Artegall doth Sir Burbon aide,
And blames for changing fhield:
He with the great Grantorto fights,
And flaieth him in field.
Sacred hunger of ambitious mindes,
And impotent defire of men to raine!
Whom neither dread of God, that devils bindes,
Nor lawes of men, that common-weales containe,
Nor bands of nature, that wilde beaftes reftraine,
Can keepe from outrage and from doing wrong,
Where they may hope a kingdome to obtaine:
No faith fo firme, no truft can be fo ftrong,
No love fo lafting then, that may enduren long.
Witneffe may Burbon be; whom all the bands,
Which may a knight affure, had furely bound,
Untill the love of lordship and of lands
Made him become moft faithless and unfound:
And witneffe be Gerioneo found,
Who for like caufe faire Belge did oppreffe,
And right and wrong moft cruelly confound :
And fo be now Grantorto, who no leffe
Then all the rest burst out to all outragiousnesse.
Gainst whom fir Artegall, long having fince
Taken in hand th'exploit, being theretoo
Appointed by that mightie faerie prince,
Great Gloriane, that tyrant to fordoo,
Through other great adventures hethertoo
Had it forflackt: but now time drawing ny
To him affynd her high beheast to doo,
To the fea-shore he gan his way apply,
To weete if shipping readie he mote there defcry.
Tho when they came to the fea-coaft, they found
A ship all readie, as good fortune fell,
To put to fea, with whom they did compound
To paffe them over where them list to tell :
The winde and weather ferved them fo well,
That in one day they with the coast did fall;
Whereas they readie found, them to repell,
Great hoftes of men in order martiall,
Which them forbad to land, and footing did forstall.
But nathemore would they from land refraine :
But whenas nigh unto the shore they drew,
That foot of man might sound the bottome plaine,
Talus into the fea did forth iffew
Though darts from shore and stones they at him threw
And wading through the waves with ftedfaft fway,
Maugre the might of all those troupes in vew,
Did win the fhore; whence he them chaft away,
And made to fly like doves, whom th' eagle doth affray..
VI.
The whyles fir Artegall with that old knight
Did forth descend, there being none them neare,
And forward marched to a towne in fight.
By this, came tydings to the tyrants eare
By those which earst did fly away for feare
Of their arrivall : wherewith troubled fore
He all his forces ftreight to him did reare,
And forth iffuing with his scouts afore,
Meant them to have incountred ere they left the shore:
VII.
But ere he marched farre he with them met,
And fiercely charged them with all his force;
But Talus fternely did upon them set,
And brusht and battred them without remorse,
That on the ground he left full many a corse;
Ne
any able was him to withstand,
But he them overthrew both man and horse,
That they lay fcattred over all the land,
As thicke as doth the feede after the fowers hand:
Till Artegall him feeing fo to rage
Willd him to ftay, and figne of truce did make :
To which all harkning did awhile affwage]
Their forces furie, and their terror flake ;
Till he an herauld cald, and to him spake,
Willing him wend unto the tyrant streight,
And tell him that not for fuch flaughters fake
He thether came, but for to trie the right
Of fayre Irenaes caufe with him in single fight:
IX.
And willed him for to reclayme with speed
His fcattred people, ere they all were flaine;
And time and place convenient to areed,
In which they two the combat might darraine :
Which meffage when Grantorto heard, full fayne
And glad he was the flaughter so to stay ;
And pointed for the combat twixt them twayne
The morrow next, ne gave him longer day:
So founded the retraite, and drew his folke away.
X.
That night Sir Artegall did cause his tent
There to be pitched on the open plaine ;
For he had given ftreight commaundement
That none fhould dare him once to entertaine:
Which none durft breake, though many would right faine
For faire Irena whom they loved deare:
But yet old Sergis did fo well him paine,
That from close friends, that dar'd not to appeare,
He all things did purvay which for them needfull weare.
The morrow next that was the dismall day
Appointed for Irenas death before,
So foone as it did to the world display
His chearefull face, and light to men restore,
The heavy mayd, to whom none tydings bore
Of Artegals arrivall her to free,
Lookt up with full fad and hart full fore,
Weening her lifes last howre then neare to bee; Sith no redemption nigh fhe did nor heare nor fee.
she rose, and on herselfe did dight Moft fqualid garments, fit for fuch a day;
And with dull countenance and with doleful spright
She forth was brought in forrowfull dismay
For to receive the doome of her decay:
But comming to the place, and finding there
Sir Artegall in battailous array
Wayting his foe, it did her dead hart cheare,
And new life to her lent in midst of deadly feare.
XIII.
Like as a tender rofe in open plaine,
That with untimely drought nigh withered was,
And hung the head, foone as few drops of raine
Thereon diftill and deaw her daintie face
Gins to look up, and with fresh wonted grace
Difpreds the glorie of her leaves gay;
Such was Irenas countenance, fuch her case,
When Artegall she saw in that array,
There wayting for the tyrant till it was farre day:
Who came at length with proud prefumpteous gate
Into the field, as if he feareleffe were,
All armed in a cote of yron plate
Of great defence to ward the deadly feare,
And on his head a steele-cap he did weare
Of colour ruftie-browne, but fure and strong;
And in his hand an huge polaxe did beare,
Whose steale was yron-ftudded, but not long,
With which he wont to fight, to iuftifie his wrong:
XV.
Of stature huge and hideous he was,
Like to a giant for his monftrous hight,
And did in strength moft forts of men furpas,
Ne ever any found his match in might;
Thereto he had great skill in fingle fight:
His face was ugly and his countenance sterne,
That could have frayd one with the
very fight,
And gaped like a gulfe when he did gerne ;
That whether man or monster one could fcarfe difcerne.
Soone as he did within the liftes appeare,
With dreadfull looke he Artegall beheld,
As if he would have daunted him with feare;
And grinning griefly did against him weld
His deadly weapon which in hand he held :
But th'elfin fwayne, that oft had seene like fight,
Was with his ghaftly count'nance nothing queld;
But gan him ftreight to buckle to the fight,
And caft his fhield about to be in readie plight.
XVII.
The trompets found; and they together goe
With dreadfull terror and with fell intent;
And their huge strokes full daungerously bestow,
To doe most dammage whereas most they ment:
But with fuch force and furie violent
The tyrant thundred his thicke blowes fo fast,
That through the yron walles their way they rent,
And even to the vitall parts they past,
Ne ought could them endure, but all they cleft or braft.
XVIII.
Which cruell outrage whenas Artegall
Did well avize, thenceforth with warie heed
He shund his strokes, where-ever they did fall,
And way did give unto their graceleffe speed:
As when a skilfull marriner doth reed
A ftorme approching, that doth perill threat,
He will not bide the daunger of such dread,
But ftrikes his fayles, and vereth his main-sheat,
And lends unto it leave the emptie ayre to beat.
So did the faerie knight himselfe abeare,
And ftouped oft his head from shame to shield :
No shame to ftoupe ones head more high to reare;
And much to gaine a litle for to yield:
So ftouteft knights doen oftentimes in field.
But still the tyrant fternely at him layd,
And did his yron axe fo nimbly wield,
That many wounds into his flesh it made,
And with his burdenous blowes him fore did over-lade.
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