In circle magical confin'd,

With walls of fubtle air and wind,
Which none are able to break thorough,
Until they 're freed by head of borough.
Thither arriv'd, th' adventurous Knight
And bold Squire from their steeds alight

1145

At th' outward wall, near which there ftands
A Baftile, built t' imprifon hands;

1150

By ftrange enchantment made to fetter
The leffer parts, and free the greater :
For though the body may creep through,
The hands in grate are fast enough:
And when a circle 'bout the wrist
Is made by beadle exorcist,

The body feels the fpur and fwitch,

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That done, they ope the trap-door gate,

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And let Crowdero down thereat,

Crowdero making doleful face,
Like hermit poor in penfive place,
To dungeon they the wretch commit,
And the furvivor of his feet;

But th' other, that had broke the peace,
An head of Knighthood, they release,

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Though

Though a delinquent falfe and forged,
Yet being a stranger, he 's enlarged,
While his comrade, that did no hurt,
Is clapp'd up faft in prison for 't:
So Juftice, while fhe winks at crimes,
Stumbles on innocence fometimes.

1175

HUDI BRAS.

PART I. CANTO III.

THE

ARGUMENT.

The scatter'd rout return and rally,
Surround the place; the Knight does fally,
And is made prisoner: then they seize
Th' inchanted fort by storm, release
Crowdero, and put the Squire in 's place;
1 fhould have first faid Hudibras.

AY me! what perils do environ

The man that meddles with cold iron!
What plaguy mischiefs and mishaps
Do dog him still with after-claps !
For though Dame Fortune seem to fmile,
And leer upon him, for a while,
She'll after fhew him, in the nick
Of all his glories, a dog-trick.

This any man may fing or fay

I' th' ditty call'd, What if a Day?
For Hudibras, who thought he 'ad won

The field, as certain as a gun,

And having routed the whole troop,
With victory was cock-a-hoop,

Thinking he 'ad done enough to purchase
Thanksgiving-day among the Churches,
Wherein his mettle and brave worth
Might be explain'd by holder-forth,
And register'd by fame eternal,
In deathless pages of Diurnal,
Found in few minutes, to his cost,
He did but count without his hoft,
And that a turnstile is more certain
Than, in events of war, Dame Fortune.
For now the late faint-hearted rout,
O'erthrown and scatter'd round about,
Chac'd by the horror of their fear,
From bloody fray of Knight and Bear,
(All but the Dogs, who in pursuit
Of the Knight's victory food to 't,
And most ignobly fought to get
The honour of his blood and sweat).
Seeing the coaft was free and clear
O'the conquer'd and the conqueror,
Took heart again, and fac'd about,,
As if they meant to ftand it out:
For by this time the routed Bear,.
Attack'd by th' enemy i' th' rear,,

Ver. 35.] Took heart again, and fac'd about. Took heart of grace, in the two first editions of 1663.

Ver. 37. For now the half-defeated Bear. Thus altered 1674, 1684, 1689, 1694, 1700. Reftored as above, 1704. H 3:

Finding their number grew too great
For him to make a fafe retreat,
Like a bold chieftain fac'd about;
But wifely doubting to hold out,

Gave way to fortune, and with hafte

Fac'd the proud foe, and fled, and fac'd,
Retiring ftill, until he found

He 'ad got th' advantage of the ground,
And then as val'antly made head
To check the foe, and forthwith fled,
Leaving no art untry'd, nor trick
Of warrior ftout and politick,
Until, in fpite of hot pursuit,
He gain'd a pass, to hold dispute
On better terms, and stop the course

Of the proud foe. With all his force
He bravely charg'd, and for a while
Forc'd their whole body to recoil;
But ftill their numbers fo increas'd,
He found himself at length oppress'd,
And all evafions fo uncertain,
To fave himself for better fortune,
That he refolv'd, rather than yield,
To die with honour in the field,
And fell his hide and carcafe at
A price as high and desperate
As e'er he could. This refolution
He forthwith put in execution,
And bravely threw himself among
The enemy, i' th' greatest throng;

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But