L.

And yet, like other great men of all ages,
Was fool enough to fall in love, and pine;
But might have sat among the seven sages.
When he had used the nut so steep'd in wine-)
The aforesaid nymph had it in part of wages

For doing service at god Proteus' shrine;
And he (the god) one summer day invented it
For her sole use to whom he so presented it.

LI.

This story told, the Lady rose from table,

And wish'd to each and every one good night: The younger strangers, as they well were able, Return'd her courtesies in courteous plight; But poor Astolpho sigh'd, "Most amiable,

And heavenly Stella! my soul's only light! Wilt thou then leave me, darkling, thus behind?" She only wink'd, and whisper'd, "Never mind."

LII.

The Knights then caught their partner round the middle,

Thus by surprise subduing his emotion,
And, while with notes as plaintive as a fiddle,

He bad them (shedding of salt tears an ocean,) "Cut out my heart, and"—they cut short his riddle, Clapp'd to his throat and breast the boiling potion, And, ere he could say," to my Mistress give it!"Cool'd down his passions, like a song by Knyvett.

LIII.

No sooner had his parch'd and burning skin

Been touch'd by that most wonderful specific,

Than all the fever of his soul within
Subsided to a state most soporific.
He slept as soundly as a top can spin,

Twelve hours a-head,- -a sleep right beatific ; And when he 'woke, all other things forgotten, "Up, up!" he cried, "let's seek the Count, 'od rot 'en!"

LIV.

His brother Paladins, with laughter shaking, Said, "First let's thank our hostess for her bounty."

Astolpho, staring broad like one just waking, Cried, "Damn her!-what's our hostess to the County ?*

"To horse! to horse!"-So on they journied, taking

Their pastime with their patient to recount the Adventures past, all which he deem'd mere rambling. We now must seek Rinaldo, where he's ambling.

INTRODUCTION TO CANTO THE SECOND. THE remainder of the first Canto in the original Poem is taken up with a series of adventures, which (for the reason assigned at the commencement of

* The County-Il Conte-as "The County Paris." Romeo and Juliet.

that which here follows) it may be as well briefly to narrate in prose.

Rinaldo, pursuing alone the general object of the quest of the Paladins, embarks at La Rochelle, on his Asiatic expedition, and reaching the Euxine Sea, lands at a certain port, and proceeds on horseback towards the confines of Persia. Following the usual example of knights-errant, he suffers himself to be diverted from his enterprise by every new incident that promises an exploit to be performed, or a "grievance" to be redressed; but unlike most of the fraternity, has the luck to find (in the course of his pilgrimage) comfortable quarters at good inns by the way-side, instead of wandering in deserts, or taking up his nightly residence in caverns and wildernesses. At one of these he hears related the story of the Lord of a neighbouring castle, called La Biccola, who had been made a victim to the necromantic arts of a Fairy (La Fata Nera), being transformed by her incantations, together with his betrothed mistress (La Brunetta,) he to a stag and she to a greyhound, perpetually in chase of him. Rinaldo undertakes the adventure of disenchanting them, and succeeds, by what means it is needless here to relate; but, when he is expecting to indemnify himself for his labours in the full enjoyment of the hospitalities of Castel Biccola, he is suddenly called away by the news (which a courier from Paris brings him) of the threatened invasion,

and re-embarks for France at the port where he had landed.

At the commencement of the second Canto, Rinaldo is overtaken by a storm, which casts him on the coast of Africa, where he meets with the very perilous and wonderful adventures which are slightly alluded to in some of the following stanzas, but sufficiently, perhaps, to explain the subsequent Occurrences. The Lady tied to the elm, whom he rescues from the most imminent danger of being devoured by two toads of such enormous dimensions, that not only the wild boars and other beasts of the forest were afraid of them, but that the Knight himself, in the course of his tremendous conflict with one of them,

"Per la bocca entrò nelle budella,

E usci dal culo senza farsi male.

-This Lady proves to be Lucina, the youngest daughter of Galafron king of Cathay, and sister of the fair Angelica; and her beauty inspires her deliverer with a passion which fails of receiving its due reward by the ill-timed intervention of her lover Lindoro, with whom he leaves her alone in a grotto in which they had sought shelter, because

"Crede non star ben con loro."

The dreadful combat with the harpies, which ensues immediately on the termination of this adventure, begins the third Canto of the original, and leads to those which follow in the present Poem.

CANTO II.

TO THE PUBLISHER.

I.

"PLAIN truth, dear Murray, needs no flowers of speech."

As Pope to Mansfield, so to you sing I.
But put the question, which will soonest reach
A new edition, and incite to buy,
(Allowing letter press the same for each,)
A tedious homily, or a tedious lie,

The bard with "Human Life" who gently dallies,
Or he who dirges it in "Roncesvalles;"

II.

And I suppose (setting aside priority

Of age, and fashion, and good reputation,) It would be hard to assign superiority,

Orsay which holds the most commanding station. But this I leave to you, and the majority

Of those who lead the learning of the nation; Only premising, that 'twere best not fall Into the sin of tediousness at all:

III.

And, grave, and high, and true as are the themes

Of which mine ancient author here discourses,