Whose fences all were straight benumbd and starke. He, backe returning by the Yvorie dore, Remounted up as light as chearefull Larke; And on his litle winges the dreame he bore In haft unto his Lord, where he him left afore.

45.

Who all this while, with charmes and hidden artes,
Had made a Lady of that other Spright,

And fram'd of liquid ayre her tender partes,
So lively and fo like in all mens fight,

That weaker fence it could have ravisht quight:
The maker felfe, for all his wondrous witt,
Was nigh beguiled with fo goodly fight.

Her all in white he clad, and over it

Caft a black ftole, moft like to feeme for Una fit."
46.

Now, when that ydle dreame was to him brought,
Unto that Elfin knight he bad him fly,

Where he slept foundly void of evil thought,
And with false fhewes abuse his fantasy,
In fort as he him schooled privily:

And that new creature, borne without her dew,d
Full of the makers guyle, with ufage fly

He taught to imitate that Lady trew,

Whose semblance she did carrie under feigned hew.

e Caft a black ftole, moft like to feeme for Una fit.] Here is the first discovery of the name of the Lady that accompanied the Red-croffe Knight. Our author's refidence in Ireland furnished him with the name of Una, or Oonah: Lloyd (" Archæol.") observes, that it is there a common name of a woman. Spenfer might at the fame time intend to denote, by Una, fingular and unparallelled excellence. T. WARTON.

d borne without her dew.] i. e. not according to the due course of nature; and in the folio 1611 it is printed, not " dew," as in the 4to. 1590, but due, while " trew," that rhymes with it, is fpelt true, although "hew" is there still retained in the old form. Upton understands "dew" to mean the due and proper qualities of a woman; but she was not deftitute of fome of thofe qualities-fuch as the faculty of speech. C.

47.

Thus, well instructed, to their worke they hafte;
And, comming where the knight in flomber lay,
The one upon his hardie head him plaste,
And made him dreame of loves and luftfull play,
That nigh his manly hart did melt away,
Bathed in wanton blis and wicked joy.
Then seemed him his Lady by him lay,

And to him playnd, how that false winged boy
Her chafte hart had fubdewd to learne Dame Pleasures

48.

And she her felfe, of beautie foveraigne Queene,
Fayre Venus, seemde unto his bed to bring
Her, whom he, waking, evermore did weene
To bee the chafteft flowre that aye did fpring
On earthly braunch; the daughter of a king,
Now a loose Leman to vile fervice bound:
And eke the Graces feemed all to fing,

Hymen Tö Hymen! dauncing all around;

Whylft freshest Flora her with Yvie girlond crownd.

49.

toy.

In this great paffion of unwonted luft,
Or wonted feare of doing ought amis,
He starteth up, as feeming to mistrust
Some fecret ill, or hidden foe of his.
Lo! there before his face his Ladie is,
Under blacke stole hyding her bayted hooke;
And as halfe blushing offred him to kis,
With gentle blandishment and lovely looke,
Most like that Virgin true which for her Knight him took.

• Bathed in wanton blis.] There is an ambiguity in Todd's note upon this not unufual figure, fince it makes it appear as if " the History of Promos and Caffandra" (upon the fame story as Shakespeare's "Meafure for Measure") was by Spenfer, when it is well known to have been a drama in two parts by George Whetstone, and published in 1578. The original novel is by Giraldi Cinthio, and Whetstone also introduced a profe translation of it in his " Heptameron of Civil Difcourfes," 1582.

50.

All cleane dismayd to fee fo uncouth fight,
And halfe enraged at her shameleffe guise,
He thought have flaine her in his fierce defpight;
But hastie heat tempring with sufferance wise,
He stayde his hand; and gan

himselfe advise
Το prove his sense, and tempt her faigned truth.
Wringing her hands, in wemens pitteous wife,
Tho can fhe weepe, to stirre up gentle ruth
Both for her noble blood, and for her tender youth.

51.

And fayd, "Ah Sir, my liege Lord, and my love,
Shall I accuse the hidden cruell fate,

And mightie causes wrought in heaven above,
Or the blind God that doth me thus amate,
For hoped love to winne me certaine hate?
Yet thus perforce he bids me do, or die.
Die is my dew; yet rew my wretched state,
You, whom my hard avenging deftinie

Hath made judge of my life or death indifferently.

52.

"Your owne deare fake forst me at first to leave
My fathers kingdom"-There she stopt with teares;
Her swollen hart her speech feemd to bereave,
And then again begonne ; " My weaker yeares,
Captiv'd to fortune and frayle worldly feares,
Fly to your fayth for fuccour and sure ayde:

He thought have flaine her.] The folio 1611 has it "He thought t'have flaine her," and the elifion feems needlefs in the 4to. 1590, though, of course, it was common to print to have" t'have," when it was wanted as a monofyllable. However, Spenfer has the fame elliptical form of expreffion elsewhere. C.

• And then again begonne.] "Begonne" is the old past tense of to begin; but Todd, deserting the oldeft copy, prints begun if he altered at all it should have been began; but we adhere, as in other cafes, to the spelling of the edit. 1590, when not evidently corrupted. C.

I.

Let me not die in languor and long teares."

"Why, Dame," (quoth he,) "what hath ye thus dif

mayd?

What frayes ye, that were wont to comfort me affrayd?”

53.

“Love of your selfe,” she saide, “and deare constraint, Lets me not fleepe, but waste the wearie night In fecret anguish and unpittied plaint,

Whiles you in careleffe fleepe are drowned quight." Her doubtfull words made that redoubted knight Suspect her truth; yet fince no' untruth he knew, Her fawning love with foule difdainefull spight He would not fhend; but faid, "Deare dame, I rew, That for my fake unknowne such griefe unto you grew.

54.

"Affure your felfe, it fell not all to ground; For all fo deare as life is to my hart,

I deeme your love, and hold me to you bound: Ne let vaine feares procure your needlesse smart, Where cause is none; but to your reft depart." Not all content, yet seemd she to appease Her mournefull plaintes, beguiled of her art, And fed with words that could not chofe but please: So, flyding foftly forth, fhe turnd as to her ease.

55.

Long after lay he mufing at her mood,

Much griev'd to thinke that gentle Dame fo light,
For whofe defence he was to fhed his blood.
At last, dull wearines of former fight
Having yrockt asleepe his irkesome spright,
That troublous dreame gan freshly toffe his braine
With bowres, and beds, and ladies deare delight:
But, when he faw his labour all was vaine,

With that misformed spright he backe returnd againe.

farre

CANTO II.

The guilefull great Enchaunter parts
The Redcroffe Knight from Truth:
Into whofe fteada faire falfhood steps,
And workes him woefull ruth.

I.

Y this the Northerne wagoner had fet
His fevenfold teme behind the ftedfaft

ftarre

That was in Ocean waves yet never wet,
But firme is fixt, and fendeth light from

To al that in the wide deepe wandring arre;
And chearefull Chaunticlere with his note fhrill
Had warned once, that Phoebus fiery carre
In haft was climbing up the Eafterne hill,
Full envious that night fo long his roome did fill:

a Into whofe ftead.] This line affords an inftance how old compofitors. were fometimes mifled by the occurrence of a fimilar word in, or near, the fame line: " ftead" is misprinted fteps in the edit. 1590, but it was afterwards corrected. C.

b By this the Northerne wagoner had fet.] The northerne wagoner is Bootes, one of the conftellations; his fevenfold teme are the feven stars in the tail and hinder part of the Greater Bear, and vulgarly called Charles's wain; and the ftedfaft ftarre is the Pole-ftar. CHURCH.