O goodly vsage of those antique times, xiii In which the sword was seruant vnto right; When not for malice and contentious crimes, But all for praise, and proofe of manly might, The martiall brood accustomed to fight: Then honour was the meed of victorie, And yet the vanquished had no despight: Let later age that noble vse enuie, Vile rancour to auoid, and cruell surquedrie. Long they thus trauelled in friendly wise, xiv Through countries waste, and eke well edifyde, Seeking aduentures hard, to exercise Their puissance, whylome full dernely tryde: At length they came into a forrest wyde, Whose hideous horror and sad trembling sound Full griesly seem’d: Therein they long did ryde, Yet tract of liuing creatures[863] none they found, Saue Beares, Lions, and Buls, which romed them around. All suddenly out of the thickest brush, xv Vpon a milk-white Palfrey all alone, A goodly Ladie did foreby them rush, Whose face did seeme as cleare as Christall stone, And eke through feare as white as whales bone: Her garments all were wrought of beaten gold, And all her steed with tinsell trappings shone, Which fled so fast, that nothing mote him hold, And scarse them leasure gaue, her passing to behold. Still as she fled, her eye she backward threw, xvi As fearing euill, that pursewd her fast; And her faire yellow locks behind her flew, Loosely disperst with puffe of euery blast: All as a blazing starre doth farre outcast His hearie beames, and flaming lockes dispred, At sight whereof the people stand aghast: But the sage wisard telles, as he has red, That it importunes death and dolefull drerihed. So as they gazed after her a while, xvii Lo where a griesly Foster forth did rush, Breathing out beastly lust her to defile: His tyreling iade he fiercely forth did push, Through thicke and thin, both ouer banke and bush In hope her to attaine by hooke or crooke, That from his gorie sides the bloud did gush: Large were his limbes, and terrible his looke, And in his clownish hand a sharp bore speare he shooke. Which outrage when those gentle knights did see, xviii Full of great enuie and fell gealosy, They stayd not to auise, who first should bee, But all spurd after fast, as they mote fly, To reskew her from shamefull villany. The Prince and _Guyon_ equally byliue Her selfe pursewd, in hope to win thereby Most goodly meede, the fairest Dame aliue: But after the foule foster _Timias_ did striue.