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When Scudamour those heavy tydings heard
His hart was thrild with point of deadly feare,
Ne in his face, or blood or life appear'd,
But fenfeleffe ftood, like to amazed steare

That yet of mortal stroke the ftound doth beare.

4. 6. 37. A prieft of Ifis after having heard the dream of Britomart.

Like to a weake faint-harted man he fared,
Through great aftonishment of that ftrange fight;
And with long locks upstanding stiffly stared,
Like one adawed with fome dreadfull spright.

5. 7. 20.

Other inftances of this fort might be cited; but these are the most striking.

It is proper to remark, in this place, that Spenfer has given three large defcriptions, much of the fame nature, viz. The Bower of Blifs, 2. 12. The Gardens of Adonis, 3. 5. And the Gardens of the Temple of Venus, 4. 10. All which, though in general the fame, his invention has diverfified with many new circumftances; as it has likewife his Mornings: and perhaps we meet with no poet who has more frequently, or more minutely at the fame time, delineated the Morning than Spenfer. He has introduced two hiftoVOL. II.

I

rical

rical genealogies of future kings and princes of England, 3. 3. and 2. 10. Befides two or three other shorter sketches of english hiftory. He often repeatedly introduces his allegorical figures, which he sometimes describes with very little variation from his first representation; particularly, DISDAIN, Fíar, Envy, and DANGER. In this poem we likewise meet with two hells, 1. 5. 31. and 2. 7. 21.

It may not be foreign to the purpose of this fection, to lay before the reader fome uncommon words and expreffions, of which Spenfer, by his frequent use, feems particularly fond.

B. ii. c. v. f. xxxii.

That round about him diffolute did PLAY

Their wanton follies, and light merriment.

Spenfer often uses the verb PLAY, in this fenfe, with an accusative case.

A multitude of babes about her hong,

PLAYING their sports.

1. 10. 31.

The fry of children young

Their wanton sports, and childish mirth did PLAY.

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There, with thy danghter Pleasure, they do PLAY

Their hurtless sports.

To these we may add,

Did SPORT

Their spotleffe pleasure, and sweet love's content.

4. 10. 26.

We find PLAY used after this manner in Milton.

For nature here

Wanton'd as in her prime, and PLAY'D at will

Her virgin fancies *.

PLAY is not at prefent used arbitrarily with any accufative cafe. But perhaps I have refined in some of these inftances.

B. i. c. ii. f. xliii.

In this misformed house.

* Par. Loft. 5. v. 295.
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Spenfer

1

Spenfer often arbitrarily prefixes MIS to a word, viz. misfeigning, 1. 3. 40. mifdiet, 1. 4. 23. mifaymed, 1. 8. 8. misborne, 1. 5. 42. mifdoubted, 4. 2. 23. mischallenge, 4. 3. 11. mifconceit, and misfare, 4. 6. 2, mifregard, 4. 8. 29. mifthought, 4. 8. 58. mistrained, 5. 11. 54. misfell, 5. 5. 10. mifdoubtfull, 5. 6. 3. mifdight, 5. 7. 37. mifdefert, 6. 1. 12. misgotten, 6, 1. 18. mifcreated, 2. 7. 42. I have been the more prolix in collecting these instances, in order to justify a very happy conjecture of Dr. Jortin*, without which it will be difficult to make sense of a paffage in our author, viz.

Some like to hounds, fome like to apes DISMAYD.

2. II. II.

T

That commentator proposes to read Mismade, i. e. ill-shaped; an alteration which we cannot reject, when we confider the liberties Spenfer took in adding MIS to a word. He probably fent it to the prefs mifmayd, that it might rhyme more exactly, and that Spenfer was very exact in this point, I have before endea voured to prove, with affayd, and arrayd; but the compofitors were better acquainted with dismayd, which they accordingly adopted. Chaucer has many words with MIS prefixed...

Remarks, pag. 69.

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In which a RUSTIE knife long time had fixed flood.

And of DANGER.

1. 9. 36.

3. 12. 11.

A net in th' one hand, and a RUSTIE blade
In th' other was.

The fteeds of Night are thus defcribed.

Their RUSTIE bits did champ.

I. 5. 20.

The word RUSTIE feems to have conveyed the idea of fomewhat very loathsome and horrible to our author. In Virgil's Gnat he applies it to horror.

Nor thofe fame mournfull kingdoms compaffed
With RUSTIE horror.

I will hence take occafion to correct a paffage in Chaucer, in his character of the Reve.

And

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