ness

By envy's snares, or fortune's freaks unkind :
I, whether lately thro' her brightness blind,
Or thro' allegiance and fast fealty,
Which I do owe unto all womankind,

Feel my heart pierc'd with so great agony,
When such I see, that all for pity I could die.
Eftsoons there stepped forth

A goodly lady, clad in hunter's weed,
That seem'd to be a woman of great worth,
And by her stately portance, borne of heavenly
birth.

Her face so fair, as flesh it seemed not,
But heavenly portraict of bright angels hiew,
Clear as the sky, withouten blame or blot,
Thro' goodly mixture of complexions dew,
And in her cheeks the vermill' red did shew
Like roses in a bed of lillies shed,

The which ambrosial odours from them threw,
And gazers sense with double pleasure fed,
Able to heal the sick, and to revive the dead.

In her fair eyes two living lamps did flame,
Kindled above, at th' heavenly Maker's light,
And darted fiery beams out of the same,
So passing pearceant, and so wondrous bright,
That quite bereav'd the rash beholders of their
sight:

In them the blinded God his lustful fire
To kindle oft assay'd, but had no might;

For, with dread majesty, and awful ire, She broke his wanton darts, and quenched base desire.

Nought under heaven so strongly doth allure
The sense of man, and all his mind possess,

As beauty's love-bait, that doth procure
Great warriors of their rigour to repress,
And mighty hands forget their manliness,
Drawn with the pow'r of an heart-robbing eye,
And wrapt in fetters of a golden tress,

That can with melting pleasance mollify Their harden'd hearts, enur'd to blood and cruelty.

So whilome learn'd that mighty Jewish swain, Each of whose locks did match a man of might, To lay his spoils before his leman's train:

§ 30. Bower of Bliss.

THENCE passing forth, they shortly do arrive
Whereat the Bower of Bliss was situate;
A place pick'd out by choice of best alive,
That nature's work by art can imitate;
In which whatever in this worldly state

Is sweet and pleasing unto living sense,
Or that may daintiest fantasie aggrate,

Was poured forth with plentiful dispense,
And made there to abound with lavish affluence

Goodly it was enclosed round about,
As well their enter'd guests to keep within,

As those unruly beasts to hold without;
Yet was the fence thereof but weak and thin:
Nought fear'd their force that fortilage to win,

But wisdom's powre and temperance's migh
By which the mightiest things efforced bin
And eke the gate was wrought of substant
light,

Rather for pleasure than for battery or fight.
It framed was of precious yvory,
That seem'd a work of admirable wit;

And therein all the famous historie
Of Jason and Medea was ywrit;
Her mighty charmes, her furious loving fit,
His goodly conquest of the golden fleece,
His falsed faith, and love to lightly flit,

The wondred Argo, which invent'rous perse
First thro' the Euxian seas bore all the flow'r
Greece.

Ye might have seen the frothy billowes fry
Under the ship, as thorough them she wen',
That seemed waves were into yvory,
Or yvory into the waves were sent:
And other where the snowy substance sprent,
With vermill-like the boyes bloud ther
A piteous spectacle did represent;
[shed,
And otherwhiles with gold besprinkeled,
It seem'd th' enchanted flame which did Greus
wed.

All this and more might in this goodly gate
Be read; that ever open stood to all

Which thither came; but in the porch there
[sate
comely personage of stature tall,
nd semblance pleasing more than natural,
That travellers to him seem'd to entice;
is looser garments to the ground did fall,
And flew about his heels in wanton wise,
3t fit for speedy pace or manly exercise.
The foe of life, that good envies to all,
That secretly doth us procure to fall,
rough guileful semblaunce which he makes
of this garden had the governall, [us see,
And Pleasure's porter was devis'd to be,
dding a staffe in hand for more formalitie.
Thus being entred, they behold around
arge and spatious plaine on ev'ry side
strow'd with pleasaunce, whose faire grassic
ground

ntled with green, and goodly beatifide
th all the ornaments of Floraes pride,
Wherewith her mother Art, as half in scorne
niggard Nature, like a pompous bride,
Did deck her, and too lavishly adorne,
en forth from virgin bowre she comes in th'
early morne.

As lurking from the view of covetous guest,
That the weak boughes, with so rich load opprest,
Did bow adown as over-burthened.

hereto the heavens always joviall,

kt on them lovely, still in stedfast state, Ne suffer'd storme nor frost on them to fall, eir tender buds or leaves to violate,

scorching heat, nor cold intemperate, afflict the creatures which therein did dwell; the mild air with season moderate ently attempted and disposed so well, t still it breathed forth sweet spirit and

wholesome smell.

ore sweet and wholesome than the pleasant
hill

Rhodope, on which the nymph that bore
giant-babe, herselfe for griefe did kill;
he Thessalian Tempè, where of yore
Daphne Phoebus' heart with love did gore;
r Ida, where the gods lov'd to repaire,
n-ever they their heavenly bowres forlore;
sweet Parnasse, the haunt of muses faire;
den, if that aught with Eden mote compare.
11 that he came unto another gate,
rate, but like one, beeing goodly dight
ith boughes and branches, which did broad
dilate
[tricate.
r clasping armes, in wanton wreathings in-

There the most dainty paradise on ground,
Itself doth offer to his sober eye,

In which all pleasures plentiouly abound,
And none does others happiness envie :
The painted flowres, the trees upshooting hie,
The dales for shade, the hills for breathing
place,

The trembling groves, the crystall running by;
And that which all fair works doth most ag-
grace,

The art which wrought it all appeared in no place.
One would have thought (so cunningly the

rude

And scorned parts were mingled with the fine)
That Nature had for wantonness ensude
Art, and that Art at Nature did repine;
So striveing each the other to undermine,

Each did the other's worke more beautify;
So differing both in willes, agreed in fine:

So all agreed through sweet diversitie,
This garden to adorne with all varietie.

And in the midst of all, a fountaine stood,
Of richest substance that on earth might be
So pure and shiny, that the silver flood
Through every channell running, one might see;
Most goodly it with pure imageree [boves,
Was over-wrought, and shapes of naked
Of which some seem'd with lively jollitee
To fly about, playing their wanton toyes,
Whiles others did themselves embay in liquid

joyes.

fashioned a porch with rare divise, it over head with an embracing vine, [tice hose bunches hanging downe, seem'd to enassers by to taste their lushious wine, did themselves into their hands incline, s freely offering to be gathered: e deep empurpled as the hyacint, ine as the rubine laughing, sweetly red, e like fair emeraudes not yet ripened. ad them amongst, some were of burnisht

gold,

ade by art, to beautifie the rest,
hich did themselves amongst the leaves en-
Fold,

And over all, of purest gold, was spred
A trayle of ivie in his native hew:

For the rich metall was so coloured,
That wight that did not well advised view,
Would surely deem it to be ivie true:

Lowe his lascivious armes adowne did creep,
That themselves dipping in the silver dew,

Their fleecie flowres they tenderly did steepe, Which drops of crystall seem'd for wantonness

to weepe.

Infinite streames continually did well
Out of this fountaine, sweet and faire to see,
The which into an ample laver fell,
And shortly grew to so great quantitie,
That like a little lake it seem'd to bee;

Whose depth exceeded not threecubits height,
That through the waves one might the bottom

see,

All pav'd beneath with jasper shining bright That seem'd the fountaine in that sea did sayle

upright.

And all the margent round about was set With shady lawrell-trees, thence to defend

The sunny beames, which on the billows bet, And those which therein bathed, mote offend.

$31. Bower of Proteus. His bowre is in the bottom of the maine,

Under a mighty rock, 'gainst which do rave The roring billocs in their proud disdaine;

That

§ 33. Calumny. IT is a monster bred of hellish race,

Then answer'd he, which often had annoy'd Good knights and ladies true, and many else destroy'd.

Of Cerberus whylome he was begot,
And fell Chimera in her darksome den,

Through foule commixture of his filthy blot,
Where he was fostred long in Stygian fen,
Till he to perfect ripeness grew, and then

Into this wicked world he forth was sent,
To be the plague and scourge of wretched men
Whom with vile tongue and venemous intent
Ill sore doth wound, and bite and cruelly tor-

:

Of

§ 35. Charity.

HE was a woman in her
of wondrous beauty, and of bountie rare,
With goodly grace and comely personage,
That was on earth not easy to compare;
Full of great love, but Cupid's wanton snare

As hell she hated, chast in work and will;
Her neck and breasts were ever open bare,
That aye thereof her babes might suci ber
fill;

The rest was all in yellow robes arraied still.

A multitude of babes about her hang,
Plying their sports, that joy'd her to behold,
Whom still she fed, whilst they were weis
and young,

But thrust them forth still, as they wered ok:
And on her head she wore a tire of gold, [

Adorn'd with gemmes and owches wondr
Whose passing price uneath was to be told,
And by her side there sate a gentle pair
Of turtle doves, she sitting in an ivory chain.

AND him beside marcht amorous Desire,
Who seem'd of riper years than the other
swaine;

Yet was that other swaine the elder syre,
And gave him being, common to them twaine:
His garment was disguised very vaine,

And his embroidered bonet sate awry;

"Twixt both his hands flew sparkes he close did His silver harp in hand, and shortly friends the