so dreadfully amain, Adorn'd with goodly gifts of beauty's grace,
That for his safety he did him constrain So be ye soft and tender eke in mind;
To give him ground, and shift to ev'ry side, But cruelty and hardness from you chase,
Rather than once his burden 5 to sustain That all your other praises will deface,
For bootless thing him seemed to abide And from you turn the love of men to hate:
So mighty blows, or prove the puissance of his Ensample take of Mirabella's case,
pride. Who from the high degree of happy state
Like as a mastiff having at a bay Fell into wretched woes, which she repented
A savage bull, whose cruel horns do threat late.
Desperate danger, if he them assay, Mirabella, "touchd with compassion entire,'
Traceth his ground, and round about doth much lamented the calamity into which the
beat, gentle squire had fallen for her sake; but her.To spy where he may some advantage get, entreaties on his behalf only made the captors
The while the beast doth rage and loudly roar; the more crue Passing on their way, they
So did the squire, the while the carle did fret met Prince Arthur, with Sir Enias (for such was
And fume in his disdainful mind the more, the name of the knight who had exposed to
And oftentimes by Termagant7 and Mahound him the treachery of Turpine), and augmented
swore. their cruelty, as if to grieve the new comers.
Nathless so sharply still he him pursued, Timias, seeing his lord the witness of his disThat at advantage him at last he took, grace-" ashamed that with a hempen cord
When his foot slipp'd (that slip he dearly rued), he like a dog was led in captive case," hung
And with his iron club to'ground him strook';9 down his head. Sir Enias besought leave of the
Where still he lay, nor out of swoon awook,o Prince to deliver the two captives; then, reTill heavy hand the carl upon him laid, ceiving his companion's assent, he dismounted,
And bound him fast then when he up did look and challenged the captors to free their victims
And sa- himself captiv'd, he was dismay'd, from their loathly hands. Disdain replied only
Nor pow'r had, to withstand, nor hope of any by a swift and terrible blow of his club, which
aid. would have been fatal, if Enias had not lightly
slipped aside; and he requited the carl by a
Then up he made him rise, and forward fare, cruel stroke with his sword. But, as the
Led in a rope which both his hands did bind knight's arm was raised for a second blow,
Nor aught that fool for pity did him spare, Disdain met the sword in mid-air with his club,
But with his whip him following behind shivered it to pieces, hurled Enias to the ground,
Him often scourg'd, and forc'd his feet to find: and set his foot on his neck with fell disdain.
And otherwhiles with bitter mocks and mows 11 Scorn now came running in, and held the knight
Hewould him scorn, that to his gentle mind down, while Disdain proceeded to bind and
Was much more grievous than the other's blows: thrall him.
Words sharply wound, but greatest grief of
scorning grows. As when a sturdy ploughman with his hind
By strength have overthrown a stubborn steer,
Serena, seeing Timias fall under the club of They down him hold, and fast with cords do
Disdain, thought him slain, and fled away with bind,
all the speed she might-to encounter many Till they him force the buxom yoke to bear:
perils, before she rejoined Sir Calepine. So did these two this knight oft tug and tear.
I Jeer. 2 In spite of. 7 A Saracenic deity. See note 26, page 147.
3 Retire. 4 Maltreated, disgraced. 8 Mahomet. 9 Struck.
5 The weight of his club. 10 Awoke, ll Insulting grimaces.
6 Traverseth. 12 Nature.