Beene funcke, of whom no memorie did stay: Whofe circled waters rapt with whirling fway, Like to a restleffe wheele, still ronning round, Did covet, as they paffed by that way,

To draw their bote within the utmoft bound Of his wide labyrinth, and then to have them dround.

XXI.

But th' heedful Boteman ftrongly forth did ftretch

His brawnie armes, and all his bodie ftraine, That th' utmost fandy breach they shortly fetch,

Whiles the dredd daunger does behind re-
maine.

Suddeine they fee from midft of all the maine
The furging waters like a mountaine rife,
And the great fea, puft up with proud dif-
daine,

XX. 8.'

their bote] So Spenfer's firft edition reads, which the editions of 1751, of Church, Upton, and Tonfon's in 1758, follow. The reft read, "the boat." TODD.

th' heedful Boteman]

XXI. 1. The first edition reads "th' earneft Boteman," to which Mr. Church alone adheres. The fecond reads "th' heedfull," an epithet feemingly more appropriate in this place; and therefore admitted, as the poet's emendation, into every other edition. TODD.

XXI. 3. - fandy breach they shortly fetch,] So all the editions. I think it should be beach, that is, they fetch or pafs by the extreme part of that fandy BEACH or Quickfand. CHURCH.

What is made by the breaking in of the fea, they call a breach. None of the books read beach. They fetch, that is, they come up to, arrive at. UPTON.

To fwell above the measure of his guife, As threatning to devoure all that his powre

defpife.

XXII.

The waves come rolling, and the billowes rore
Outragiously, as they enraged were,

Or wrathfull Neptune did them drive before
His whirling charet for exceeding feare;.
For not one puffe of winde there did appeare;
That all the three thereat woxe much afrayd,
Unweeting what fuch horrour ftraunge did

reare.

Eftfoones they faw an hideous hoaft arrayd Of huge fea-monfters, fuch as living fence dif

mayd:

XXIII.

Moft ugly shapes and horrible aspécts,

Such as dame Nature felfe mote feare to fee, Or fhame, that ever fhould fo fowle defects From her moft cunning hand escaped bee; All dreadfull pourtraicts of deformitee : Spring-headed hydres; and fea-fhouldring whales ;

XXIII. 2. Such as Dame Nature felfe mote feare to fec, Or fhame, &c.] Compare Boyardo, Orl. Innam. p. 143; Berni, L. ii. C. 13. ft. 58, 59, 60. From Boyardo, Ariosto took what he says of the Witch Alcina, C. vi. ft. 36, 37. UPTON.

XXIII. 3. Or fhame,] Be ashamed. So, in F. Q. ii. i. 20, and again F. Q. v. iv. 24. CHURCH.

XXIII. 6. Spring-headed hydres;] That is, hydras with

Great whirlpooles, which all fishes make to

flee;

Bright fcolopendraes arm'd with filver fcales; Mighty monoceros with immeasured tayles;

XXIV.

The dreadful fish, that hath deferv'd the name Of Death, and like him lookes in dreadfull

hew;

heads fpringing or budding forth from their bodies. See Gefner, p. 459. XXIII. 6.

UPTON.

-fea-fhouldring whales ;] Whales

that shouldered on the feas before them. UPTON.

XXIII. 7. Great whirlpooles,] The whirlpoole is a large fish of the whale kind, that spouts out water at the top of his head. Lat. phyfeter. CHURCH.

See Skinner : "Whirlpoole ab Anglis dictus cetus balæna eft-Videtur a vorticibus, quos turbinis inftar in aqua excitare, nomen habere-Nec alius puto pifcis eft ille quem horlopole vocitant Angli, &c." In Job xli. 1. leviathan is rendered, in the margin, a whale or a whirlpool. UPTON.

XXIII. 8. Bright Scolopendraes arm'd with filver scales ;] The scolopendra, a fifh unknown to our feas, takes its name from a land-infect or worm called the centipes, which has two rows of legs reaching from the head to the tail. The fcolopendra is mentioned by Elian in his Hiftory of Animals, and by moft naturalifts placed among the cetaceous fishes. See the Catalogue of Oppian's Fishes, at the end of Jones's poetical translation of the Halieuticks, 8vo. Oxford, 1722. TODD. XXIII. 9. Mighty monoceros with immeasured tayles;] I would read,

66

Mighty monoceroses with immeafur'd tayles:" So, in F. Q. ii. x. 8. “As far exceeded men in their immeafur'd mights." JORTIN.

The verfe is immeafured. 'Tis not agreeable to Spenfer's manner, to fay monoceroses.-This fea-fith the Greeks called moraxipws, the Sea-unicorn. But, to know what fish Spenfer nieant, you must turn to Gesner, p. 208. UPTON.

XXIV. 1. The dreadful fish, &c.] The Mors, or Morsz, described by Olaus Wormius and Gefner. UPTON.

1

The griefly wafferman, that makes his game
The flying ships with fwiftnes to pursew ;
The horrible fea-fatyre, that doth shew
His fearefull face in time of greatest storme;
Huge ziffius, whom mariners efchew

No leffe then rockes, as travellers informe; And greedy rofmarines with vifages deforme :

XXV.

All these, and thoufand thoufands many more, And more deformed monfters thoufand fold,

XXIV. 3. The griefly wafferman, &c.] Waffernix, dæmon aquaticus. Wacht. See Gefner, p. 439, &c. "Eft inter beluas marinas homo marinus, eft et Triton, &c." and p. 1000. “ Tritonem Germani vocare poterant ein uafferman, ein sceman, i. e. aquatilem vel marinum hominem." UPTON.

XXIV. 5. The horrible fea-fatyre,] See Gefner, p. 1001. "Pan, vel Satyrus marinus." UPTON.

XXIV. 7. Huge ziffius.] Dr. Jortin fancies that the poet meant Xiphias, which, Mr. Church adds, is the word-fish. But the huge Xiphias, fuppofing Spenfer to have intended this fpelling, is a very different fish from the common sword-fish, which is fo named from a long blade of an horned substance proceeding from his upper jaw, with which he kills his prey. See the Catalogue of Oppian's Fishes, already cited. The huge Ziffius is thus defcribed, Olai Magni Epit. L. xxi. C. x. “ Ett enim Xiphias animal nulli alteri fimile, nifi in aliqua proportione ceti. Caput habet horridum, ut bubo: os profundum valde, veluti barathrum immenfum, quo terret et fugat infpicientes oculos horribiles, dorfum cuneatum, vel ad gladii formam elevatum, roftrum mucronatum. ToDD.

XXIV. 9. And greedy rofmarines] The rofmarine is denominated alfo by Olaus Magnus the Norwegian mors. See Olai Magni Epit. L. xxi. C. xix. " Rofmari itaque hi pifces, five morf dicuntur, caput habentes bovinæ figuræ, hirfutam pellem, pilofque fpiffitudine veluti culmos vel calamos frumenti, late diffluentes. Dentibus fefe ad rupium cacumina ufque tanquam per fcalas elevant, ut rorulento dulcis aquæ gramine vefcantur, &c." TODD.

With dreadfull noife and hollow rombling

rore

Came rushing, in the fomy waves enrold, Which feem'd to fly for feare them to be

hold:

Ne wonder, if thefe did the Knight appall; For all that here on earth we dreadfull hold, Be but as bugs to fearen babes withall, Compared to the creatures in the feas entráll.

XXVI.

"Feare nought," then faide the Palmer well aviz'd,

"For thefe fame monfters are not thefe in

But are into these fearefull fhapes difguiz'd By that fame wicked Witch, to worke us dreed,

And draw from on this iourney to proceed."
Tho, lifting up his vertuous staffe on hye,
He fmote the fea, which calmed was with
speed,

And all that dreadfull armie faft gan flye

Into great Tethys bofome, where they hidden

lye.

XXV. 8. Be but as bugs to fearen babes] The like expreffion occurs in F. Q. iii. iv. 15. And in F. Q. ii. iii. 20, where fee the note. TODD.

XXVI. 4. By that fame wicked Witch,] Acrafia. CHURCH. XXVI. 5. And draw from on this iourney to proceed.] And to draw us from proceeding on this journey; a Grecifm, from to proceed, áñò rỡ ngoßras. See alfo ft. 64. UPTON.

VOL. IV.