The Faerie Queene (30 page)

Into the kitchin rowme, ne spard for nicenesse none.

29
It was a vaut ybuilt for great dispence,

With many raunges reard along the wall;

And one great chimney, whose long tonnell thence,

The smoke forth threw. And in the midst of all

There placed was a caudron wide and tall,

Vpon a mighty furnace, burning whot,

More whot, then
Aetn',
or flaming
Mongiball:

For day and night it brent, ne ceased not,

So long as any thing it in the caudron got.

30
But to delay the heat, least by mischaunce

It might breake out, and set the whole on fire,

There added was by goodly ordinaunce,

An huge great paire of bellowes, which did styre

Continually, and cooling breath inspyre.

About the Caudron many Cookes accoyld,

With hookes and ladles, as need did require;

The whiles the viandes in the vessell boyld

They did about their businesse sweat, and sorely toyld.

31
The maister Cooke was cald
Concoction,

A carefull man, and full of comely guise:

The kitchin Clerke, that hight
Digestion,

Did order all th'Achates in seemely wise,

And set them forth, as well he could deuise.

The rest had seuerall offices assind,

Some to remoue the scum, as it did rise;

Others to beare the same away did mind;

And others it to vse according to his kind.

32
But all the liquour, which was fowle and wast,

Not good nor seruiceable else for ought,

They in another great round vessell plast,

Till by a conduit pipe it thence were brought:

And all the rest, that noyous was, and nought,

By secret wayes, that none might it espy,

Was close conuaid, and to the back-gate brought,

That cleped was
Port Esquiline,
whereby

It was auoided quite, and throwne out priuily.

33
Which goodly order, and great workmans skill

Whenas those knights beheld, with rare delight,

And gazing wonder they their minds did fill;

For neuer had they seene so straunge a sight.

Thence backe againe faire
Alma
led them right,

And soone into a goodly Parlour brought,

That was with royall arras richly dight,

In which was nothing pourtrahed, nor wrought,

Not wrought, nor pourtrahed, but easie to be thought

34
And in the midst thereof vpon the floure,

A louely beuy of faire Ladies sate,

Courted of many a iolly Paramoure,

The which them did in modest wise amate,

And eachone sought his Lady to aggrate:

And eke emongst them litle
Cupid
playd

His wanton sports, being returned late

From his fierce warres, and hauing from him layd

His cruell bow, wherewith he thousands hath dismayd.

35
Diuerse delights they found them selues to please;

Some song in sweet consort, some laught for ioy,

Some plaid with strawes, some idly sat at ease;

But other some could not abide to toy,

All pleasaunce was to them griefe and annoy:

This firound, that faund, the third for shame did blush,

Another seemed enuious, or coy,

Another in her teeth did gnaw a rush:

But at these straungers presence euery one did hush.

36
Soone as the gracious
Alma
came in place,

They all attonce out of their seates arose,

And to her homage made, with humble grace:

Whom when the knights beheld, they gan dispose

Themselues to court, and each a Damsell chose:

The Prince by chaunce did on a Lady light,

That was right faire and fresh as morning rose,

But somwhat sad, and solemne eke in sight,

As if some pensiue thought constraind her gentle spright.

37
In a long purple pall, whose skirt with gold,

Was fretted all about, she was arayd;

And in her hand a Poplar braunch did hold:

To whom the Prince in curteous manner said;

Gentle Madame, why beene ye thus dismaid,

And your faire beautie do with sadnesse spill?

Liues any, that you hath thus ill apaid?

Or doen you loue, or doen you lacke your will?

What euer be the cause, it sure beseemes you ill.

38
Faire Sir, (said she halfe in disdainefull wise,)

How is it, that this word in me ye blame,

And in your selfe do not the same aduise?

Him ill beseemes, anothers fault to name,

That may vnwares be blotted with the same:

Pensiue I yeeld I am, and sad in mind,

Through great desire of glory and of fame;

Ne ought I weene are ye therein behind,

That haue twelue moneths sought one, yet no where can her

[find.

39
The Prince was inly moued at her speach,

Well weeting trew, what she had rashly told;

Yet with faire samblaunt sought to hide the breach,

Which chaunge of colour did perforce vnfold,

Now seeming flaming whot, now stony cold.

Tho turning soft aside, he did inquire,

What wight she was, that Poplar braunch did hold:

It answered was, her name was
Prays-desire,

That by well doing sought to honour to aspire.

40
The whiles, the
Faerie
knight did entertaine

Another Damsell of that gentle crew,

That was right faire, and modest of demaine,

But that too oft she chaung'd her natiue hew:

Straunge was her tyre, and all her garment blew,

Close round about her tuckt with many a plight:

Vpon her fist the bird, which shonneth vew,

And keepes in couerts close from liuing wight,

Did sit, as yet ashamd, how rude
Pan
did her dight.

41
So long as
Guyon
with her commoned,

Vnto the ground she cast her modest eye,

And euer and anone with rosie red

The bashfull bloud her snowy cheekes did dye,

That her became, as polisht yuory,

Which cunning Craftesman hand hath ouerlayd

With faire vermilion or pure Castory.

Great wonder had the knight, to see the mayd

So straungely passioned, and to her gently sayd,

42
Faire Damzell, seemeth, by your troubled cheare,

That either me too bold ye weene, this wise

You to molest, or other ill to feare

That in the secret of your hart close lyes,

From whence it doth, as cloud from sea arise.

If it be I, of pardon I you pray;

But if ought else that I mote not deuise,

I will, if please you it discure, assay,

To ease you of that ill, so wisely as I may.

43
She answerd nought, but more abasht for shame,

Held downe her head, the whiles her louely face

The flashing bloud with blushing did inflame,

And the strong passion mard her modest grace,

That
Guyon
meruayld at her vncouth cace:

Till
Alma
him bespake, why wonder yee

Faire Sir at mat, which ye so much embrace?

She is the fountaine of your modestee;

You shamefast are, but
Shamefastnesse
it selfe is shee.

44
Thereat the Elfe did blush in priuitee,

And turnd his face away; but she the same

Dissembled faire, and faynd to ouersee.

Thus they awhile with court and goodly game,

Themselues did solace each one with his Dame,

Till that great Ladie thence away them sought,

To vew her castles other wondrous frame.

Vp to a stately Turret she them brought,

Ascending by ten steps of Alablaster wrought,

45
That Turrets frame most admirable was,

Like highest heauen compassed around,

And lifted high aboue this earthly masse,

Which it suruew'd, as hils doen lower ground;

But not on ground mote like to this be found,

Not that, which antique
Cadmus
whylome built

In
Thebes,
which
Alexander
did confound;

Nor that proud towre of
Troy,
though richly guilt,

From which young
Hectors
bloud by cruell
Greekes
was spilt.

46
The roofe hereof was arched ouer head,

And deckt with flowers and herbars daintily;

Two goodly Beacons, set in watches stead,

Therein gaue light, and flam'd continually:

For they of liuing fire most subtilly

Were made, and set in siluer sockets bright,

Couer'd with lids deuiz'd of substance sly,

That readily they shut and open might.

O who can tell the prayses of that makers might]

47
Ne can I tell, ne can I stay to tell

This parts great workmanship, & wondrous powre,

That all this other worlds worke doth excell,

And likest is vnto that heauenly towre,

That God hath built for his owne blessed bowre.

Therein were diuerse roomes, and diuerse stages,

But three the chiefest, and of greatest powre,

In which there dwelt three honorable sages,

The wisest men, I weene, that liued in their ages.

48
Not he, whom
Greece,
tbe Nourse of all good arts,

By
Phœbus
doome, the wisest thought aliue,

Might be compar'd to these by many parts:

Nor that sage
Pylian
syre, which did suruiue

Three ages, such as mortall men contriue,

By whose aduise old
Priams
cittie fell,

With these in praise of pollicies mote striue.

These three in these three roomes did sundry dwell,

And counselled faire
Alma,
how to gouerne well.

49
The first of them could things to come foresee:

The next could of things present best aduize;

The third things past could keepe in memoree,

So that no time, nor reason could arize,

But that the same could one of these comprize.

For thy the first did in the forepart sit,

That nought mote hinder his quicke preiudize:

He had a sharpe foresight, and working wit,

That neuer idle was, ne once could rest a whit.

50
His chamber was dispainted all within,

With sundry colours, in the which were writ

Infinite shapes of things dispersed thin;

Some such as in the world were neuer yit,

Ne can deuized be of mortall wit;

Some daily seene, and knowen by their names,

Such as in idle fantasies doe flit:

Infernall Hags,
Centaurs,
feendes,
Hippodames,

Apes, Lions, Ægles, Owles, fooles, louers, children, Dames.

51
And all the chamber filled was with flyes,

Which buzzed all about, and made such sound,

That they encombred all mens eares and eyes,

Like many swarmes of Bees assembled round,

After their hiues with honny do abound:

All those were idle thoughts and fantasies,

Deuices, dreames, opinions vnsound,

Shewes, visions, sooth-sayes, and prophesies;

And all that fained is, as leasings, tales, and lies.

52
Emongst them all sate he, which wonned there,

That hight
Phantastes
by his nature trew;

A man of yeares yet fresh, as mote appere,

Of swarth complexion, and of crabbed hew,

That him full of melancholy did shew;

Bent hollow beetle browes, sharpe staring eyes,

That mad or foolish seemd: one by his vew

Mote deeme him borne with ill disposed skyes,

When oblique
Saturne
sate in the house of agonyes.

53
Whom
Alma
hauing shewed to her guestes,

Thence brought them to the second roome, whose wals

Were painted faire with memorable gestes,

Of famous Wisards, and with picturals

Of Magistrates, of courts, of tribunals,

Of commen wealthes, of states, of pollicy,

Of lawes, of iudgements, and of decretals;

All artes, all science, all Philosophy,

And all that in the world was aye thought wittily.

54
Of those that roome was full, and them among

There sate a man of ripe and perfect age,

Who did them meditate all his life long,

That through continuall practise and vsage,

He now was growne right wise, and wondrous sage.

Great pleasure had those stranger knights, to see

His goodly reason, and graue personage,

That his disciples both desir'd to bee;

But
Alma
thence them led to th'hindmost roome of three.

55
That chamber seemed ruinous and old,

And therefore was remoued farre behind,

Yet were the wals, that did the same vphold,

Right firme & strong, though somewhat they declind;

And therein sate an old oldman, halfe blind,

And all decrepit in his feeble corse,

Yet liuely vigour rested in his mind,

And recompenst him with a better scorse:

Weake body well is chang'd for minds redoubled forse.

56
This man of infinite remembrance was,

And things foregone through many ages held,

Which he recorded still, as they did pas,

Ne suffred them to perish through long eld,

As all things else, the which this world doth weld,

But laid them vp in his immortall scrine,

Where they for euer incorrupted dweld:

The warres he well remembred of king
Nine,