This leads the poet to a passage in which he puts out all his powers in praise of the Queen's virginity and of chastity in general, written evidently, with the object of asserting that the relations between her and the reigning favourite were blameless. He also exhorts the ladies of the Court to take the Queen as their example.

This episode is in the last book of the first part, which was published in 1590. It is resumed in the second part of Book IV., which was published in 1596.

Timias rescues Amoret from the clutches of "greedie Lust," who is slain in his flight by an arrow shot by Belphoebe. Returning, she finds Timias endeavouring to recover Amoret from her swoon by kissing her:

Which when she saw with sodaine glauncing eye,
Her noble heart with sight thereof was filed
With deepe disdaine and great indignity,
That in her wrath she thought them both have thrild
With that self arrow which the Carle had kild;
Yet held her wrathfull hand from vengeance sore :
And drawing nigh, ere he her well beheld,

Is this the faith?' she said-and said no more,
But turnd her face, and fled away for evermore.

He seeing her depart arose up light,
Right sore agrieved at her sharpe reproofe,
And follow'd fast; but, when he came in sight,
He durst not nigh approach, but kept aloofe,
For dread of her displeasures utmost proofe :
And ever more, when he did grace entreat,
And framed speaches fit for his behoofe,
Her mortall arrows she at him did threat,

And forst him back with fowle dishonor to retreat.

IV. vii. 26, 37.

Thereupon the Squire falls into despair and secludes himself from mankind :

His wonted warlike weapons all he broke
And threw away, with vow to use no more,
Ne thenceforth ever strike in battell stroke
Ne ever word to speake to woman more;
But in that wildernesse, of men forlore,
And of the wicked world forgotten quight,

His hard mishap in dolor to deplore,

And wast his wretched daies in wofull plight;

So on himself to wreake his follies owne despight.

39.

He is found in this condition by "his owne deare lord Prince Arthure" (42), but he affects not to recognize him, and to his questions

him,

did aunswere mum :

And ever, when the Prince unto him spake,

He louted lowly, as did him becum,

And humble homage did unto him make,

'Mid sorrow shewing joyous semblance for his sake.

44.

Seeing that all he could do was in vain, the Prince leaves

Till time for him should remedy provide,
And him restore to former grace againe.

47.

The next canto opens with some reflections on the Squire's condition which most aptly apply to the state of Essex on those occasions when he quarrelled with the Queen, and retired, for the time being, in sullen seclusion. They are totally inapplicable to the case of Ralegh, and they recommend that course of conduct, further exemplified in the story, which was always that recommended to Essex by his mentor in his dealings with the Queen. The position of Essex depended entirely on the strength of her affection, and, when it was withdrawn, he had nothing else to fall back on. Hence the insistence in the poem on the Squire's mean estate" in relation to Belphoebe1; hence too, Bacon's insistence on

1 Thus, when Timias falls in love with Belphoebe, it is said of him : But when his meane estate he did revew,

He from such hardy boldnesse was restrayned.

III. v. 44.

And in his communing with himself on the same occasion:

But, foolish boy, what bootes thy service bace
To her to whom the hevens doe serve and sew?
Thou a meane Squyre of meeke and lowly place,
She, hevenly borne and of celestiall hew.

47.

Essex winning the Queen by any means available, and the complaint attitude, to the point of abjectness, displayed in this episode is in complete accordance with his reiterated counsels and appeals in the Earl's favour to the Queen. "Amoret," who, as I have explained in my book, is generally used to portray the Queen under a womanly aspect, I believe to have been used in this episode as a means of representing one of those Court intrigues by which Essex frequently exasperated the Queen. The opening lines of the Canto (viii.) are as follow:

Well said the wiseman, now prov'd true by this
Which to the gentle Squire did happen late,
That the displeasure of the mighty is
Than death it selfe more dread and desperate;
For naught the same may calme ne mitigate,
Till time the tempest doe thereof delay
With sufferaunce soft, which rigour can abate,
And have the sterne remembrance wypt away
Of bitter thoughts, which deepe therein infixed lay.

Like as it fell to this unhappy boy,
Whose tender heart the fair Belphoebe had
With one sterne looke so daunted, that no joy

In all his life, which afterwards he lad,

He ever tasted; but with penaunce sad,

And pensive sorrow pined and wore away,

Ne ever laughed, ne once shewed countenance glad,

But alwaies wept and wailed night and day,

As blasted bloomes through heat doth languish and decay :

By the agency of a dove, who carried to Belphoebe a jewel given by her to Timias, she is brought to the forlorn Squire :

He her beholding at her feet downe fell,

And kist the ground on which her sole did tread,

And washt the same with water which did well

From his moist eies, and like two streames procead;
Yet spake no word

Only few ruefull lookes unto her sent,

As messenger of his true meaning and intent.

IV. viii. 13.

Without recognizing him, she takes pity on his condition and asks him what has brought him to it. His reply softens her heart and she takes him again into favour :

'Ne any but your selfe, O dearest dred,

Hath done this wrong, to wreak on worthlesse wight
Your high displeasure, through disdeeming bred:
That, when your pleasure is to deeme aright,
Ye may redresse, and me restore to light!'
Which sory words her mightie hart did mate
With mild regard to see his ruefull plight,
That her inburning wrath she gan abate,
And him receiv'd againe to former favours state.

In which he long time afterwards did lead
An happie life with grace and good accord,
Fearlesse of fortunes chaunge or envies dread,
And eke all mindlesse of his owne deare Lord
The noble Prince, who never heard one word
Of tydings what did unto him betide,

Or what good fortune did to him afford;

But through the endlesse world did wander wide,
Him seeking evermore, yet no where him descride.

17. 18.

The last episode of importance in which Timias appears is in Book VI., where he is represented as bitten by the "" 'Blatant Beast"-in that context scandal-which was set on against him by enemies who envied his felicity in the favour of Belphoebe :

After that Timias had againe secured
The favour of Belphoebe (as ye heard)
And of her grace did stand againe assured,
To happie blisse he was full high uprear'd,
Neither of envie nor of chaunge afeard:
Though many foes did him maligne therefore,
And with unjust detraction him did beard,
Yet he himself so well and wisely bore,
That in her sovereign liking he dwelt evermore.

But of them all which did his ruine seeke,
Three mightie enemies did him most despight,
Three mightie ones, and cruell minded eeke,
That him not onely sought by open might
To over throw, but to supplant by slight:

The first of them by name was cald Despetto,
Exceeding all the rest in powre and hight;
The second not so strong but wise, Decetto;

The third, not strong nor wise, but spightfullest Defetto.

Oftimes their sundry powres they did employ,

And several deceipts, but all in vaine;

For neither they by force could him destroy,

Ne yet entrap in treasons subtill traine.

Therefore, conspiring all together plaine,

They did their counsels now in one compound :
Where singled forces faile, conjoyned may gaine.
The Blatant Beast the fittest meanes they found

To worke his utter shame, and throughly him confound.
VI. v. 12-14.

Essex was always complaining of his "enemies," and they were ultimately the pretext of his plot to surprise the Court. The principal among them in his view, and probably in fact, were Robert Cecil and Ralegh. Under "Despetto " (Disdain) the proud and unscrupulous Ralegh may well be referred to, and under "Decetto" (Deceit) the allusion is probably to the wise, and, in the way of those times, crafty politician Cecil. In "Defetto" (Debt) the financial embarassments in which Essex was entangled from his boyhood would be intended.

The "hardy boy" fights with the Blatant Beast and forces him to fly

Yet ere he fled he with his tooth impure

Him heedlesse bit, the whiles he was thereof secure.

16.

Thus wounded he is sprung on out of an ambush by his three foes:

But most of all Defetto him annoyde,

Creeping behinde him still to have destroyde;

So did Decetto eke him circumvent;

But stout Despetto in his greater pryde

Did front him, face to face against him bent:

Yet he them all withstood, and often made relent.

20.

Prince Arthur comes to his rescue and recognizes him :