OUNG knight whatever, that doft armes profeffe, And through long labours hunteft after fame, Beware of fraud, beware of fickleneffe, In choice, and chaunge of thy deare-loved Dame; Least thou of her believe too lightly blame, And rafh misweening doe thy hart remove: For unto knight there is no greater shame, Then lightneffe and inconftancie in love: That doth this Redcroffe knights enfample plainly prove. 2. Who, after that he had faire Una lorne, Through light mifdeeming of her loialtie; And towards it a broad high way that led, All bare through peoples feet which thether traveiled. Great 3. troupes of people traveild thetherward 4. A stately Pallace built of squared bricke, Which cunningly was without morter laid, Full of faire windowes and delightful bowres; 5. It was a goodly heape for to behould, And spake the praises of the workmans witt; 6. Arrived there, they passed in forth right; For still to all the gates ftood open wide: Yet charge of them was to a Porter hight," There waiting long, to win the wished fight 7. By them they paffe, all gazing on them round, Of Lords and Ladies ftood on every fide, Which with their prefence fayre the place much beautifide. 8. High above all a cloth of State was fpred, A mayden Queene that fhone as Titans ray, was to a Porter hight.] i. e. was to a porter committed: "hight' generally means called or named; but fuch can hardly be its fignification here, because "hight" is immediately followed by the word "cald." As Todd fays, "behight" often means entrusted, and for the fake of the measure Spenfer here omitted the prefix. C. band coftly arras dight.] "Dight" is furnished: the walls of the hall were hung with tapeftry, ufually made at Arras; but it may be doubted whether tapestry did not in fome way differ from Arras, for in a paffage, cited by Todd, (though he does not observe the distinction,) Harrison, the continuator of Holinfhed, fpeaks of the apartments of the wealthy as "hanged with tapestry, arras work, or painted cloths." We know that painted cloth was confidered a poor substitute for tapestry, and Harrison mentions the three, as if there were as much difference between tapestry and arras work, as between arras work and painted cloth. He may mean that tapestry was arras work. C. In gliftring gold and pereleffe pretious stone; To dim the brightneffe of her glorious throne, 9. Exceeding fhone, like Phoebus fayrest childe, And flaming mouthes of steedes, unwonted wilde, Through highest heaven with weaker hand to rayne: Proud of fuch glory and advancement vayne, While flashing beames do daze his feeble eyen, He leaves the welkin way most beaten playne, And, rapt with whirling wheeles, inflames the skyen With fire not made to burne, but fayrely for to fhyne. IO. So proud fhe shyned in her princely state, Looking to heaven, for earth she did disdayne; II. Of griefly Pluto fhe the daughter was, And fad Proferpina, the Queene of hell; And thundring Jove, that high in heaven doth dwell For to the highest she did ftill afpyre; Or, if ought higher were then that, did it defyre. 12. And proud Lucifera men did her call, That made her felfe a Queene, and crownd to be; But did ufurpe with wrong and tyrannie That with their counfels bad her kingdome did uphold. 13. Soone as the Elfin knight in presence came, A gentle Husher, Vanitie by name, Made rowme, and paffage for them did prepaire : 14. With loftie eyes, halfe loth to looke fo lowe, Some frounce their curled heare.] Moft likely the word " frounce is what has now degenerated to flounce: it is from the Fr. froncer, to plait or wrinkle: here it seems to mean the curling and crinkling of the hair. To "prank the ruff," in the next line, is to display the ruff oftentatiously; and "dight" we have already had (p. 228) in the sense of furnished: here it rather means to prepare their gay attire. C. |