“The lion, lord of every beast in field,”
Quoth she, “his princely puissance doth abate,
And mighty proud to humble weak does yield,
Forgetful of the hungry rage which late
Him prick’d, in pity of my sad estate:—
But he, my lion, and my noble lord,
How does he find in cruel heart to hate
Her that him loved, and ever most adored
As the god of my life? why hath he me abhorr’d?”
Redounding tears did choke th’ end of her plaint,
Which softly echo’d from the neighbor wood;
And, sad to see her sorrowful constraint,
The kingly beast upon her gazing stood;
With pity calm’d, down fell his angry mood.
At last, in close heart shutting up her pain,
Arose the Virgin born of heavenly brood,
And to her snowy palfrey got again,
To seek her strayèd Champion if she might attain.
The lion would not leave her desolate,
But with her went along, as a strong guard
Of her chaste person, and a faithful mate
Of her sad troubles and misfortunes hard:
Still, when she slept, he kept both watch and ward;
And, when she waked, he waited diligent,
With humble service to her will prepared:
From her fair eyes he took commandëment,
And ever by her looks conceivèd her intent.
From “The Faerie Queene.”
Una is the heroine of the first Book of Spenser’s “Faerie Queene.” She appears to have been intended, at least in part, as a poetical impersonation of Truth. At all events, she is one of the sweetest and loveliest visions that ever issued from a poet’s brain.
[a] l. 2. In Spenser’s time the endings sion, tion, as also cian, and various others, were often used as two syllables.
[] l. 13. That is, handling, in the sense of treatment. Here, again, we have a relic of ancient usage. So, too, in commandement, in the last stanza of this piece. And in many other like words the old poets often make two syllables where we now make but one.
[c] l. 18. An old witch named Duessa, painted and dressed up into a false show of beauty, and dealing in magic arts. She had lied and cheated the red-cross Knight, the hero of the story, out of his faith in Una and beguiled him with her mighty spells.
[d] l. 32. undight, took off. l. 33. stole, a long, loose garment reaching to the feet. l. 48. weet, understand. l. 64. Redounding, flowing.