Eftsoones1 he saw one with a naked knife Readie to launch her brest, and let out loved life.

XLIX.

With that he thrusts into the thickest throng;
And, even as his right hand adowne descends,
He him preventing 2 lays on earth along,
And sacrifizeth to th' infernall feends:

Then to the rest his wrathfull hand he bends;
Of whom he makes such havocke and such hew,3
That swarmes of damned soules to hell he sends:
The rest, that scape his sword and death eschew,
Fly like a flocke of doves before a faulcons vew.

L.

From them returning to that Ladie backe, Whom by the altar he doth sitting find Yet fearing death, and next to death the lacke Of clothes to cover what she ought by kind 5; He first her hands beginneth to unbind, And then to question of her present woe; And afterwards to cheare with speaches kind: But she, for nought that he could say or doe, One word durst speake, or answere him a whit thereto.

LI.

So inward shame of her uncomely case

She did conceive, through care of womanhood,
That though the night did cover her disgrace,
Yet she in so unwomanly a mood

Would not bewray the state in which she stood:

1 Eftsoones, immediately.

2 Preventing, anticipating. 3 Hew, hewing.

4 Eschero, escape.

5 Kind, nature, instinct.

·Care of womanhood.] Regard for womanly feeling.

So all that night to him unknown she past: But day, that doth discover bad and good, Ensewing, made her knowen to him at last: The end whereof Ile keepe untill another cast.1

1 Cast, time.

LI. 9.- Untill another cast.] This pledge is not redeemed. We hear no more of Calepine and Serena.

CANTO IX.

Calidore hostes1 with Melibee,
And loves fayre Pastorell:
Coridon envies him, yet he,

For ill, rewards him well.

I.

Now turne againe my teme, thou iolly swayne,
Backe to the furrow which I lately left;
I lately left a furrow one or twayne

Unplough'd, the which my coulter had not cleft;
Yet seem'd the soyle both fayre and frutefull eft,2
As I it past; that were too great a shame,
That so rich frute should be from us bereft;
Besides the great dishonour and defame,
Which should befall to Calidores immortall name.
II.

Great travell hath the gentle Calidore

And toyle endured, sith 3 I left him last
Sewing the Blatant Beast; which I forbore
To finish then, for other present hast.5
Full many pathes and perils he hath past,

[plaines,

Through hils, through dales, through forests, and through In that same quest which fortune on him cast,

1 Hostes, takes up his abode.

2 Eft, moreover.

3 Sith, since.

4 Sewing, pursuing.

Hast, haste.

6 Quest, expedition, pursuit.

· Sith I left him last.] See canto III. stanza XXVI.

Which he atchieved to his owne great gaines, Reaping eternall glorie of his restlesse1 paines.

III.

So sharply he the Monster did pursew, That day nor night he suffred him to rest, Ne rested he himselfe (but natures dew) For dread of daunger not to be redrest,2 If he for slouth forslackt 3 so famous quest. Him first from court he to the citties coursed, And from the citties to the townes him prest, And from the townes into the countrie forsed, And from the country back to private farmes he scorsed.4

IV.

From thence into the open fields he fled,

Whereas the heardes were keeping of their neat,5
And shepheards singing, to their flockes that fed,
Layes of sweet love and youthes delightfull heat:
Him thether eke for all his fearefull threat
He followed fast, and chaced him so nie,
That to the folds, where sheepe at night doe seat,
And to the litle cots, where shepherds lie
In winters wrathfull time, he forced him to flie.

V.

There on a day, as he pursew'd the chace,
He chaunst to spy a sort of shepheard groomes

1 Restlesse, unceasing.

2 Redrest, escaped.

3 Forslackt, delayed, put off.

4 Scorsed, chaced.

5 Neat, cattle.

6 Sort, company.

III. 3.- But natures dew.] Only so much as was required by nature.

IV. 9.- Wrathfull time.] Church and Upton are of opinion that Spenser wrote "tine," inclemency.

Playing on pypes and caroling apace,

The whyles their beasts there in the budded broomes
Beside them fed, and nipt the tender bloomes;
For other worldly wealth they cared nought:
To whom Sir Calidore yet sweating comes,
And them to tell him courteously besought,

If such a beast they saw, which he had thether brought.

VI.

They answer'd him that no such beast they saw, any wicked feend that mote offend

Nor

Their happie flockes, nor daunger to them draw; But if that such there were (as none they kend1) They prayd High God them farre from them to send : Then one of them him seeing so to sweat, After his rusticke wise, that well he weend, Offred him drinke to quench his thirstie heat, And, if he hungry were, him offred eke to eat.

VII.

The Knight was nothing nice, where was no need,
And tooke their gentle offer: so adowne

They prayd him sit, and gave him for to feed
Such homely what as serves the simple clowne,
That doth despise the dainties of the towne:
Tho, having fed his fill, he there besyde
Saw a faire Damzell, which did weare a crowne
Of sundry flowres with silken ribbands tyde,

Yclad in home-made greene that her owne hands had dyde.

VIII.

Upon a litle hillocke she was placed

1 Kend, knew.

2 Tho, then.

VII. 4. Such homely what.] Such homely fare.