The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia
government been such as hath been no less beautiful to men’s judgments
than her beauty to the eyesight. For being brought by right of birth,
a woman, a young woman, a fair woman, to govern a people in nature
mutinously proud, and always before so used to hard governors, that
they knew not how to obey without the sword were drawn, could she for
some years so carry herself among them, that they found cause in the
delicacy of her sex, of admiration, not of contempt: and which was not
able, even in the time that many countries about her were full of
wars, which for old grudges to Corinth were thought still would
conclude there, yet so handled she the matter, that the threatened
ever smarted in the threateners; she using so strange, and yet so well
succeeding a temper that she made her people by peace warlike; her
courtiers by sports, learned; her ladies by love, chaste. For by
continual martial exercises without blood, she made them perfect in
that bloody art. Her sports were such as carried riches of knowledge
upon the stream of delight: and such the behaviour both of herself and
her ladies, as builded their chastity not upon waywardness, but choice
of worthiness: so as it seemed that court to have been the
marriage-place of love and virtue, and that herself was a Diana
apparelled in the garments of Venus. And this which fame only
delivered unto me, for yet I have never seen her, I am the willinger
to speak of to you, who, I know, know her better, being your near
neighbour, because you may see by her example, in herself wise, and of
others beloved, that neither folly is the cause of vehement love, nor
reproach the effect. For never, I think, was there any woman that with
more unremovable determination gave herself to the counsel of love,
after she had once set before her mind the worthiness of your cousin
Amphialus, and yet is neither her wisdom doubted of, nor honour
blemished. For, O God, what doth better become wisdom, than to discern
what is worthy the loving? what more agreeable to goodness, than to
love it so {233} discerned? and what to greatness of heart, than to be
constant in it once loved? but at that time that love of hers was not
so publicly known as the death of Philoxenus, and her search of
Amphialus hath made it: but then seemed to have such leisure to send
thither divers choice knights of her court, because they might bring
her, at least the knowledge, perchance the honour of that triumph.
Wherein so they behaved themselves, that for three days they carried
the prize; which being come from so far a place to disgrace her
servants, Palladius, who himself had never used arms, persuaded the
queen Andromana to be content for the honour sake of her court, to
suffer us two to have our horse and armour, that he with us might
undertake the recovery of their lost honour; which she granted, taking
our oath to go no further than her son, nor ever to abandon him. Which
she did not more for saving him, than keeping us: and yet not
satisfied with our oath, appointed a band of horsemen to have an eye
that we should not go beyond appointed limits. We were willing to
gratify the young prince, who, we saw, loved us. And so the fourth day
of that exercise we came into the field: where, I remember, the manner
was, that the forenoon they should run a tilt, one after the other;
the afternoon in a broad field in manner of a battle, till either the
strangers, or that country knights won the field.
“The first that ran was a brave knight, whose device was to come in
all chained, with a nymph leading him. Against him came forth an
Iberian, whose manner of entering was with bagpipes instead of
trumpets; a shepherd’s boy before him for a page, and by him a dozen
apparelled like shepherds for the fashion, though rich in stuff, who
carried his lances, which though strong to give a lancely blow indeed,
yet so were they coloured with hooks near the mourn, that they
prettily represented sheephooks. His own furniture was dressed over
with wool, so enriched with jewels artificially placed, that one would
have thought it a marriage between the lowest and the highest. His
impresa was a sheep marked with pitch, with those words, ‘Spotted to
be known.’ And because I may tell you out his conceit, though that
were not done, till the running of that time was ended, before the
ladies’ departure from the windows, among whom there was one, they
say, that was the Star whereby his course was only directed, the
shepherds attending upon Philisides went among them, and sang an
eclogue; one of them answering another, while the other shepherds
pulling out recorders, which possessed the place of pipes, accorded
their music to the others’ voice. The eclogue had great praise: I only
remember six verses, while having questioned one with the other of
their fellow-shepherd’s sudden growing a man of arms, and the cause of
his doing, they thus said:
{234}
Me thought some staves he miss’d: if so, not much amiss;
For where he most would hit, he ever yet did miss.
One said he broke a cross; full well it so might be:
For never was there man more crossly crossed than he.
But most cried, ‘O well broke’; O fool full gaily blest:
Where failing is a shame, and breaking is his best.
“Thus I have digressed, because his manner liked me well, but when he
began to run against Lelius, it had near grown, though great love had
ever been betwixt them, to a quarrel. For Philisides breaking his
staves with great commendation, Lelius, who was known to be second to
none in the perfection of that art, ran ever over his head, but so
finely to the skilful eyes, that one might well see he showed more
knowledge in missing, than others did in hitting. For if so gallant a
grace his staff came swimming close over the crest of the helmet, as
if he would represent the kiss, and not the stroke of Mars. But
Philisides was much moved with it, while he thought Lelius would show
a contempt of his youth: till Lelius, who therefore would satisfy him,
because he was his friend, made him know that to such bondage he was
for so many courses tied by her, whose disgraces to him were graced by
her excellency, and whose injuries he could never otherwise return,
than honours.
“But so by Lelius’s willing missing was the odds of the Iberian side,
and continued so in the next by the excellent running of a knight,
though fostered so by the Muses, as many times the very rustic people
left both their delights and profits to hearken to his songs, yet
could he so well perform all armed sports, as if he had never had any
other pen than a lance in his hand. He came in like a wild man, but
such a wildness as showed his eyesight had tamed him, full of withered
leaves, which though they fell not, still threatened falling. His
impresa was a mill-horse still bound to go in one circle; with those
words, ‘Data fata secutus.’ But after him the Corinthian knights
absolutely prevailed, especially a great nobleman of Corinth, whose
device was to come without any device, all in white like a new knight,
as indeed he was, but so new, as his newness shamed most of the
others’ long exercise. Then another, from whose tent I remember a bird
was made fly, with such art to carry a written embassage among the
ladies, that one might say, if a live bird, how so taught? if a dead
bird, how so made? then he, who hidden, man and horse in a great
figure lively representing the Phoenix, the fire took so artificially
as it consumed the bird, and left him to rise as it were, out of the
ashes thereof. Against whom was the fine frozen knight, frozen in
despair; but his armour so naturally representing ice, and all his
{235} furniture so lively answering thereto, as yet did I never see
anything that pleased me better.
“But the delight at those pleasing sights have carried me too far into
an unnecessary discourse. Let it then suffice, most excellent lady!
that you know, the Corinthians that morning in the exercise, as they
had done the days before, had the better; Palladius neither suffering
us nor himself, to take in hand the party till the afternoon, when we
were to fight in troops, not differing otherwise from earnest, but
that the sharpness of the weapons was taken away. But in the trial,
Palladius, especially led by Musidorus, and somewhat aided by me,
himself truly behaving himself nothing like a beginner, brought the
honour to rest itself that night on the Iberian side, and the next
day, both morning and afternoon being kept by our party. He, that saw
the time fit for the delivery he intended, called unto us to follow
him, which we both bound by oath, and willing by goodwill, obeyed, and
so the guard not daring to interrupt us, he commanding passage, we
went after him upon the spur, to a little house in a forest near by;
which he thought would be the fittest resting place, till we might go
further from his mother’s fury, whereat he was no less angry and
ashamed, than desirous to obey Zelmane.
“But his mother, as I learned since, understanding by the guard her
son’s conveying us away, forgetting her greatness, and resigning
modesty to more quiet thoughts, flew out from her place, and cried to
be accompanied, for she herself would follow us. But what she did,
being rather with vehemency of passion that conduct of reason, made
her stumble while she ran, and by her own confusion hinder her own
desires. For so impatiently she commanded, as a good while nobody knew
what she commanded, so as we had gotten so far the start, as to be
already past the confines of her kingdom before she overtook us: and
overtake us she did in the kingdom of Bithynia, not regarding shame,
or danger of having entered into another’s dominions, but, having with
her about threescore horsemen, straight commanded to take us alive,
and not to regard her son’s threatening therein, which they attempted
to do, first by speech, and then by force. But neither liking their
eloquence, nor fearing their might, we esteemed few words in a just
defence, able to resist many unjust assaulters. And so Musidorus’s
incredible valour, beating down all lets, made both me, and Palladius,
so good way, that we had little to do to overcome weak wrong.
“And now had we the victory in effect without blood, when Palladius,
heated with the fight, and angry with his mother’s fault, so pursued
our assailers, that one of them, who as I heard since, had before our
coming been a special minion of Andromana’s, and {236} hated us for
having dispossessed him of her heart, taking him to be one of us, with
a traitorous blow slew his young prince, who falling down before our
eyes, whom he especially had delivered; judge, sweetest lady, whether
anger might not be called justice in such a case: once, so it wrought
in us, that many of his subjects’ bodies we left there dead, to wait
on him more faithfully to the other world.
“All this while disdain, strengthened by the fury of a furious love,
made Andromana stay to the last of the combat; and when she saw us
light down to see what help we might do to the helpless Palladius, she
came running madly unto us, then no less threatening, when she had no
more power to hurt. But when she perceived it was her only son that
lay hurt, and that his hurt was so deadly, as that already his life
had lost the use of reasonable, and almost sensible part, then only
did misfortune lay his own ugliness upon her fault, and make her see
what she had done, and to what she was come; especially finding in us
rather detestation than pity, considering the loss of that young
prince, and resolution presently to depart, which still she laboured
to stay. But deprived of all comfort, with eyes full of death, she ran
to her son’s dagger, and before we were aware of it, who else would
have stayed it, struck herself a mortal wound. But then her love,