| |
| AT last he came unto a gloomy glade | |
| Cover’d with boughs and shrubs from heavens light, | |
| Whereas he sitting found in secret shade | |
| An uncouth, salvage, and uncivile wight, | |
| Of griesly hew and fowle ill-favour’d sight; | 5 |
| His face with smoke was tand, and eies were bleard, | |
| His head and beard with sout were ill bedight, | |
| His cole-blacke hands did seem to have ben seard | |
| In smythes fire-spitting forge, and nayles like clawes appeard.… | |
| |
| And round about him lay on every side | 10 |
| Great heapes of gold that never could be spent; | |
| Of which some were rude owre, not purifide, | |
| Of Mulcibers devouring element; | |
| Some others were new driven, and distent | |
| Into great ingowes and to wedges square; | 15 |
| Some in round plates withouten moniment; | |
| But most were stampt, and in their metal bare | |
| The antique shapes of kings and kesars straung and rare.… | |
| |
| “What secret place,” quoth he, “can safely hold | |
| So huge a mass, and hide from heavens eie? | 20 |
| Or where hast thou thy wonne, that so much gold | |
| Thou canst preserve from wrong and robbery?” | |
| “Come thou,” quoth he, “and see.” So by and by | |
| Through that black covert he him led, and fownd | |
| A darksome way, which no man could descry, | 25 |
| That deep descended through the hollow grownd, | |
| And was with dread and horror compassèd arownd.… | |
| |
| So soon as Mammon there arrived, the dore | |
| To him did open and affoorded way: | |
| Him followed eke Sir Guyon evermore, | 30 |
| Ne darknesse him ne daunger might dismay. | |
| Soone as he entred was, the dore streightway | |
| Did shutt, and from behind it forth there lept | |
| An ugly feend, more fowle then dismall day: | |
| The which with monstrous stalke behind him stept, | 35 |
| And ever as he went dew watch upon him kept. | |
| |
| Well hopèd hee, ere long that hardy guest, | |
| If ever covetous hand, or lustfull eye, | |
| Or lips he layd on thing that likte him best, | |
| Or ever sleepe his eie-strings did untye, | 40 |
| Should be his pray: and therefore still on hye | |
| He over him did hold his cruell clawes, | |
| Threatning with greedy gripe to doe him dye, | |
| And rend in peeces with his ravenous pawes, | |
| If ever he transgrest the fatall Stygian lawes. | 45 |
| |
| In all that rowme was nothing to be seene | |
| But huge great yron chests, and coffers strong, | |
| All bard with double bends, that none could weene | |
| Them to efforce by violence or wrong; | |
| On every side they placèd were along. | 50 |
| But all the grownd with sculs was scattered | |
| And dead mens bones, which round about were flong; | |
| Whose lives, it seemed, whilome there was shed, | |
| And their vile carcases now left unburièd. | |
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