Good turnes be counted as a fervile bond

To bind their dooers to receive their meed?
Are not all knightes by oath bound to withstond
Oppreffours powre by armes and puiffant hond?
Suffife, that I have done my dew in place."
So goodly purpose' they together fond
Of kindneffe and of courteous aggrace;
The whiles falfe Archimage and Atin fled apace.

"This faid, the noble Infant stood a space
Confused, fpeechleffe," &c. TODD.

The original words of Tafso are il nobil garzon. C.

So goodly purpose.] "Purpose," here as in some other places, is dif course or converfation: the fame as propose. See this vol. p. 175. C.

F all Gods workes which doe this worlde

adorne,

There is no one more faire and excellent
Then is mans body, both for powre and
forme,

Whiles it is kept in fober government;
But none then it more fowle and indecent,"
Diftempred through mifrule and paffions bace;
It grows a Monfter, and incontinent

Doth loofe his dignity and native grace:
Behold, who lift, both one and other in this place.

2.

After the Paynim brethren conquer'd were,
The Briton Prince recov'ring his stolne fword,
And Guyon his loft fhield, they both yfere

a

Forth passed on their way in fayre accord,

more fowle and indecent.] The accent, we need hardly fay, muft here be laid on the first fyllable of "indecent." It is perhaps this peculiarity which led the printer of the 4to. 1590 to blunder by putting incedent for " indecent:" the error is fet right at the end of that impreffion, and it was never repeated.

C.

Till him the Prince with gentle court did bord:
"Sir knight, mote I of you this court'fy read,
To weet why on your fhield, fo goodly fcord,
Beare ye the picture of that Ladies head?

Full lively is the semblaunt, though the substance dead."

3.

"Fayre Sir," (fayd he) "if in that picture dead
Such life ye read, and vertue in vaine shew;
What mote ye weene, if the trew lively-head
Of that most glorious visage ye did vew:
But yf the beauty of her mind ye knew,
That is, her bounty, and imperiall powre,
Thousand times fairer then her mortall hew,

O! how great wonder would your thoughts devoure, And infinite defire into your spirite poure.

4.

"Shee is the mighty Queene of Faery,

Whose faire retraitt" I in my fhield doe beare;
Shee is the flowre of grace and chastity
Throughout the world, renowmed far and neare,
My liefe, my liege, my Soveraine, my deare,
Whofe glory fhineth as the morning starre,
And with her light the earth enlumines cleare :
Far reach her mercies, and her praises farre,
As well in state of peace, as puiffaunce in warre.”

5.

"Thrife happy man," (faid then the Briton knight) "Whom gracious lott and thy great valiaunce

C

Whofe faire retraitt.] Picture, portrait. Ital. ritratto. CHURCH. My liefe, my liege, my Soveraine, my deare.] Todd arbitrarily reads, "My Life, my Liege, my Soveraine, my Deare," without the flightest authority from any old copy, and misleading fubfequent editors. Mr. Child has, however, avoided the fubftitution of Life for "liefe." The word "liefe," for a perfon beloved, was fo extremely common in the time of Spenser, that it is quite needlefs to cite inftances of its employment. See this vol. p. 8. C.

Have made thee foldier of that Princeffe bright, Which with her bounty and glad countenance Doth blesse her fervaunts, and them high advaunce. How may ftraunge knight hope ever to aspire, By faithfull fervice and meete amenaunce, Unto fuch bliffe? fufficient were that hire For loffe of thousand lives, to die at her defire.”

6.

Said Guyon, "Noble Lord, what meed fo great,
Or grace of earthly Prince fo foveraine,
But by your wondrous worth and warlike feat
Ye well may hope, and eafely attaine?
But were your will her fold to entertaine,
And numbred be mongst knights of Maydenhed,
Great guerdon, well I wote, fhould you remaine,
And in her favor high bee reckoned,

As Arthegall and Sophy' now beene honored."

7.

"Certes," (then faid the Prince) "I God avow,
That fith I armes and knighthood first did plight,
My whole defire hath beene, and yet is now,
To ferve that Queene with al my powre and might.
Seven times the Sunne," with his lamp-burning light,

d and meete amenaunce.] i. e. and fit conduct, demeanour. C. But were your will her fold to entertaine.] To receive her pay. Fr. folde, a foldier's pay. CHURCH.

Arthegall and Sophy.] Arthegall and Sophy are mentioned here to raise a curiofity of further inquiry in the reader; which curiofity the poet intended to answer hereafter: "Arthegall" we shall read of often; and "Sophy," I make no doubt, was intended to be the hero of fome other book in this poem: he was the fon of king Gulicke of North Wales. See Drayton's "Polyolbion," Song xxiv. UPTON. "Arthegall" is fpelt Arthogall in the 4to. 1590, but not afterwards. C.

8 Seven times the Sunne.] So the 4to. 1590; but in the 4to. 1596 it is fimply "Now bath the Sunne." Neither reading is ftrictly reconcileable with what follows in other places, and it is not to be fuppofed that Spenfer thought the point of much confequence. All he meant, probably, was to indicate that for a certain period the Prince had been

Walkte round about the world, and I no leffe, Sith of that Goddeffe I have fought the fight, Yet no where can her find: fuch happinesse Heven doth to me envy, and fortune favourleffe."

8.

"Fortune, the foe of famous chevifaunce,"

"Seldom" (faid Guyon) " yields to vertue aide,
But in her way throwes mischiefe and mifchaunce,
Whereby her course is stopt and passage staid:
But you, faire Sir, be not herewith dismaid,
But conftant keepe the way in which ye
stand;
Which, were it not that I am els delaid
With hard adventure which I have in hand,
I labour would to guide you through al Fary land."

9.

"Gramercy Sir," said he; "but mote I weete
What ftraunge adventure doe ye now purfew?
Perhaps my fuccour or advizement meete
Mote stead you much your purpose to fubdew."
Then gan Sir Guyon all the story shew
Of falfe Acrafia, and her wicked wiles;
Which to avenge the Palmer him forth drew

From Faery court. So talked they, the whiles They wafted had much way, and measurd many miles.

IO.

And now faire Phoebus gan decline in haste
His weary wagon to the Westerne vale,
Whenas they spide a goodly caftle, plaste

in earnest search of the Faery Queene. It fcarcely requires remark that in the last line of the Stanza, "envy" is to be read, as was ufual in the time of our poet, with the accent on the second syllable. C.

h Fortune, the foe of famous chevifaunce.] "Chevifaunce" is enterprife; from the Fr. chevifaunce. TODD.

i but mote I weete.] The rhyme here detects the misprint of wote (followed, however, in all the old copies) for "weete;" which laft Drayton substituted in his copy of the folio 1611. C.