Her selfe then tooke he by the sclender[261] wast, xxvii In vaine loud crying, and into the flood Ouer the Castle wall adowne her cast, And there her drowned in the durty mud: But the streame washt away her guilty blood. Thereafter all that mucky pelfe he tooke, The spoile of peoples euill gotten good, The which her sire had scrap’t by hooke and crooke, And burning all to ashes, powr’d it downe the brooke. And lastly all that Castle quite he raced, xxviii Euen from the sole of his foundation, And all the hewen stones thereof defaced, That there mote be no hope of reparation, Nor memory thereof to any nation. All which when _Talus_ throughly had perfourmed, Sir _Artegall_ vndid the euill fashion, And wicked customes of that Bridge refourmed. Which done, vnto his former iourney he retourned. In which they measur’d mickle weary way, xxix Till that at length nigh to the sea they drew; By which as they did trauell on a day, They saw before them, far as they could vew, Full many people gathered in a crew; Whose great assembly they did much admire. For neuer there the like resort they knew. So towardes them they coasted, to enquire What thing so many nations met, did there desire. There they beheld a mighty Gyant stand xxx Vpon a rocke, and holding forth on hie An huge great paire of ballance in his hand, With which he boasted in his surquedrie, That all the world he would weigh equallie, If ought he had the same to counterpoys. For want whereof he weighed vanity, And hid his ballaunce full of idle toys: Yet was admired much of fooles, women, and boys. He sayd that he would all the earth vptake, xxxi And all the sea, deuided each from either: So would he of the fire one ballaunce make, And one of th’ayre, without or wind, or wether: Then would he ballaunce heauen and hell together, And all that did within them all containe; Of all whose weight, he would not misse a fether. And looke what surplus did of each remaine, He would to his owne part restore the same againe. For why, he sayd they all vnequall were, xxxii And had encroched vppon others share, Like as the sea (which plaine he shewed there) Had worne the earth[262], so did the fire the aire, So all the rest did others parts empaire. And so were realmes and nations run awry. All which he vndertooke for to repaire, In sort as they were formed aunciently; And all things would reduce vnto equality.