Her truth had staynd with treason fo unkind:
Yet cryme in her could never creature find;
But for his love, and for her own felfe fake,
She wandred had from one to other Ynd,
Him for to feeke, ne ever would forsake;
Till her unwares the fiers Sanfloy did overtake:
3.

Who, after Archimagoes fowle defeat,
Led her away into a forest wilde;

And, turning wrathfull fyre to lustfull heat, With beastly fin thought her to have defilde, And made the vaffall of his pleasures vilde. Yet first he caft by treatie, and by traynes, Her to perfuade that stubborne fort to yilde: For greater conqueft of hard love he gaynes, That workes it to his will, then he that it constraines.

4.

With fawning wordes he courted her a while;

And, looking lovely and oft fighing fore,

Her conftant hart did tempt with diverse guile : But wordes, and lookes, and fighes she did abhore; As rock of Diamond ftedfaft evermore.

Yet for to feed his fyrie luftfull eye,

He fnatcht the vele that hong her face before: Then gan her beautie fhyne as brightest skye, And burnt his beaftly hart t'efforce her chastitye."

5.

So when he saw his flatt'ring artes to fayle,
And fubtile engines bett from batteree;
With greedy force he gan the fort affayle,
Whereof he weend poffeffed foone to bee,

bt'efforce her chastitye.] Why Todd and others here printed enforce for "efforce" they do not state: "efforce" is a well-known verb in our language, and Spenfer uses it elsewhere several times: it is "efforce" in the old impreffions. C.

And win rich spoile of ransackt chastitee.

Ah heavens! that doe this hideous act behold,
And heavenly virgin thus outraged fee,

How can ye vengeance juft fo long withhold,

And hurle not flashing flames upon that Paynim bold?

6.

The pitteous mayden, carefull, comfortleffe,

Does throw out thrilling fhriekes, and fhrieking cryes;
The last vaine helpe of wemens greate distresse,
And with loud plaintes importuneth the skyes;
That molten starres doe drop like weeping eyes,
And Phoebus, flying so most shameful fight,
His blushing face in foggy cloud implyes,

And hydes for shame. What witt of mortall wight Can now devife to quitt a thrall from such a plight?

7.

Eternall providence, exceeding thought,

Where none appeares can make her selfe a way.
A wondrous way it for this Lady wrought,
From Lyons clawes to pluck the gryped pray.
Her fhrill outcryes and shrieks fo loud did bray,
That all the woodes and foreftes did refownd:
A troupe of Faunes and Satyres far a way
Within the wood were dauncing in a rownd,
Whiles old Sylvanus slept in fhady arber sownd.

8.

Who, when they heard that pitteous strained voice,
In hafte forfooke their rurall meriment,

And ran towardes the far rebownded noyce,
To weet what wight fo loudly did lament.
Unto the place they come incontinent:
Whom when the raging Sarazin efpyde,

e in foggy cloud implyes.] i. e. folds himself up, or conceals himself in foggy cloud this fenfe of the verb to "imply was frequent in the time of Spenfer, and scarcely requires a note. C.

A rude, mishapen, monftrous rablement, Whofe like he never faw, he durft not byde, But got his ready steed, and fast away gan ryde.

9.

The wyld woodgods, arrived in the place,
There find the virgin, doolfull, defolate,
With ruffled rayments, and fayre blubbred face,
As her outrageous foe had left her late;
And trembling yet through feare of former hate.
All ftand amazed at fo uncouth fight,

And gin to pittie her unhappie ftate:
All stand aftonied at her beautie bright,

In their rude eyes unworthy of fo wofull plight.

IO.

She, more amazd, in double dread doth dwell;
And every tender part for feare does fhake.
As when a greedy Wolfe, through honger fell,
A feely Lamb far from the flock does take,
Of whom he meanes his bloody feast to make,
A Lyon spyes fast running towards him,

The innocent pray in haft he does forfake;

Which, quitt from death, yet quakes in every lim With chaunge of feare, to see the lyon looke fo grim.

II.

Such fearefull fitt affaid her trembling hart;

Ne word to speake, ne joynt to move, she had:

The falvage nation feele her fecret smart,
And read her forrow in her count'nance fad;
Their frowning forheades, with rough hornes yclad,
And ruftick horror, all afyde doe lay;

And, gently grenning, shew a semblance glad
To comfort her; and, feare to put away,

Their backward bent knees teach her humbly to obay.

12.

The doubtfull Damzell dare not yet committ

Her fingle person to their barbarous truth;
But ftill twixt feare and hope amazd does fitt,
Late learnd what harme to hafty trust ensu’th.
They, in compaffion of her tender youth,
And wonder of her beautie foverayne,
Are wonne with pity and unwonted ruth ;
And, all proftrate upon the lowly playne,

Doe kiffe her feete, and fawne on her with count'nance

fayne.

13.

Their harts she ghefseth by their humble guise,
And yieldes her to extremitie of time:

So from the ground she fearelesse doth arise,
And walketh forth without suspect of crime.
They, all as glad as birdes of joyous Pryme,
Thence lead her forth, about her dauncing round,
Shouting, and finging all a fhepheards ryme;

And with greene braunches ftrowing all the ground, Do worship her as Queene with olive girlond cround.

14.

And all the way their merry pipes they found,
That all the woods with doubled Eccho ring;
And with their horned feet doe weare the ground,
Leaping like wanton kids in pleasant Spring.
So towards old Sylvanus they her bring;
Who, with the noyse awaked, commeth out
To weet the cause, his weake steps governing
And aged limbs on cypreffe ftadle stout;a
And with an yvie twyne his wafte is girt about.

d

d To weet the caufe, his weake steps governing And aged limbs on cypreffe ftadle ftout.] I do not remember that Sylvanus is any where described as infirm with old age. Neither would the young cypress-tree which he carried in his hand, a sapling, or small plant torn up by the root, have served for this purpose. him "Georg." i. 20.

66

Virgil addresses

teneram ab radice ferens, Sylvane, cupreffum." T. WARTON.

15.

Far off he wonders what them makes fo glad;
Or Bacchus merry fruit they did invent,
Or Cybeles franticke rites have made them mad:
They, drawing nigh, unto their God present
That flowre of fayth and beautie excellent.
The God himselfe, vewing that mirrhour rare,
Stood long amazd, and burnt in his intent:

His owne fayre Dryope now he thinkes not faire, And Pholoe fowle, when her to this he doth compaire. 16.

The woodborne people fall before her flat,
And worship her as Goddeffe of the wood;
And old Sylvanus felfe bethinkes not what
To thinke of wight fo fayre, but gazing stood
In doubt to deeme her borne of earthly brood:
Sometimes dame Venus felfe he feemes to fee;
But Venus never had fo fober mood:
Sometimes Diana he her takes to be;

But miffeth bow and shaftes, and buskins to her knee. 17.

By vew of her he ginneth to revive

His ancient love, and dearest Cypariffe ;
And calles to mind his pourtraiture alive,
How fayre he was, and yet not fayre to this;
And how he flew with glauncing dart amiffe
A gentle hynd, the which the lovely boy
Did love as life, above all worldly bliffe:
For griefe whereof the lad n'ould after joy ;

Or Bacchus merry fruit they did invent.] Later impreffions, after the first, mifprint " Of Bacchus merry fruit," &c. which seems to have puzzled fome editors, who do not appear to have seen that “Or" in the firft inftance is to be taken as either.-" Either Bacchus' merry fruit they had found, or Cybele's frantic rites had made them mad." There is thus no ambiguity, which has only been introduced by the unauthorised alteration of the poet's language. C.