He put his band and beard in order,
The sprucer to accoft and board her:
And now began t' approach the door,
When the, wh' had spy'd him out before,
Convey'd th' informer out of fight,
And went to entertain the Knight;
With whom encountering, after longees
Of humble and fubmiffive congees,
And all due ceremonies paid,
He ftroak'd his beard, and thus he said:
Madam, I do, as is my duty,
Honour the fhadow of your fhoe-tye;
And now am come to bring your ear
A prefent you 'll be glad to hear;
At least I hope fo.: the thing 's done,
Or may I never see the fun;
For which I humbly now demand
Performance at your gentle hand;
And that you'd please to do your part,
As I have done mine, to my fmart.
With that he shrugg'd his sturdy back,
As if he felt his fhoulders ake:
But fhe, who well enough knew what
(Before he fpoke) he would be at,
Pretended not to apprehend
The mystery of what he mean'd;
And therefore wifh'd him to expound
His dark expreffions lefs profound.
Madam, quoth he, I come to prove
How much I 've fuffer'd for your love,
Which (like your votary) to win,
I have not spar'd my tatter'd skin ;
And, for those meritorious lashes,
To claim your favour and good graces.
Quoth fhe, I do remember once
I freed you from th' inchanted fconce,
And that you promis'd, for that favour,
To bind your back to th' good behaviour,
And for my fake and fervice vow'd
To lay upon 't a heavy load,
And what 'twould bear t' a fcruple prove,
As other knights do oft make love;
Which whether you have done or no
Concerns yourself, not me, to know;
But if you have, I shall confefs
Y' are honester than I could guefs.
Quoth he, If you suspect my troth,
I cannot prove it but by oath;
And if you make a question on 't,
I'll pawn my foul that I have done 't:
And he that makes his foul his furety,
I think, does give the best fecurity.
Quoth fhe, Some fay the foul 's fecure
Against distress and forfeiture;
Is free from action, and exempt
From execution and contempt;
And to be fummon'd to appear
In th' other world 's illegal here,
And therefore few make any account
Int' what incumbrances they run 't :
For most men carry things fo even
Between this world, and hell, and heaven,
Without the leaft offence to either,
They freely deal in all together,
And equally abhor to quit
This world for both, or both for it;
And when they pawn and damn their fouls,
They are but prifoners on paroles.
For that, quoth he, 'tis rational.
They may be accomptable in all :
For when there is that intercourfe
Between divine and human powers,
That all that we determine here
Commands obedience every where;
When penalties may be commuted:
For fines, or ears, and executed,
It follows nothing binds so fast
As fouls in pawn and mortgage past :
For oaths are th' only tests and feals
Of right and wrong, and true and false;
And there's no other way to try
The doubts of law and justice by.
Quoth fhe, What is it you would fwear?
There's no believing till I hear :
For, till they're understood, all tales
(Like nonfenfe) are not true nor false.
Quoth he, When I refolv'd t' obey
What you commanded th' other day,
And to perform my exercife,
(As fchools are wont) for your fair eyes,
T' avoid all scruples in the case,
I went to do 't upon the place;
But as the caftle is inchanted
By Sidrophel the witch, and haunted
With evil spirits, as you know,
Who took my Squire and me for two,
Before I'd hardly time to lay
My weapons by, and difarray,
I heard a formidable noise,
Loud as the Stentrophonic voice,
That roar'd far off, Dispatch, and strip,
I'm ready with th' infernal whip,
That shall diveft thy ribs of fkin,
To expiate thy lingering fin;
Thou 'aft broke perfidioufly thy oath,
And not perform'd thy plighted troth,
But fpar'd thy renegado back,
Where thou 'adft fo great a prize at stake;
Which now the Fates have order'd me,
Unless thou presently make hafte;
Time is, time was: and there it ceast.
With which, though startled, I confefs,.
Yet th' horror of the thing was lefs
Than th' other dismal apprehenfion
Of interruption or prevention ;
And therefore, fnatching up the rod,
I laid upon my back a load,
Refolv'd to spare no flesh and blood,
To make my word and honour good;
Till tir'd, and taking truce at length,
For new recruits of breath and strength,
I felt the blows ftill ply'd as fast,
As if they 'ad been by lovers plac'd,
In raptures of Platonic lashing,
And chafte contemplative bardashing;
When, facing hastily about,
To ftand upon my guard and scout,
I found th' infernal cunning-man,
And th' under-witch, his Caliban,
With fcourges (like the Furies) arm'd,
That on my outward quarters storm'd.
In hafte I fnatch'd my weapon up,
And gave their hellish rage a stop;
Call'd thrice upon your name, and fell
Courageously on Sidrophel,
Who now, transform'd himself t' a bear,
Began to roar aloud and tear;
When I as furiously prefs'd on,
My weapon down his throat to run,
Laid hold on him, but he broke loose,
And turn'd himself into a goose,
Div'd under water in a pound,
To hide himself from being found.
In vain I fought him; but as soon
As I perceiv'd him fled and gone,
Prepar'd, with equal hafte and rage,
His under-forcerer t' engage;
But, bravely scorning to defile
My fword with feeble blood, and vile,
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