And put them all about himselfe unfit,
His shield, his helmet, and his curats bare;
But without sword upon his thigh to sit:
Sir Calepine himselfe away had hidden it.
So forth they traveld, an uneven payre
That mote to all men seeme an uncouth sight;
A salvage man matcht with a Ladie fayre,
That rather seem’d the conquest of his might,
Gotten by spoyle then purchaced aright:
But he did her attend most carefully,
And faithfully did serve both day and night
Withouten thought of shame or villeny,
Ne ever shewed signe of foule disloyalty.
Upon a day, as on their way they went,
It chaunst some furniture about her steed
To be disordred by some accident,
Which to redresse she did th’assistance need
Of this her groome; which he by signes did reede,
And streight his combrous armes aside did lay
Upon the ground withouten doubt or dreed;
And in his homely wize began to assay
T’amend what was amisse, and put in right aray.
Bout which whilest he was busied thus hard,
Lo! where a knight, together with his squire,
All arm’d to point came ryding thetherward;
Which seemed, by their portance and attire,
To be two errant knights, that did inquire
After adventures, where they mote them get.
Those were to weet (if that ye it require)
Prince Arthur and young Timias, which met
By straunge occasion that here needs forth be set.
After that Timias had againe recured
The favour of Belphebe (as ye heard)
And of her grace did stand againe assured,
To happie blisse he was full high uprear’d,
Nether of envy nor of chaunge afeard:
Though many foes did him maligne therefore,
And with unjust detraction him did beard,
Yet he himselfe so well and wisely bore,
That in her soveraine lyking he dwelt evermore.
But of them all which did his ruine seeke,
Three mightie enemies did him most despight,
Three mightie ones, and cruell minded eeke,
That him not onely sought by open might
To overthrow, but to supplant by slight:
The first of them by name was cald Despetto,
Exceeding all the rest in powre and hight;
The second, not so strong but wise, Decetto;
The third, nor strong nor wise, but spightfullest, Defetto.
Oftimes their sundry powres they did employ,
And several deceipts, but all in vaine;
For neither they by force could him destroy,
Ne yet entrap in treasons subtill traine.
Therefore, conspiring all together plaine,
They did their counsels now in one compound:
Where singled forces faile, conjoynd may gaine.
The Blatant Beast the fittest meanes they found
To worke his utter shame, and throughly him confound.
Upon a day, as they the time did waite,
When he did raunge the wood for salvage game,
They sent that Blatant Beast to be a baite
To draw him from his deare beloved dame
Unwares into the daunger of defame;
For well they wist that Squire to be so bold,
That no one beast in forrest, wylde or tame,
Met him in chase but he it challenge would,
And plucke the pray oftimes out of their greedy hould.
The hardy boy, as they devised had,
Seeing the ugly Monster passing by,
Upon him set, of perill nought adrad,
Ne skilfull of the uncouth jeopardy;
And charged him so fierce and furiously,
That his great force unable to endure,
He forced was to turne from him and fly:
Yet ere he fled he with his tooth impure
Him heedlesse bit, the whiles he was thereof secure.
Securely he did after him pursew,
Thinking by speed to overtake his flight;
Who through thicke woods and brakes and briers him drew,
To weary him the more and waste his spight,
So that he now has almost spent his spright,
Till that at length unto a woody glade
He came, whose covert stopt his further sight:
There his three foes shrowded in guilefull shade
Out of their ambush broke, and gan him to invade.
Sharpely they all attonce did him assaile,
Burning with inward rancour and despight,
And heaped strokes did round about him haile
With so huge force, that seemed nothing might
Beare off their blowes from percing thorough quite:
Yet he them all so warily did ward,
That none of them in his soft flesh did bite;
And all the while his backe for best safegard
He lent against a tree, that backeward onset bard.
Like a wylde Bull, that, being at a bay,
Is bayted of a mastiffe and a hound
And a curre-dog, that doe him sharpe assay
On every side, and beat about him round;
But most that curre, barking with bitter sownd,
And creeping still behinde, doth him incomber,
That in his chauffe he digs the trampled ground,
And threats his horns, and bellowes like the thonder:
So did that Squire his foes disperse and drive asonder.
Him well behoved so; for his three foes
Sought to encompasse him on every side,
And dangerously did round about enclose:
But most of all Defetto him annoyde,
Creeping behinde him still to have destroyde;
So did Decetto eke him circumvent;
But stout Despetto in his greater pryde
Did front him, face to face against him bent:
Yet he them all withstood, and often made relent.
Till that at length, nigh tyrd with former chace,
And weary now with carefull keeping ward,
He gan to shrinke and somewhat to give place,
Full like ere long to have escaped hard;
When as unwares he in the forrest heard
A trampling steede, that with his neighing fast
Did warne his rider be uppon his gard;
With noise whereof the Squire, now nigh aghast,
Revived was, and sad dispaire away did cast.
Eftsoones he spide a Knight approching nye;
Who, seeing one in so great daunger set
Mongst many foes, him selfe did faster hye
To reskue him, and his weake part abet,
For pitty so to see him overset:
Whom soone as his three enemies did vew,
They fled, and fast into the wood did get.
Him booted not to thinke them to pursew,
The covert was so thicke that did no passage shew.
Then turning to that swaine him
