XXIII.

But they like tyrants mercileffe the more

Reioyced at his miserable case,

And him reviled, and reproched fore

With bitter taunts and termes of vile disgrace.
Now whenas Artegall arriv'd in place

Did afke, what cause brought that man to decay,
They round about him gan to fwarm apace,
Meaning on him their cruell hands to lay,
And to have wrought unwares fome villanous affay.
XXIV.

But he was foone aware of their ill minde,
And drawing backe deceived their intent:
Yet though himselfe did shame on womankinde
His mighty hand to fhend, he Talus fent
To wrecke on them their follies hardyment:
Who with few fowces of his yron flale
Difperfed all their troupe incontinent,
And fent them home to tell a piteous tale
Of their vaine proweffe turned to their proper bale::

XXV.

But that fame wretched man, ordaynd to die,.
They left behind them, glad to be fo quit:
Him Talus tooke out of perplexitie,

And horror of fowle death for knight unfit,,
Who more then loffe of life ydreaded it;
And him restoring unto living light,

So brought unto his lord, where he did fit

Beholding all that womanish weake fight;

Whom foone as he beheld he knew, and thus behight;

XXVI.

Sir Turpine, haplesse man, what make you here?

Or have you loft yourfelfe and your difcretion,
That ever in this wretched cafe ye were?
Or have ye yeelded you to proude oppreffion
Of womens powre, that boaft of mens fubiection?
Or elfe what other deadly difmall day
Is falne on you by heavens hard direction,
That ye were runne fo fondly far aftray
As for to lead yourselfe unto your owne decay?

XXVII. Much

XXVII.

Much was the man confounded in his mind,
Partly with shame, and partly with disinay,
That all aftonifht he himfelte did find,
And little had for his excufe to say,
Eut onely thus; Moft kapleffe well ye may
Me iuftly terme, that to this jame am brought,
And made the fcorne of knighthood this fame day :
But who can fcape what his owne fare bath wrought?
The worke of heavens will furpaffeth kumaine thought.
XXVIII.

Right true: but faulty men use oftentimes

To attribute their folly unto fate,

And lay on heaven the guilt of their cune crimes.
But tell, fir Terpin, ne let you amate
Your mifery, bow fell ye in this fate 2
Then fith ye needs, quoth he, will w my fame,
And all the ill which chaunft to me of late,
I fhortly will to you rebrarfe the fame,
In hope ye will not turne misfortune to my blame.
XXIX.

Being defirous (as all knights are woont)

Through hard adventures deedes of armes to try,
And after fame and honour for to hunt,
I heard report that farre abrode did fly,
That a proud Amazon did late defy
All the brave knights that hold of Maidenhead,
And unto them wrought all the villany
That she could forge in her malicious head,
Which fome hath put to shame, and many

done be dead. XXX.

The caufe, they fay, of this her cruell hate,
Is for the fake of Bellodant the bold,
To whom he bore moft fervent love of late,
And wooed him by all the waies fhe could:
But when he faw at laft that he ne would
For ought or nought be vonne unto her will,
She turn'd her love to ha'red manifold,
And for his fake vow'd to doe all the ill
Which she could due to knights; which now fhe doth fulfill.

XXXI. For

But if through fout difdaine of manly mind
Any her proud obfervaunce will withstand,
Uppon that gibbet, which is there behind,
She causeth them be hang'd up out of hand;
In which condition I right now did ftand:
For being overcome by her in fight,
And put to that bafe fervice of her band,
I rather chofe to die in lives defpight,
Then lead that shamefull life, unworthy of a knight.
XXXIII.
How hight that Amazon, fayd Artegall,

And where and how far hence does fhe abide?
Her name, quoth he, they Radigund doe call,
A princeffe of great powre and greater pride,
And queene of Amazons, in armes well tride
And fundry battels, which she hath atchieved
With great fuccffe, that her hath glorifide,
And made her famous, more then is believed;
Ne would I it have ween'd had I not late it prieved.
XXXIV.
Now fure, faid he, and by the faith that I
To Maydenhead and noble knighthood owe,
I will not ref till I her might doe trie,
And venge the frame that fle to knights doth show.
Therefore, fr Terpin, from you lightly throw
This fqualid weede, the patterne of difpaire,
And wend with me, thai ye may fee and know
How fortune will your ruin'd name repaire
And knights of Maidenhead, whofe praife flse would empaire.

XXXV. With

XXXV.

With that like one that hopeleffe was repry'vd
From deathes dore at which he lately lay,
Thofe fetters wherewith he was gyv'd,

yron

The badges of reproch, he threw away,
And nimbly did him dight to guide the way
Unto the dwelling of that Amazone :
Which was from thence not past a mile or tway;
A goodly citty and a mighty one,

The which of her owne name fhe called Radegone.
XXXVI.

Where they arriving by the watchmen were
Defcried ftreight; who all the citty warned
How that three warlike perfons did appeare,
Of which the one him feem'd a knight all armed,
And th'other two well likely to have harmed.
Eftfoones the people all to harnesse ran,

And like a fort of bees in clusters fwarmed:
Ere long their queene herfelfe arm'd like a man
Came forth into the rout, and them t'array began.
XXXVII.

And now the knights being arrived neare
Did beat uppon the gates to enter in,
And at the porter, fkorning them so few,
Threw many threats, if they the towne did win
To teare his flesh in pieces for his fin:
Which whenas Radigund there comming heard,
Her heart for rage did grate, and teeth did grin:
She bad that ftreight the gates fhould be unbard,
And to them way to make with weapons well prepard.
XXXVIII.

Soone as the gates were open to them fet,

They pressed forward, entraunce to have made :
But in the middle way they were ymet

With a fharpe showre of arrowes, which them ftaid,
And better bad advise, ere they affaid

Unknowen perill of bold womens pride.
Then all that rout uppon them rudely laid,
And heaped strokes so fast on every side,

And arrowes haild so thicke, that they could not abide.

XXXIX. But

XXXIX.

But Radigund herselfe, when she efpide
Sir Terpin from her direfull doome acquit
So cruell doale amongst her maides divide,
T'avenge that shame they did on him commit,
All fodainely enflam'd with furious fit
Like a fell lionesse at him she flew,

And on his head-piece him fo fiercely fmit,
That to the ground him quite she overthrew,
Dismayd fo with the stroke that he no colours knew.
XL.

Soone as she saw him on the ground to grovell,
She lightly to him leapt; and in his necke
Her proud foote setting, at his head did levell,
Weening at once her wrath on him to wreake,
And his contempt, that did her iudg'ment breake:
As when a beare hath feiz'd her cruell clawes
Uppon the carkaffe of fome beast too weake,
Proudly stands over, and awhile doth pause
To heare the piteous beaft pleading her plaintiffe cause.

XLI.

Whom whenas Artegall in that distresse

By chaunce beheld, he left the bloudy slaughter
In which he swam, and ranne to his redreffe:
There her affayling fiercely fresh he raught her
Such an huge stroke, that it of fence distraught her;
And had fhe not it warded warily,

It had depriv'd her mother of a daughter:
Nathleffe for all the powre The did apply

It made her stagger oft, and stare with ghastly eye.
XLII.

Like to an eagle in his kingly pride

Soring through his wide empire of the aire,

To weather his brode failes, by chaunce hath spide
A gofhauke, which hath feized for her share
Uppon fome fowle, that should her feast prepare;
With dreadfull force he flies at her bylive,
That with his fouce, which none enduren dare,
Her from the quarrey he away doth drive,
And from her griping pounce the greedy prey

VOL. II.

G

doth rive.

XLIII. But