  As Pilot well expert in perilous wave, That to a stedfast starre When foggy mistes or cloudy tempests have The faithfull light of that faire lampe yblent, And cover'd heaven with hideous dreriment, Upon his card and compas firmes The maysters of his long experiment, And to them does the steddy helme apply, Bidding his winged vessell fairely forward fly: So Guyon having lost his trustie guyde, Late left beyond that Ydle lake, proceedes Yet on his way, of none accompanyde; And evermore himselfe with comfort feedes Of his own vertues and praise-worthie deedes. So, long he yode, Which fame of her shrill trumpet worthy reedes For still he traveild through wide wastfull ground, That nought but desert wildernesse shewed all around. Cover'd with boughes and shrubs from heavens light, Whereas he sitting found in secret shade An uncouth, salvage, Of griesly hew and fowle ill-favour'd sight; His face with smoke was tand, and eies were bleard, His head and beard with sout were ill bedight, His cole-blacke hands did seeme to have been seard In smythes fire-spitting His yron cote, all overgrowne with rust, Was underneath enveloped with gold; Whose glistring glosse, darkned with filthy dust, Well yet appeared to have beene of old A worke of rich entayle Woven with antickes And in his lap a masse of coyne he told, And turned upside downe, to feede his eye And covetous desire with his huge threasury. And round about him lay on every side Great heapes of gold that never could be spent; Of which some were rude owre, not purifide Of Mulcibers Some others were new driven, and distent Into great Ingowes and to wedges square; Some in round plates withouten moniment But most were stampt, and in their metal bare The antique shapes of kings and kesars straunge and rare. Soone as he Guyon saw, in great affright And haste he rose for to remove aside Those pretious hils from straungers envious sight, Into the hollow earth, them there to hide. But Guyon, lightly to him leaping, stayd His hand that trembled as one terrifyde; And though himselfe were at the sight dismayd, Yet him perforce restraynd, and to him doubtfull sayd: "What art thou, man, (if man at all thou art) That here in desert hast thine habitaunce, And these rich hils of welth doest hide apart From the worldes eye, and from her right usaunce?" Thereat, with staring eyes fixed askaunce, In great disdaine he answerd: "Hardy Elfe, That darest view my direfull countenaunce, I read thee rash and heedlesse of thy selfe, To trouble my still seate, and heapes of pretious pelfe. "God of the world and worldlings I me call, Great Mammon, greatest god below the skye, That of my plenty poure out unto all, And unto none my graces do envye: Riches, renowme, and principality, Honour, estate, and all this worldes good, For which men swinck Fro me do flow into an ample flood, And in the hollow earth have their eternall brood. "Wherefore, if me thou deigne to serve and sew, The versification of the "Faerie Queene" is based upon the ottava rima, made so popular in Italian poetry by Tasso and Ariosto. Instead of eight lines to a stanza, however, there are nine. The first eight lines are iambic pentameters, and the ninth a hexameter, the stanza thus closing with a lingering cadence which adds greatly to the melody of the verse. This is the "Spenserian stanza," a form of versification very popular with many of our later poets. "If you love poetry well enough to enjoy it for its own sake," says Leigh Hunt, "let no evil reports of his allegory deter you from an "For all his armour was like salvage weed With woody mosse bedight, and all his steed With oaken leaves attrapt, that seemed fit For salvage wight, and thereto well agreed His word, which on his ragged shield was writ, Salvagesse sans finesse, wight. Person. From A.-S. wiht. "For every wight that loved chevalrie." —Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 2105. griesly. Dreadful. From A.-S. grislic; agrisan, to dread. Grisly. deigne. From Fr. daigner, to consider worthy. Opposed to disdain. derdoing. Dare-doing; doing daring deeds. "The wind bloweth where it listeth."—John iii. 8. wote. Understood. See note 21 above. "How wonderful is Death! Death and his brother Sleep!" —Shelley, Queen Mab, I. FOOTNOTES: |
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