Who can it doe more lively, or more trew, Then that sweete verfe, with Nectar sprinckeled, His Cynthia, his heavens fayrest light? 5. But let that fame delitious Poet lend A little leave unto a rufticke Mufe To fing his mistreffe prayfe; and let him mend, Ne let his fayreft Cynthia refuse In mirrours more then one her felfe to fee; Or in Belphœbe fashioned to bee; In th' one her rule, in th' other her rare chastitee. In which a gracious fervaunt, &c.] This "gracious fervaunt" is Sir W. Raleigh, our poet's truly honoured friend, o Tipos: imaged and fhadowed in this, as well as in the other books, under the name of "Timias." And Spenfer, in his "Letter to Sir W. Raleigh," fays he imitated him, "expreffing the name of his royal mistress in Belphoebe,' whofe name he fashioned according to Sir W. Raleigh's own excellent conceit of Cynthia ;' Phoebe and Cynthia being both names of Diana." See F. Q. iii. vi. 28. UPTON. This poem, by Raleigh, in which he "pictured" Queen Elizabeth under the name of "Cynthia," has not defcended to our day, either in print or in MS. C. HE famous Briton Prince and Faery knight,b After long wayes and perilous paines endur'd, Having their weary limbes to perfect plight Reftord, and fory wounds right well recur'd, Of the faire Alma greatly were procur'd To make there lenger fojourne and abode; But when thereto they might not be allur'd, From feeking praife and deeds of armes abrode, They courteous conge tooke, and forth together yode. Dueffaes traines and Malecaftaes.] The name "Malecafta" is mifprinted, not Malerafta, (as Upton ftates and as Todd repeats,) but Materafta, in the 4to. 1590; but at the end of the vol. there is a direction to correct it to "Malecafta." It is ftrange, however, that in no fubfequent impreffion of 1596, 1609, or 1611, is the emendation made, and the glaring corruption was continued until the appearance of the folio 1679. C. b The famous Briton Prince and Faery knight, &c.] Prince Arthur, having been wounded in his engagement with Maleger, ftayed with Alma till his wounds were cured; and Sir Guyon, having ended his adventure against Acrafia, returned to the houfe of Alma, and joined the Briton Prince. UPTON. and forth together yode.] Upton would read " forth together rode." We have already had yod, in this vol. p. 40; and "yede," in this vol. 2. But the captiv'd Acrafia he fent, Because of traveill long, a nigher way, To make more triall of his hardiment, And feek adventures as he with Prince Arthure went. 3. Long fo they traveiled through waftefull wayes, 4. At last, as through an open plaine they yode, p. 48; and here again we have the verb in the past tense, "yode," i. e. It occurs again in St. 4, as the rhyme to "rode." C. went. That bore a Lion, &c.] The arms of Brute, from whom Britomartis is defcended, are fuppofed to have been a lion passant gules, in a field or. So Drayton, in his frontifpiece to his " Polyolbion:" who bears "In golden field the lion paffant red." CHURCH. 5. Which feeing, good Sir Guyon deare befought 6. They beene ymett, and both theyr points arriv'd; That seemd both fhield and plate it would have riv'd; That mischievous mifchaunce his life and limbs did spare. 7. Great fhame and forrow of that fall he tooke; • That fpeare enchaunted was, &c.] This fpear was made by Bladud, a British king, skilled in magick: fee F. Q. iii. iii. 60. The staff of this speare was of ebony fee F. Q. iv. vi. 6. And it was headed with gold: una lanza dorata, as Boyardo, in "Orl. Innamorato," calls it. UPTON. 8. But weenedft thou what wight thee overthrew, Whom ftraunge adventure did from Britayne sett 9. Full of difdainefull wrath he fierce uprofe For to revenge that fowle reprochefull shame, Which by that new rencounter he should reare; For death fate on the point of that enchaunted speare: IO. And hasting towards him gan fayre perfwade Not to provoke misfortune, nor to weene II. By fuch good meanes he him discounselled |