Orlando Furioso Part 25

LXXVII "Lo! where yon mighty banner planted stands, Which pards and flower-de-luces does unfold, That our great captain to the wind expands, Under whose ensign are the rest enrolled: The warrior's name, renowned throughout these lands, Is Leonetto, flower of all the bold; Lancaster's duke, and nephew to the king, Valiant in war, and wise in counselling.

LXXVIII "That next the royal gonfalon, which stirred By fluttering wind, is borne towards the mount, Which on green field, three pinions of a bird Bears agent, speaks Sir Richard, Warwick's count.

The Duke of Gloucester's blazon is the third, Two antlers of a stag, and demi-front; The Duke of Clarence shows a torch, and he Is Duke of York who bears that verdant tree.

LXXIX "Upon the Duke of Norfolk's gonfalon You see a lance into three pieces broke; The thunder on the Earl of Kent's; upon Pembroke's a griffin; underneath a yoke; In Ess.e.x's, conjoined, two snakes are shown: By yonder lifted balance is bespoke The Duke of Suffolk; and Northumbria's Earl A garland does on azure field unfurl.

Lx.x.x "Arundel's Earl is yonder cavalier, Whose banner bears a foundering bark! In sight The next, is Berkeley's n.o.ble Marquis; near Are March and Richmond's Earls: the first on white Shows a cleft mount; a palm the second peer; A pine amid the waves the latter knight.

The next of Dorset and Southampton's town, Are earls; this bears a car, and that a crown.

Lx.x.xI "The valiant Raymond, Earl of Devon, bears The hawk, which spreads her wings above her nest; While or and sable he of Worcester wears: Derby's a dog, a bear is Oxford's crest.

There, as his badge, a cross of chrystal rears Bath's wealthy prelate, camped among the rest.

The broken seat on dusky field, next scan, Of Somerset's good duke, Sir Ariman.

Lx.x.xII "Forty-two thousand muster in array, The men at arms and mounted archers there.

By a hundred I misreckon not, or they, The fighting footmen, twice as many are.

Those ensigns yellow, brown, and green, survey, And that striped blue and black. The foot repair Each to his separate flag where these are spread; By G.o.dfrey, Henry, Hermant, Edward, led.

Lx.x.xIII "The first is the Duke of Buckingham; and he, The next, is Henry, Earl of Salisbury; Old Hermant Aberga'nny hold in fee, That Edward is the Earl of Shrewsbury.

In those who yonder lodge, the English see Camped eastward; and now westward turn your eye, Where you shall thirty thousand Scots, a crew Led by their monarch's son, Zerbino, view.

Lx.x.xIV "The lion 'twixt two unicorns behold Upon the standard of the Scottish king!

Which has a sword of silver in its hold.

There camps his son: of all his following Is none so beauteous: nature broke the mould In which she cast him, after fas.h.i.+oning Her work: Is none in whom such chivalry And valour s.h.i.+nes. The Duke of Rothsay he!

Lx.x.xV "Behold the Earl of Huntley's flag display Upon an azure field a gilded bar: In that a leopard in the toils survey, The bearing of the n.o.ble Duke of Mar.

With many birds, and many colours gay, See Alcabrun's, a valiant man in war; Who neither duke, nor count, nor marquis hight, Is in his savage country first of right.

Lx.x.xVI "The Duke of Strathforth shows the bird, who strains His daring eyes to keep the sun in view; The Earl Lurcanio, that in Angus reigns, A bull, whose flanks are torn by deerhounds two.

See there the Duke of Albany, who stains His ensign's field with colours white and blue.

The Earl of Buchan next his banner bears, In which a dragon vert a vulture tears.

Lx.x.xVII "Herman, the lord of Forbes, conducts that band, And stripes his gonfalon with black and white; With Errol's earl upon his better hand, Who on a field of green displays a light.

Now see the Irish, next the level land, Into two squadrons ordered for the fight.

Kildare's redoubted earl commands the first; Lord Desmond leads the next, in mountains nursed.

Lx.x.xVIII "A burning pine by Kildare is displayed; By Desmond on white field a crimson bend.

Nor only England, Scotland, Ireland, aid King Charlemagne; but to a.s.sist him wend The Swede and Norse, and succours are conveyed From Thule, and the farthest Iceland's end.

All lands that round them lie, in fine, increase His host, by nature enemies to peace.

Lx.x.xIX "Issued from cavern and from forest brown, They sixteen thousand are, or little less; Visage, legs, arms, and bosom overgrown With hair, like beasts. Lo! yonder, where they press About a standard white, the level down Of lances seems a bristling wilderness.

Such Moray's flag, the savage squadron's head, Who means with Moorish blood to paint it red."

XC What time Rogero sees the fair array, Whose bands to succour ravaged France prepare, And notes and talks of ensigns they display, And names of British lords, to him repair One and another, crowding to survey His courser, single of its kind, or rare: All thither hasten, wondering and astound, And compa.s.sing the warrior, form a round.

XCI So that to raise more wonder in the train.

And to make better sport, as him they eyed, Rogero shook the flying courser's rein, And lightly with the rowels touched his side: He towards heaven, uprising, soared amain, And left behind each gazer stupefied.

Having from end to end the English force So viewed, he next for Ireland shaped his course;

XCII And saw fabulous Hibernia, where The goodly, sainted elder made the cave, In which men cleansed from all offences are; Such mercy there, it seems, is found to save.

Thence o'er that sea he spurred, through yielding air, Whose briny waves the lesser Britain lave; And, looking down, Angelica descried In pa.s.sing, to the rock with fetters tied;

XCIII Bound to the naked rock upon the strand, In the isle of tears; for the isle of tears was hight, That which was peopled by the inhuman band, So pa.s.sing fierce and full of foul despite; Who (as I told above) on every hand Cruized with their scattered fleet by day or night; And every beauteous woman bore away, Destined to be a monster's evil prey:

XCIV There but that morning bound in cruel wise; Where (to devour a living damsel sped) The orc, that measureless sea-monster, hies, Which on abominable food is fed.

How on the beach the maid became the prize Of the rapacious crew, above was said, Who found her sleeping near the enchanter h.o.a.r, Who her had thither brought by magic lore.

XCV The cruel and inhospitable crew To the voracious beast the dame expose Upon the sea-beat sh.o.r.e, as bare to view As nature did at first her work compose.

Not even a veil she had, to shade the hue Of the white lily and vermillion rose, Which mingled in her lovely members meet, Proof to December-snow and July-heat.

XCVI Her would Rogero have some statue deemed Of alabaster made, or marble rare, Which to the rugged rock so fastened seemed By the industrious sculptor's cunning care, But that he saw distinct a tear which streamed Amid fresh-opening rose and lily fair, Stand on her budding paps beneath in dew, And that her golden hair dishevelled flew.

XCVII And as he fastened his on her fair eyes, His Bradamant he called to mind again.

Pity and love within his bosom rise At once, and ill he can from tears refrain: And in soft tone he to the damsel cries, (When he has checked his flying courser's rein) "O lady, worthy but that chain to wear, With which Love's faithful servants fettered are,

XCVIII "And most unworthy this or other ill, What wretch has had the cruelty to wound And gall those snowy hands with livid stain, Thus painfully with griding fetters bound?"

At this she cannot choose but show like grain, Of crimson spreading on an ivory ground; Knowing those secret beauties are espied, Which, howsoever lovely, shame would hide;

XCIX And gladly with her hands her face would hood, Were they not fastened to the rugged stone: But with her tears (for this at least she could) Bedewed it, and essayed to hold it down.

Sobbing some while the lovely damsel stood; Then loosed her tongue and spake in feeble tone; But ended not; arrested in mid-word, By a loud noise which in the sea was heard.

C Lo! and behold! the unmeasured-beast appears, Half surging and half hidden, in such sort As sped by roaring wind long carack steers From north or south, towards her destined port.

So the sea monster to his food repairs: And now the interval between is short.

Half dead the lady is through fear endured, Ill by that other's comfort rea.s.sured.

CI Rogero overhand, not in the rest Carries his lance, and beats, with downright blow, The monstrous orc. What this resembled best, But a huge, writhing ma.s.s, I do not know; Which wore no form of animal exprest, Save in the head, with eyes and teeth of sow.

His forehead, 'twixt the eyes, Rogero smites, But as on steel or rock the weapon lights.

CII When he perceives the first of no avail, The knight returns to deal a better blow; The orc, who sees the s.h.i.+fting shadow sail Of those huge pinions on the sea below, In furious heat, deserts his sure regale On sh.o.r.e, to follow that deceitful show: And rolls and reels behind it, as it fleets.

Rogero drops, and oft the stroke repeats.

CIII As eagle, that amid her downward flight, Surveys amid the gra.s.s a snake unrolled, Or where she smoothes upon a sunny height, Her ruffled plumage, and her scales of gold, a.s.sails it not where prompt with poisonous bite To hiss and creep; but with securer hold Gripes it behind, and either pinion clangs, Lest it should turn and wound her with its fangs;

CIV So the fell orc Rogero does not smite With lance or faulchion where the tushes grow, But aims that 'twixt the ears his blow may light; Now on the spine, or now on tail below.

And still in time descends or soars upright, And s.h.i.+fts his course, to cheat the veering foe: But as if beating on a jasper block, Can never cleave the hard and rugged rock.

CV With suchlike warfare is the mastiff vext By the bold fly in August's time of dust, Or in the month before or in the next, This full of yellow spikes and that of must; For ever by the circling plague perplext, Whose sting into his eyes or snout is thrust: And oft the dog's dry teeth are heard to fall; But reaching once the foe, he pays for all.

CVI With his huge tail the troubled waves so sore The monster beats, that they ascend heaven-high; And the knight knows not if he swim, or soar Upon his feathered courser in mid sky; And oft were fain to find himself ash.o.r.e: For, if long time the spray so thickly fly, He fears it so will bathe his hippogryph, That he shall vainly covet gourd or skiff.

CVII He then new counsel took, and 'twas the best, With other arms the monster to pursue; And lifting from his s.h.i.+eld the covering vest, To dazzle with the light his blasted view.

Landward towards the rock-chained maid he pressed, And on her little finger, lest a new Mischance should follow, slipt the ring, which brought The enchantment of the magic s.h.i.+eld to nought.

CVIII I say the ring, which Bradamant, to free Rogero, from Brunello's hand had rent, And which, to s.n.a.t.c.h him from Alcina, she Had next to India by Melissa sent.

Melissa (as before was said by me), In aid of many used the instrument; And to Rogero this again had born; By whom 'twas ever on his finger worn.

CIX He gave it now Angelica; for he Feared lest the buckler's light should be impaired, And willed as well those beauteous eyes should be Defended, which had him already snared.

Pressing beneath his paunch full half the sea, Now to the sh.o.r.e the monstrous whale repaired: Firm stood Rogero, and the veil undone, Appeared to give the sky another sun.