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Cant V FAERIE QVEENE 301
As a bad Nurse, which fayning to receiue
In herowne mouth thefood,ment forherchyld,
Withholdes it to her selfe, and doeth deceiue
The infant, so for want of nourture spoyld
Euen so Clarinda her owne Dame beguyld,
And turn'd the trust, which was in her affyde,
To feeding of her pnuate fire, which boyld
Her inward brest, and in her entrayles fryde,
The more th at she it sought to couer and to hyde
For comming to this knight,she purposefayned,
How earnest suit she earst for him had made
VntoherQueene,his freedome to haue gayned,
But by no meanes could her thereto perswade
But that in stead thereof, she sternely bade
His miserie to be augmented more,
And many yron bands on him to lade
All which nathlesse she for his loue forbore
So praying him t'accept her seruice euermore
And more then that, she promist that she would,
In case she might finde fauour m his eye,
Deuize how to enlarge him out of hould
The Fayne glad to game his hbertie,
Can yeeld great thankes for such her curtesie,
And with faire words, fit for the time and place,
To feede the humour of her maladie,
Promist, if she would free him from that case,
He wold by all good means he might, deserue
such grace
56
So daily he faire semblant did her shew,
Yet neuer meant he in his noble mind,
To his owne absent loue to be vntrew
Ne euer did deceiptfull Clarin find
In her false hart, his bondige to vnbmd ,
But rather how she mote him faster tye
Therefore vnto her mistresse most vnkind
She daily told, her loue he did defye,
And him she told, her Dame his freedome did
denye
57
Yet thus much friendship she to him did show,
That his scarse diet somewhat was amended,
And his worke lessened, that his loue mote
grow
Yet to her Dame him still she discommended,
That she with him mote be the more offended
Thus he long while in thraldome there re
mayned,
Of both beloued well, but litle frended ,
Vntill his owne true loue his freedome gayned,
Which m an other Canto will be best contayned
Cant VI
Talus brings newes to Britomarl,
ofArtegals mishap,
She goes to seeke htm, Dolon meetes,
who seekes her to entrap
I
Some men, I wote, will deeme in Artegall
Great weaknesse, and report of him much ill,
For yeeldmg so himselfe a wretched thrall,
To th'msolent commaund of womens will,
That all his former praise doth fowly spill
But he the man, that say or doe so dare,
Be well adui/d, that he stand stedfast still
For neuer yet was wight so well aware,
But he at first or last was trapt m womens snare
2
Yet m the streightnesse of that captvue state,
This gentle knight himselfe so well behaued,
That notwithstanding all the subtill bait,
With which those Amazons his loue still
craued,
To his owne loue his loialtie he saued
Whose character in th'Adamantine mould
Of his true hart so firmely was engraued,
That no new loues impression euer could
Bereaue it thence such blot his honour
blemish should
3
Yet his owne loue, the noble Britomart,
Scarse so concerned in her lealous thought,
What time sad tydmgs of his balefull smart
In womans bondage, Talus to her brought,
Brought m vntimely houre, ere it was sought
For after that the vtmost date, assynde
For his returne, she waited had for nought,
She gan to cast in her misdoubtfull mynde
A thousand feares, that loue sicke fancies fame
to fynde
4
Sometime she feared, least some hard mishap
Had him misfalne in his aduenturous quest,
Sometime least his false foe did him entrap
In traytrous traine, or had vnwares opprest
But most she did her troubled mynd molest,
And secretly afflict with lealous feare,
Least some new loue had him from her possest,
Yet loth she was, since she no ill did heare,
To thinke of him so ill yet could she not for
beare