And, that more wondrous was, in either iaw
Three ranckes of yron teeth enraunged were,
In which yett trickling blood, and gobbets raw,
Of late devoured bodies did appeare;
That sight thereof bred cold congealed feare:
Which to increase, and all at once to kill,
A cloud of smoothering smoke, and sulphure seare,
Out of his stinking gorge forth steemed still, [fill.
That all the ayre about with smoke and stench did
His blazing eyes, like two bright shining shieldes,
Did burne with wrath, and sparkled living fyre:
As two broad beacons, sett in open fieldes,
Send forth their flames far off to every shyre,
And warning give, that enemies conspyre
With fire and sword the region to invade ;
So flam'd his eyne with rage and rancorous yre:
But far within, as in a hollow glade, [full shade.
Those glaring lampes were sett, that made a dread
So dreadfully he towardes him did pas,
Forelifting up a loft his speckled brest,
And often bounding on the brused gras,
As for great ioyance of his new come guest.
Eftsoones he gan advance his haughty crest;
As chagffed bore his bristles doth upreare;
And shoke his scales to battaile ready drest,
(That made the Redcrosse knight nigh quake for
feare)
As bidding bold defyaunce to his foeman neare.
The knight gan fayrely couch his steady speare, And fiersely ran at him with rigorous might: The pointed steele, arriving rudely theare,
His harder hyde would nether perce nor bight,
But, glauncing by, foorth passed forward right:
Yet, sore amoved with so puissant push,
The wrathfull beast about him turned light,
And him so rudely, passing by, did brush
With his long tayle, that horse and man to ground
did rush.
Both horse and man up lightly rose againe,
And fresh encounter towardes him addrest:
But th' ydle stroke yet backe recoyld in vaine,
And found no place his deadly point to rest.
Exceeding rage enflam'd the furious beast,
To be avenged of so great despight;
For never felt his imperceable brest
So wondrous force from hand of living wight; Yet had he prov'd the powre of many a puissant knight.
Then, with his waving wings displayed wyde,
Himselfe up high he lifted from the ground.
And with strong flight did forcibly divyde
The yielding ayre, which nigh too feeble found
Her flitting parts, and element unsound,
To beare so great a weight: he, cutting way
With his broad sayles, about him soared round;
At last, low stouping with unweldy sway, [away.
Snatcht up both horse and man, to beare them quite
Long he them bore above the subject plaine,
So far as ewghen bow a shaft may send;
Till struggling strong did him at last constraine
To let them downe before his flightës end:
As hagard hauke, presuming to contend
With hardy fowle above his hable might,
His wearie pounces all in vaine doth spend
To trusse the pray too heavy for his flight; [fight. Which, comming down to ground, does free itselfe by
He so disseized of his gryping grosse,
The knight his thrillant speare again assayd
In his bras-plated body to embosse.
And three mens strength unto the stroake he layd;
Wherewith the stiffe beame quaked, as affrayd,
And glauncing from his scaly necke did glyde
Close under his left wing, then broad displayd:
The percing steele there wrought a wound full wyde
That with the uncouth smart the monster lowdly
cryde.
He cryde, as raging seas are wont to rore,
When wintry storme his wrathful wreck does threat;
The rolling billowes beate the ragged shore,
As they the Earth would shoulder from her seat;
And greedy gulfe does gape, as he would eat
His neighbour element in his revenge :
Then gin the blustring brethren boldly threat
To move the world from off his stedfast henge,
And boystrous battaile make, each other to avenge.
The steele head stuck fast still in his flesh,
Till with his cruell clawes he snatcht the wood,
And quite saunder broke: forth flowed fresh
A gushing river of blacke gory blood,
That drowned all the land whereon he stood;
The streame thereof would drive a water-mill:
Trebly augmented war his furious mood
With bitter sence of his deepe rooted ill,
That flames of fire he threw forth from his large nose
His hideout tayle then hurled he about,
And therewith all enwrapt the nimble thyes
Of his froth-foomy steed, whose courage stout
Striving to loose the knott that fast him tyes,
Himselfe in streighter bandes too rash implyes,
That to the ground he is perforce constraynd
To throw his ryder; who can quickly ryse
From off the earth, with durty blood distaynd,
For that reprochfull fall right fowly he disdaynd;"
And fercely tooke his trenchand blade in hand,
With which he stroke so furious and so fell,
That nothing seemd the puissance could withstand:
Upon his crest the hardend yron fell;
But this more hardned crest was armd so well,
That deeper dint therein it would not make;
Yet so extremely did the buffe him quell,
That from henceforth he shund the like to take, But, when he saw them come, he did them still forsake.
The knight was wroth to see his stroke beguyld,
And smot againe with more outrageous might;
But backe againe the sparcling steele recoyld,
And left not any marke where it did light,
As if in adamant rocke it had been pight.
The beast, impatient of his smarting wound
And of so fierce and forcible despight,
Thought with his winges to stye above the ground;
But his late wounded wing unserviceable found.
Then, full of grief and anguish vehement,
He lowdly brayd, that like was never heard ;
And from his wide devouring oven sent
A flake of fire, that, flashing in his beard,
Him all amazd, and almost made afeard:
The scorching flame sore swinged all his face,
And through his armour all his body seard,
That he could not endure so cruell cace, [lace.
But thought his armes to leave, and helmet to un-
Not that great champion of the antique world,
Whom famous poetes verse so much doth vaunt,
And hath for twelve huge labours high extold,
So many furies and sharpe fits did haunt,
When him the poysoned garment did enchaunt,
Wish Centaures blood and bloody verses charmd;
As did this knight twelve thousand dolours daunt,
Whom fyrie steele now burnt, that erst him armd;
That erst him goodly armd, now most of all him
harmd.
Faynt, wearie, sore, emboyled, grieved, brent, [fire.
With heat, toyle, wounds, armes smart, and inward
That never man such mischiefes did torment;
Death better were; death did he oft desire;
But death will never come, when needes require.
Whom so dismayd when that his foe beheld,
He cast to suffer him no more respire,
But gan his sturdy sterne about to weld,
And him so strongly stroke, that to the ground him
It fortuned, (as fayre it then befell)
Behind his backe, unweeting where he stood,
Of auncient time there was a springing well,
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