But when he looked on her lovely face,
In which faire beames of beauty did appeare,
That could the greatest wrath foone turne to grace
(Such fway doth beauty even in heaven beare)
He staide his hand; and having chang'd his cheare,
He thus againe in milder wife began ;
But ab! if gods fhould ftrive with flesh yfere,
Then shortly should the progeny of man
Be rooted out, if Iove fhould doe ftill what he can :
XXXII.
But thee, faire Titans child, I rather weene,
Through fome vaine errour, or inducement light
To fee that mortall eyes have never feene;
Or through enfample of thy fifters might,
Bellona, whofe great glory thou dooft spight,
Since thou haft feene her dreadfull power belowe
Mongft wretched men, difmaide with her affright,
To bandie crownes, and kingdoms to bestowe :
And fure thy worth no leffe then hers doth feem to fhowe,
XXXIII.
But wote thou this, thou hardy Titanese,
That not the worth of any living wight
May challenge ought in heavens interesse ;
Much leffe the title of old Titans right :
For we by conqueft of our foveraine might,
And by eternall doome of fates decree,
Have wonne the empire of the heavens bright;
Which to ourselves we bold, and to whom wee
Shall worthy deeme partakers of our bliffe to bee.
Then ceaffe thy idle claime, thou foolish gerle;
And feeke by grace and goodneffe to obtaine
That place, from which by folly Titan fell;
Thereto thou maift perhaps, if fo thou faine,
Have love thy gracious lord and foveraigne.
So, having faid, she thus to him replyde ;
Ceaffe, Saturnes fonne, to feeke by proffers vaine
Of idle hopes t'allure mee to thy fide,
For to betray my right before I have it tride.
But thee, ô love, no equall iudge I deeme
Of my defert, or of my dewfull right;
That in thine owne behalfe maift partiall feeme :
But to the highest him, that is behight
Father of gods and men by equall might,
To weet, the god of nature, I appeale.
Thereat love wexed wroth, and in his spright.
Did inly grudge, yet did it well conceale ;
And bade dan Phoebus fcribe her appellation seale:
XXXVI.
Eftfoones the time and place appointed were,
Where all, both heavenly powers and earthly wights,
Before great Natures prefence should appeare,
For triall of their titles and best rights:
That was, to weet, upon the highest hights
Of Arlo-hill (who knowes not Arlo-hill?)
That is the highest head in all mens fights
Of my
old father Mole, whom shepheards quill
Renowmed hath with hymnes fit for a rurall skill.
And were it not ill fitting for this file
To fing of hilles and woods mongst warres and knights,
I would abate the fterneneffe of my stile,
Mongst these fterne ftounds to mingle foft delights,
And tell how Arlo through Dianaes fpights
(Beeing of old the best and fairest hill
That was in all this holy-iflands lights)
Was made the most unpleasant and most ill:
Meanewhile, ô Clio, lend Calliope thy quill.
XXXVIII.
Whylome when Ireland florished in fame
Of wealth and goodneffe, far above the rest
Of all that beare the British Islands name,
The gods then us'd, for pleasure and for rest,
Oft to refort thereto, when feem'd them best:
Bur none of all therein more pleasure found
Then Cynthia; that is foveraine queene profeft
Of woods and forrefts, which therein abound,
Sprinkled with wholfom waters more then moft on ground:
But mongst them all, as fitteft for her game
Either for chace of beasts with hound or boawe,
Or for to shroude in shade from Phoebus flame,
Or bathe in fountaines that doe freshly flowe,
Or from high hilles, or from the dales belowe,
She chose this Arlo; where fhee did refort
With all her nymphes enranged on a rowe,
With whom the woody gods did oft confort;
For with the nymphes the fatyres love to play and sport:
Amongst the which there was a nymph that hight
Molanna; daughter of old father Mole,
And fifter unto Mulla, faire and bright:
Unto whose bed falfe Bregog whylome stole,
That Shepheard Colin dearely did condole,
And made her luckleffe loves well knowne to be:
But this Molanna, were she not so shole,
Were no leffe faire and beautifull then shee:.
Yet as fhe is, a fairer flood may no man fee.
For first the springs out of two marble rocks,
On which a grove of oakes high-mounted growes,
That as a girlond feemes to deck the locks
Of fome faire bride, brought forth with pompous fhowes
Out of her bowre, that many flowers ftrowes:
So through the flowry dales she tumbling downe,
Through many woods and shady coverts flowes,
That on each fide her filver channell crowne,
Till to the plaine fhe come, whofe valleyes fhee doth drowne.
In her fweet ftreames Diana used oft,
After her sweatie chace and toilesome play,
To bathe herfelfe; and after, on the foft
And downy graffe, her dainty limbes to lay
In covert shade, where none behold her may;
For much she hated fight of living eye:
Foolish god Faunus, though full many a day
He faw her clad, yet longed foolishly
To see her naked mongft her nymphes in privity.
he found to compasse his defire,
But to corrupt Molanna, this her maid,
Her to discover for fome fecret hire:
So her with flattering words he first affaid;
And after, pleafing gifts for her purvaid,
Queene-apples, and red cherries from the tree,
With which he her allured and betraid
To tell what time he might her lady fee
When the herselfe did bathe, that he might fecret bee.
XLIV.
Thereto hee promift, if she would him pleasure
With this small boone, to quit her with a better;
To weet, that whenas fhee had out of measure
Long lov'd the Fanchin, who by nought did fet her,
That he would undertake for this to get her
To be his love, and of him liked well:
Befides all which he vow'd to be her debter
For many moe good turnes then he would tell;
The least of which this little pleasure should excell.
XLV.
The fimple maid did yield to him anone;
And eft him placed where he close might view
That never any faw, fave onely one;
Who for his hire to fo foole-hardy dew
Was of his hounds devour'd in hunters hew.
Tho, as her manner was on funny day,
Diana with her nymphes about her drew
To this sweet spring; where doffing her array
She bath'd her lovely limbes, for Iove a likely pray.
There Faunus faw that pleafed much his eye,
And made his hart to tickle in his breft,
That for great ioy of fomewhat he did fpy,
He could him not containe in filent reft;
But breaking forth in laughter, loud profest
His foolish thought: a foolish Faune indeed,
That couldft not hold thyfelfe fo hidden bleft,
But wouldeft needs thine owne conceit areed:
Babblers unworthy been of fo divine a meed.
The goddeffe, all abashed with that noise,
In hafte forth started from the guilty brooke;
And running straight whereas fhe heard his voice,
Enclos'd the bush about, and there him tooke,
Like darred larke; not daring up to looke
On her whofe fight before fo much he fought.
Thence forth they drew him by the hornes, and shooke
Nigh all to peeces, that they left him nought;
And then into the open light they forth him brought.
XLVIII.
Like as an hufwife, that with bufie care
Thinks of her dairie to make wondrous gaine,
Finding whereas fome wicked beast unware
That breakes into her dayr❜house, there doth draine
Her creaming pannes, and frustrate all her paine;
Fiath in some snare or gin fet close behind,
Entrapped him, and caught into her traine,
Then thinkes what punishment were beft affign'd,
And thoufand deathes deviseth in her vengefull mind :
XLIX.
So did Diana and her maydens all
Use filly Faunus, now within their baile :
They mocke and scorne him, and him foule mifcall;
Some by the nose him pluckt, fome by the taile,
And by his goatish beard fome did him haile :
Yet he (poore foule) with patience all did beare;
For nought against their wils might countervaile:
Ne ought he said whatever he did heare;
But hanging downe his head did like a mome appeare.
At length, when they had flouted him their fill,
They gan to caft what penaunce him to give.
Some would have gelt him; but that fame would spill
The wood-gods breed, which must for ever live:
Others would through the river him have drive,
And ducked deepe; but that feem'd penaunce light:
But most agreed and did this sentence give,
Him in deares skin to clad, and in that plight
To hunt him with their hounds, himselfe fave how hee might.
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