Wherefore he ftayd, till that he nearer drew,
To weet what iffue would thereof betyde:
Tho whenas he approched nigh in vew,
By certaine fignes he plainly him defcryde
To be the man that with such scornfull pryde
Had him abufde and shamed yesterday;
Therefore misdoubting least he should misguyde
His former malice to fome new affay,
He caft to keepe himselfe so fafely as he may.
XLVIII.
By this the other came in place likewise,
And couching close his speare and all his powre,
As bent to fome malicious enterprise,
He bad him stand t'abide the bitter ftoure
Of his fore vengeaunce, or to make avoure
Of the lewd words and deedes which he had done:
With that ran at him, as he would devoure
His life attonce; who nought could do but shun
The perill of his pride, or else be over-run.
Yet he him still purfew'd from place to place,
With full intent him cruelly to kill;
And like a wilde goate round about did chace,
Flying the fury of his bloudy will:
But his best fuccour and refuge was still
Behinde his ladies back; who to him cryde,
And called oft with prayers loud and shrill,
As ever he to lady was affyde,
To spare her knight, and rest with reafon pacifyde:
But he the more thereby enraged was,
And with more eager felneffe him purfew'd;
So that at length, after long weary chace,
Having by chaunce a close advantage vew'd,
He over-raught him, having long efchew'd
His violence in vaine; and with his fpere
Strooke through his fhoulder, that the blood enfew'
In great aboundance, as a well it were,
That forth out of an hill fresh gushing did appere.
Yet ceaft he not for all that cruell wound,
But chafte him still for all his ladies cry;
Not fatisfyde till on the fatall ground
He faw his life powrd forth difpiteously;
The which was certes in great ieopardy,
Had not a wondrous chaunce his refkue wrought,
And faved from his cruell villany:
Such chaunces oft exceed all humaine thought:
That in another canto fhall to end be brought.
Calepine by a falvage man
From Turpine refkewed is:
And whyleft an infant from a beare
He faves, his love doth misse.
IKE as a ship with dreadfull ftorme long toft,
Having spent all her mastes and her ground-hold,
Now farre from harbour likely to be loft,
At laft fome fisher-barke doth neare behold,
That giveth comfort to her courage cold:
Such was the state of this most courteous knight
Being oppreffed by that faytour bold,
That he remayned in most perilous plight,
And his fad ladie left in pitifull affright;
Till that by fortune, paffing all forefight,
A falvage man, which in those woods did wonne,
Drawne with that ladies loud and piteous fhright,
Toward the fame inceffantly did ronne
To understand what there was to be donne :
There he this most discourteous craven found,
As fiercely yet as when he first begonne,
Chafing the gentle Calepine around,
Ne fparing him the more for all his grievous wound.
The falvage man, that never till this houre
Did taste of pittie, neither gentleffe knew,
Seeing his sharpe affault and cruell ftoure
Was much emmoved at his perils vew,
That even his ruder hart began to rew,
And feele compaffion of his evill plight,
Against his foe that did him fo purfew;
From whom he meant to free him, if he might,
And him avenge of that so villenous despight.
IV.
Yet armes or weapon had he none to fight,
Ne knew the use of warlike inftruments,
Save fuch as fudden rage him lent to fmite;
But naked without needfull veftiments
To clad his corpfe with meete habiliments
He cared not for dint of fword nor fpeere,
No more than for the ftroke of ftrawes or bents:
For from his mothers wombe, which him did beare,
He was invulnerable made by magicke leare.
He stayed not t'advize which way were beft
His foe t'affayle, or how himfelfe to gard,
But with fierce fury and with force infest
Upon him ran; who being well prepard
His firft affault full warily did ward,
And with the push of his fharp-pointed speare
Full on the breaft him ftrooke, fo ftrong and hard
That forst him backe recoyle and reele areare;
Yet in his bodie made no wound nor bloud appeare.
With that the wyld man more enraged grew,
Like to a tygre that hath mist his pray,
And with mad mood againe upon him flew,
Regarding neither speare that mote him flay,
Nor his fierce fteed that mote him much dismay:
The falvage nation doth all dread defpize:
Tho on his shield he griple hold did lay,
And held the fame fo hard, that by no wize
He could him force to loofe, or leave his enterprize.
Long did he wreft and wring it to and fro,
And every way did try, but all in vaine;
For he would not his greedie grype forgoe,
But hayld and puld with all his might and maine,
That from his steed him nigh he drew againe :
Who having now no use of his long speare
So nigh at hand, nor force his fhield to ftraine,
Both speare and shield, as things that needleffe were,
He quite forfooke, and fled himselfe away for feare.
But the wyld man, contrarie to her feare,
Came to her creeping like a fawning hound,
And by rude tokens made to her appeare
His deepe compaffion of her dolefull stound,
Kiffing his hands, and crouching to the ground;
For other language had he none nor speach,
But a foft murmure and confused found
Of fenfeleffe words, which nature did him teach
T'expreffe his paffions, which his reafon did empeach :
And comming likewise to the wounded knight,
When he beheld the streames of purple blood
Yet flowing fresh, as moved with the fight,
He made great mone after his falvage mood;
And running ftreight into the thickest wood,
A certaine herbe from thence unto him brought,
Whofe vertue he by use well understood ;
The iuyce whereof into his wound he wrought,
And stopt the bleeding straight, ere he it staunched thought.
XIII.
Then taking up that recreants fhield and speare,
Which earst he left, he fignes unto them made
With him to wend unto his wonning neare;
To which he eafily did them perfwade.
Farre in the forreft by a hollow glade,
Covered with moffie shrubs, which spredding brode
Did underneath them make a gloomy shade,
Where foot of living creature never trode,
Ne scarfe wyld beasts durst come, there was this wights abode.
Thether he brought these unacquainted guests;
To whom faire femblance, as he could, he fhewed
By fignes, by lookes, and all his other gefts:
But the bare ground with hoarie moffe beftrowed
Must be their bed; their pillow was unfowed;
And the fruites of the forreft was their feast :
For their bad ftuard neither plough'd nor fowed,
Ne fed on flesh, ne ever of wyld beast
Did taste the bloud, obaying natures first beheast.
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