Book V

While thus th’ insidious Beauty, day by day,
Lured to her love the Nobles, and beside
The promised number, thought to charm away,
At stealth, fresh vassals to her power and pride,
Godfrey revolved to whom he should confide
Her dubious restoration, through the host
Casting his thoughts; nor could at first decide, —
As all th’ Adventurers wish’d the pleasing post,
And each had bravery, rank, or excellence to boast.

But he at last adopts the wise resolve,
To urge them first a Leader to elect
In Dudon’s room, and after to devolve
On him the charge to single or reject
Those who aspire the Damsel to protect;
Thus, none, aggrieved, his partial choice could blame;
While he himself would show supreme respect —
A tribute their achievements justly claim —
To that illustrious band, the glorified of fame.

To him he call’d them then, and thus address’d:
“Knights! you have heard our sentiments, which were
Not to refuse the Syrian maid’s request,
But our intended succors to defer
To a maturer season; I recur
To the same charge, — your judgment yet is free
To follow my proposal; in the stir
Of this unstable world, how oft we see,
That ’tis true wisdom’s part to change her own decreet.

“But yet, if still you deem it base to shun
The risk, if still your gen’rous hearts disdain
My wary counsels as the fears of one
Too coldly scrupulous, — your own retain;
Go! ne’er shall it be said that I constrain
Reluctant minds, revoke a gift once given,
Or bind your wishes with a forceful chain;
No! gentle be my rule, and gracious, even
As the mild starlight dews and influences of heaven.

“Proceed or stay then at your own free will;
To your discretion I the choice confide;
But first by suffrage fix on one to fill
Slain Dudon’s post, your arm’d array to guide;
He on your high pretensions shall decide,
But choose not more than ten: to me you gave
Powers paramount, to royalty allied;
This my prerogative I cannot waive;
No! for a powerless Chief is but a glorious slave.”

Thus Godfrey spake; and to his word of grace
By joint consent young Eustace made reply:
“As that deliberate judgment is thy praise
Which looks afar into futurity,
So strength of heart and hand, a courage high,
Prompt the first risks of enterprise to face,
Are ask’d of us, the Lights of Chivalry;
And that ripe tardiness, which in the case
Of some would prudent be, in us would prove most base.

“Then, since the hazard is so far outweigh’d
By the advantage, let them straight proceed,
The chosen ten, in wrong’d Armida’s aid,
And boldly dare the meritorious deed.”
With this adorn’d pretence he strives to lead
Opinion blinded to his fervent flame,
By show of knightly zeal; the others read
His secret passion and dissembled aim,
Favor the fond deceit, and counterfeit the same.

But am’rous Eustace, whensoe’er he eyed
Rinaldo’s excellences, as mental grace
More winningly attracts when beautified
By a brave figure and a handsome face,
Wish’d him away; and shrewdness, keeping pace
With anxious jealousy’s increasing smart,
Urged him at length his rival to displace,
By deep address; whence, drawing him apart,
He thus his proem tuned with all the flatterer’s art.

“O, of great father greater son! O thou,
The young Achilles of this glorious land!
What Chevalier shall lead to conquest now.
The gallant warriors of our matchless band?
I, who to noble Dudon’s mild command
Could scarcely stoop, who only bent the knee
In rev’rence of his silver locks, who stand
So near our Chief in kindred and degree,
To whom should I submit? to none, if not to thee.

“Thee! who art equal to the best in birth,
Whose splendid merits cast a shade on mine;
Not e’en would Godfrey scorn to own his worth
In the stern proof of battle, less than thine!
Thee for our Chief I claim then, if to shine
The bold assertor of this lady’s right
Be not thy wish; and ne’er canst thou design
To challenge praise achieved by secret sleight,
Or round thy brows to bind the laurels reap’d by night.

“Here may’st thou feats accomplish, that will hand
Thy name, embalm’d by some celestial Muse,
To long posterity; the chief command
Will I procure (away with vain excuse!)
From the assenting Knights, who cannot choose
But sanction what my praise shall recommend,
If, when elected, thou wilt not refuse
The favor to thine undecided friend,
At will to war with thee, or with Armida wend.’

He spake not this without a blush that sped
Its deep confusion to the guilty eyes;
His glowing secret well Rinaldo read,
And archly smiled at the ill-dress’d disguise:
But he was studious of a loftier prize,
And if a chance-shaft from Armida’s bow
Grazed him, its challenge he could half despise;
He neither in a rival fear’d a foe,
Nor cared for love the chase of glory to forego.

But deeply sculptured in his thoughts sublime
Memory of Dudon’s bitter death he kept,
And deem’d it a disparagement and crime
That yet Argantes lived, and vengeance slept;
Then to hear Eustace urge him to accept
The proffer’d honor, made his heart rejoice;
And while into his ear the music crept
Of praise, his spirit echo’d the sweet voice,
Whisp’ring, His early worth deserved the flatt’ring choice.

Whence frankly he replied: “The first degree
I wish to merit rather than acquire,
And if by worth sublimed, the dignity
Of rule I need not envy, nor desire;
But since to this invited to aspire,
Since worthy of the noble trust I seem,
I’ll not decline th’ acceptance you require;
And of this perfect proof of pure esteem,
Dear to a warrior’s pride, most gratefully I deem.

“Amidst the elected champions, thou, besure,
Shalt rank, if I obtain the vacant post:”
Eustace, this heard, departed to secure,
Apt to his wish, the homage of the host:
But prince Gernando to himself proposed
The prize; for though Armida had not fail’d
T’ engage his thoughts, an innate pride opposed
Her power, and lady-love with him prevail’d
Less than the lust of rule, which most his heart assail’d.

He from the blood of royal Norway springs,
To whom unnumber’d thanes in homage crowd;
A long succession of ancestral kings,
Of coronets and sceptres, made him proud:
To grander Gods Rinaldo’s spirit bow’d, —
Of his own actions haughtier than the bright
Blue scutcheon of his fathers, — self-endow’d;
Yet full five hundred years, as heralds write,
Had these stood famed in peace, and unsubdued in fight.

But the barbaric Peer, who all things weigh’d
By gold, and rank, and amplitude of state,
Whose fancy cast all excellence in shade
That crowns and stars did not illuminate,
Could not endure that any should debate —
Much less Rinaldo — the command with him;
To such excess did anger, scorn, and hate
Transport him, reason’s guiding light grew dim,
And Passion’s mustering storm distended ev’ry limb.

So that of Hell’s foul sprites the most malign,
Who saw unwatch’d the op’ning avenue,
Crept to his heart with still coils serpentine,
And at the helm of thought reclining, blew
To flame the sparks of hatred, till they grew
Hot for revenge; yet still he piqued, still stung
His angry soul to agony anew;
The while, as warbled by a siren’s tongue,
Clear through his haughty heart this flattering prelude rung.

“What! were his antique chiefs lords paramount
Of earth, that thus with thee Rinaldo vies?
Since he will mate with thee, let him recount
His govern’d millions and subdued allies;
Let him bring forth his crowns, and equalize
His sceptred ghosts with thy live kings; can one,
The owner of a few poor seignories,
Born beneath Italy’s inglorious sun,
Dare to aspire so high? — what phrensy goads him on?

“But, win or lose, he reap’d a victor’s bays
When first he thought thy title to transcend;
The world will say, (to him the highest praise,)
‘Lo, with Gemali do this man dared contend!’
The station fill’d by thy departed friend
Glory and splendor round thy path may shower,
But not less honor thou to that wilt lend, —
The prize lost half its value from the hour
When he desired it too, and sought to mate thy power.

“And if the soul, when left this breathing frame.
To our affairs its conscious thoughts apply,
Think with how brave a wrath th’ ambitious aim
Fires good old Dudon in the radiant sky,
When on this forward Page he casts his eye,
And sees his pride so far the dues subvert
Of rev’rend age, as with himself to vie;
And, while but yet a child and unexpert,
Stand for a public post of such sublime desert.

“Yea, this he hopes, this he attempts, and bears
Honor and praise, not chastisement abroad;
And some there are who second what he dares,
(O common shame!) and what he dares, applaud:
But if Duke Godfrey, seeing him defraud
Thee of thy dues, should countenance the plan,
Endure it not; but openly, unawed
By power or threats, confront the mighty man,
And show both who thou art, and what thy valor can!”

At the shrill music of these words, disdain
Glow’d like a torch when shaken in the wind;
It fired his heart, swell’d in each pregnant vein,
Flash’d in his eye, and in his tongue repined;
Whatever fancied foible he could find
In young Rinaldo, he exposed to shame;
He paints him vain and arrogant of mind,
And styles his valor rashness; each fond aim
Of his ingenuous mind industrious to defame.

All that in him was glorious, graceful, pure,
Gen’rous, or great, or beautiful, or wise,
While his invidious arts the truth obscure,
He boldly censures as the height of vice:
This vital scorn, these wide-wing’d calumnies
His rival gathers in the public breath;
Yet still with no less rancor he decries
The noble Child, nor less he scorns to sheath
In silence the keen tongue that tempts him to his death.

For the vile fiend whose motions ruled his tongue
In lieu of judgment, influenced him to frame,
Horn- after hour, fresh outrages and wrong,
Still adding fuel to the bosom’d flame; —
Wide space was there in camp, where daily came
A band of gallant youths with spear and shield;
Where in gay tournay and gymnastic game
They perfected their skill, their courage steel’d,
And nerved their strenuous limbs to bide a ruder field.

There, at an hour when thickest was the crowd,
Urged by the whisp’rings of the inward snake,
His tongue its customary scorn avow’d,
Infused with venom of th’ Avernian lake;
The knight, in hearing of the words he spake,
To irrepressible resentment stirr’d,
Fix’d the long dues of vengeance now to take,
Shouted, “Thou liest!” and sudden as the word,
Cross’d the traducer’s path, and drew his poignant sword.

His voice the thunder seem’d, his sword the flash
Which of its coming warns the world; too late
Repenting fears the criminal abash, —
He saw no refuge from impending fate;
Yet in this last, irreparable strait,
As all the Camp were witnesses, he made
Proud show of courage, with a look elate
Awaited the stern foe, his distance weigh’d,
And in the guarding act unsheath’d the battle-blade.

Instant a thousand lifted swords were seen
All sparkling to one centre, and a swarm
Of warriors from all sides rush’d to the scene
Of strife, to stay each warrior’s angry arm:
All was vague clamor and confused alarm;
And such a sudden whirl of voices tore
The startled air, as in the gath’ring storm,
Among the pendent cliffs of the wild shore,
Sound the shrill murm’ring winds to the loud sea-wave’s roar.

But not the prayers of thousands can allay
Th’ offended hero’s agony of ire;
The shout, the press, the concourse of the way,
He scorns, and dares to vengeance still aspire;
Through men and arms in many a giddy gyre
His fulminating sword darts, and demands
A vacant space; the daunted crowd retire, —
And to the shame of all his guardian bands,
Free to his fierce affronts, Gernando singly stands.

His hand, unmaster’d by his rage, at will
A thousand stabs delivers, and divides
With the head, heart, and bosom, as his skill
Instructs, or the unguarded part provides;
Impetuous, rapid as the foam that rides
The whirlpool, his all-present steel appears,
The eye bewilders, and its art derides;
Where least expected, there it most careers;
There most it strikes and wounds, where least his rival fears.

Nor did it cease, until its point had found
Twice the pure lifeblood of his bosom gored;
The hapless Prince sank grov’ling on his wound,
His vital spirits from the fount were pour’d,
And through the twofold pass his spirit soar’d:
The knight stay’d not; his steel, incarnadined
As it had been, he to the sheath restored;
Then stalk’d away, and with the scene resign’d
His own inflamed desires and ruthlessness of mind.

To the loud uproar Godfrey drawn meanwhile,
Saw dismal cause of unexpected pain, —
Gernando, his loose locks and mantle vile
Reeking with blood, with visage where, too plain,
Death spread the pallid banners of his reign;
And there were tears on many a soldier’s lid,
Outcries, and shrieks, and wailings for the slain:
Amazed he asks, there where ’twas most forbidden.
Whose so audacious hand the deed of horror did.

Arnaldo, dearest to the Prince bewail’d,
In terms that sought the guilt to aggravate,
Tells how Rinaldo had his friend assail’d
In the blind fury of intemp’rate hate,
Built on a slight and frivolous debate;
Thus, the sword vow’d to Christ’s blest service, he
Had turn’d against Christ’s hallow’d delegate;
Scorning not less his rule, than the decree
Long since promulged, whereof he ignorant could not be.

And that the law had thus already sign’d
The warrant of his death; — ’twas clear, the case;
First, as the fact was of a heinous kind,
Next, as committed in a sacred place:
For such a crime were he to meet with grace,
Fresh criminals would rise, both bold and strong,
In his escape to beard you to your face,
And execute revenge for ev’ry wrong,
Which to the Judge alone for judgment should belong.

Thus discord, thus dispute, thus civil ire
Would raven all, as with a tiger’s tooth;
All that disdain and pity could inspire,
He pleads in merit of the murder’d youth:
But Tancred with the jealousy of truth
His tale impugns, and paints in colors clear
The actual cause of strife; to which in sooth
The just Judge listens, but his brow severe
Seems less t’ encourage hope than countenance his fear.

“My Lord,” he adds, “in wisdom weigh both who
And what Rinaldo is — his deeds recount;
Judge what regard to his deserts is due;
From princely sire to sire illustrious mount, —
Trace his long flow of glory to the fount, —
Think on his uncle Guelpho’s high estate;
All equal crimes are not of like account,
Nor should the selfsame punishment await
Vassal and highborn lord, the lowly and the great.”

Godfrey replied, “’Tis for the great to give
Proof of obedience to the lowly; ill
Are these thy counsels, Tancred, which would leave
The Mighty to their own unbridled will.
Think what our empire were, did we fulfil
Its functions only to the vile and base, —
A powerless sceptre, or, more shameful still,
An execrated rod, derided mace!
If with such laws ’twas given, I spurn your gift of grace.

“But frank and awful was it given, unsought,
Nor shall its virtue be abridged by me;
And well I know both where and when I ought
To punish and reward, and now to be
The prompt reverser of my own decree,
Yet still between the lowly and the high
Hold even Law’s just balance.” Thus spoke he;
Nor aught could Tancred venture to reply,
Awed by his righteous words and his majestic eye.

Stern pupil of austere Antiquity,
Raymond commended his discourse, and said;
“These are the arts by which true sov’reignty
Becomes revered, — for discipline is dead,
Or at the least defective, where instead
Of pain, Guilt looks for pardon; to be mild,
Power should be based in fear; when rulers spread
Too wide their mercy, Liberty runs wild,
And States decay.” He ceased, and like a Spartan smiled.

Tancred of his advice took silent heed;
Longer he linger’d not, but leap’d astride
His manageable horse, whose hoofs for speed
Seem’d fledged with wings, and to Rinaldo hied;
He, soon as he had quell’d the boist’rous pride
Of fierce Gernando, to his private tent
Retired, the issues calmly to abide;
Here Tancred found him, and with discontent
Detail’d in every point the late sharp argument.

“And though,” he adds, “I deem the visnomy
But a fallacious index of the heart,
Since oft the thoughts of mortals secret lie,
In depths that mock th’ observer’s nicest art;
Yet, from what Godfrey’s face betray’d in part
To my perusing eye, with what his mind
Clearly avow’d, I fear not to assert,
That as a common culprit he would bind
With gyves thy warrior limbs, to Law’s strict power resign’d.”

Rinaldo smiled; but breaking through his smile
A flash of high defiance might you see:
“Let him defend his cause in fetters vile
Who vassal is, or vassal deigns to be!
Free was I born; free have I lived; and free
Will I expire, ere one base fetter weighs
My hands down in its cank’ring tyranny, —
They have been used to no such slave-essays,
But to consult the sword, and reap victorious bays.

“If Godfrey thus reward our worth, if thus
As a base slave he would incarcerate,
And fix his foul plebeian bonds on us,
Here let him come in all his pomp of state;
I place my proud foot on the ground, and wait
His unfear’d presence and his scorn’d decree;
Sharp arms shall be our only jurors, Fate
Sole arbitress, and foemen flock to see
The sportful Drama play’d, — a deep, deep tragedy!”

He shouted for his armor, robed his form
In helm and brigandine of steel, applied
The shield enormous to his active arm,
And hung the dancing falchion at his side:
Magnificent, august, and fiery-eyed,
He sparkled in his arms like flashing levin,
And look’d the God of Battle when in pride
Descending from the fifth red sphere of heaven,
In rattling iron girt, by Fright and Fury driven.

Tancred this while used every art to sooth
His wounded pride and his intemp’rate rage;
“I know,” said he, “that thou, unconquer’d youth,
Wouldst in the hardiest enterprise engage;
That ever amid arms and on the edge
Of doom, thy valor is secure from harm;
But Heaven forbid that e’er on such a stage
Thou shouldst let loose the gladiator’s arm,
To work our army wo, and break the magic charm.

“Say, what is thine intent? wilt thou imbrue
Thy hands in kindred blood? with frantic aim
Wounding thy friends, transpiercing Christ anew,
Whose members they, and part of whom I am?
Shall the vain lust of transitory fame,
That like a summer sea-wave swells and dies
As the wind lists, enforce a stronger claim
Than that which faithborn piety supplies,
Of bliss all bliss beyond, eternal in the skies?

“No! be the victor of thyself, and still
This raging gust, this whirlwind of the mind;
Yield! from no fear, but from a virtuous will;
With worthier palms compliancy will bind
Thy brows, than ever were to pride assign’d:
And if mine unripe years, though young and few.
May yield th’ example, I by acts unkind
Was also once provoked, yet never drew
My sword in civil strife, but did my wrath subdue.

“I took Cilicia, and on Tarsus’ towers
Planted the Cross before all people’s eyes,
But Baldwin came, and with his peaceful Powers
Admitted, basely robb’d me of my prize;
Such friendship he profess’d, so fair a guise
Mask’d his ambitious purpose from my sight,
That ere I was aware, his avarice
Had sprung the mine: yet would not I by fight
The spoils regain, although e’en yet perhaps I might.

“But if indeed those ignominious bands
As a base weight thy spirit would refuse,
Following the nice opinions and demands,
The subtile laws which men of honor use,
Leave it to me thy anger to excuse;
To Antioch fly, — with Bohemond, thy friend,
Seek an asylum secret and recluse;
To wrath’s first gust I deem it best to bend;
A cause by Power prejudged ’twere fruitless to defend.

“But rest assured, if vigorously assail’d,
If round us Egypt or the Arabs swarm,
Deeply indeed thy flight will be bewail’d;
While, at a distance from the vast alarm,
Thy valor will acquire a tenfold charm;
Without thy sword, the nerveless camp must prove
A trunk deprived of its protecting arm:”
Here Guelph arrives, his lips the speech approve,
Urging him straight from Camp discreetly to remove.

To their grave counsels the disdainful heart
Of the bold youth at length inclining, bends,
And he no longer scruples to depart
In willing exile: of his faithful friends
Meanwhile a num’rous crowd his course attends;
To share his flight and fortunes each aspires,
And earnestly solicits; he commends
Their zeal with thanks, but takes alone two squires;
Vaults on his sprightly steed, and from the Camp retires.

He rides — the thirst of pure and endless glory
Inflames his spirit to the inmost core;
Exploits he plans shall shame the vaunts of story,
Ten thousand glorious deeds undream’d before, —
To rush, in favor of the Cross he bore,
Midst hostile millions, gath’ring in his course
Cypress or noble palms, scour Egypt o’er
As on the Samiel’s wing, and passage force
E’en to the awful depths of Nile’s mysterious source!

But Guelpho, when the fervent boy at last,
Press’d to depart, had bade his last adieu,
No longer there delay’d, but forward pass’d
Where likeliest Godfrey might arrest his view; —
Who seeing him, exclaim’d, “Hail, Guelph! for you
I have long sought, and but this moment sent
Some of my fleetfoot heralds to pursue
The search throughout the camp, from tent to tent,
Well does thy coming now their diligence prevent!”

He bade all else withdraw, and in a tone
Of graver utt’rance his discourse renew’d;
“Deeply, my lord! do I regret to own
The lengths to which thy nephew has pursued
The rage admitted in his hasty mood;
He ill, methinks, can justify the brawl,
Much less the frightful issue of the feud;
Glad shall I be, if so it should befall,
But Godfrey still must act impartially to all.

“The sacred claims of lawful and of just
Defend I will, on all and each occasion,
Preserving ever, in my sovereign trust,
A heart unsway’d by prejudice or passion.
Now if, as some say in extenuation,
Rinaldo was compell’d his wrongs to quit,
’Gainst the known edict, and in violation
Of martial rule, why let him, as is fit,
Cerne, and his proofs at once to our award submit.

“And let him come unmortified by chains,
The grace I can, I to his worth allow;
If this his high rebellious heart disdains,
(And well his fiery temperament I know
To be rebellious,) be it thine to show
His pride the path of duty, ere he draws
A man by nature merciful, and slow
To cherish wrath, but stern should he give cause,
T’ avenge his power defied and violated laws.”

He ceased, and Guelph made answer: “Where’s the soul
Free from all infamy, that if it heard
The voice of insult, haughty, false, and foul,
Would not with scorn resent th’ injurious word!
And if the sland’rer fall beneath the sword,
Who can place bounds to a just wrath? who suit
Exact acquittance to the guilt incurr’d,
Or weigh revenge out in a scale minute,
While in full fury glows th’ unscrupulous dispute?

“But that the youth, as you require, should yield
To your just judgment, which he ought, of right,
Cannot, it grieves me, be; since far from field
He has withdrawn in no imprudent flight;
But here I offer with my sword to write
Liar on his false forehead who again
Impugns his act, — on whatsoever knight
Wounds his good name; and fearlessly maintain,
The Prince was justly served for His unjust disdain.

“With reason, I aver, he shore the crest
Of arrogant Gernando; if in aught
He err’d, ’twas this, that thy supreme behest
He for an instant in his wrath forgot;
This I lament, and this extenuate not:”
“’Tis well,” the other answer’d, “let him wend,
And brawl elsewhere; nor foster in thy thought
The seeds of fresh dispute, but here, my friend,
Let all dissensions cease, and discord have an end!”

Thus they; meanwhile the smiling Traitress never
Ceased importuning for the promised aid;
Throughout the livelong day each strong endeavor
Of genius, art, and beauty she essay’d;
But when pale Eve, in twilight stole array’d,
Far in the west the dying Day inurn’d,
Betwixt two knights and matron dames conveyed,
Back to her rich pavilion she return’d,
Till o’er blue orient hills resurgent morning burn’d.

But though Persuasion seem’d her spell-bound slave,
Spite of her bland words, her refined address,
And beauty such as nature never gave,
Before or since, dear woman to possess;
Though in the trammels of her golden tresse
A deep o’ermastering transport had enchain’d
The noblest heroes, not with all her stress
Of artifice, could Godfrey’s heart be gain’d;
Unmoved, her charming smiles and flatteries he sustain’d.

In vain she studied to inflame his eye
With sweet temptations to a life of love,
For as the gorged falcon scorns to fly
When the pleased hawker points the passing dove, —
So he, his wishes fix’d on joys above,
Sick of the world, with mortal pleasures cloy’d,
Despised the lure; her beauty fail’d to move,
And all th’ enchanting dalliance she employ’d,
Tutor’d by faithless love, his virtue render’d void.

No obstacle can turn his pious steps
From Duty’s circumscribing walk; she tries
A thousand arts, in thousand changeful shapes
Appears before him, and with Proteus vies
In every form of magical disguise;
She has fond looks, lithe motions, bland alarms,
T’ attract his gaze, and melt away the ice
From his cold heart, but heavenly grace disarms
Of power her visor’d trains, and shames her blandish’d charms.

She, who had thought one blink of her bright eyes
Would kindle passion in the purest mind,
How was she mortified! with what surprise,
Yea, with what scorn and anger she repined;
Frowning, her purpose she at length resign’d,
And muster’d for an enterprise more fair
Her charming force; so chieftains, when they find
Impregnable the tower they gird, forbear
To press th’ unprosp’rous siege, and turn their arms elsewhere.

Nor less was Tancred proof to the control
Of her seducing beauty; he could share
With no new face th’ affections of his soul;
Clorinda only held dominion there:
For, as used poisons oft to poisons bear
Strong countercharms, e’en so ’twixt dame and dame,
Love neutralizes love; Armida’s snare
These shunn’d, — all others idolized her name,
And sported more or less around th’ enchanting flame.

She, though she mourn’d that her designs should prove
But half successful, somewhat was consoled,
When she review’d the multitudes, which Love
Beneath her conqu’ring colors had enroll’d;
And thus, ere chance to any should unfold
Her schemes, or ere her false mask should slip by,
Resolved to lead them to a stronger hold,
And forge them fetters of a stricter tie,
Than those same flow’ry bands in which e’en yet they lie.

When therefore the declining day was flown,
By Godfrey fix’d to grant the promised aid,
Before him she appear’d, and bending down
In humble rev’rence at his footstool, said:
“The period, gracious Sire, prefix’d is fled;
And if the barb’rous tyrant from his spies
Shall learn that I for succors here have fled,
He will prepare his powers against surprise,
And much more dang’rous then will be the bold emprise.

“Ere then his couriers or discursive fame
Th’ important tidings to his ear betray,
Let thy Compassion mine avengers name,
And send us forth, preventing all delay:
When, if the eye of Heaven with grace survey
Th’ affairs of mortals, if the innocent’s plea
Be in its sacred serine recorded, they
Will throne me in my realm, which thus shall be
Ever, in peace and war, subsidiary to thee.”

She said; the Chief, unable to recede
From his engagement, bow’d to her request;
And as she seem’d so urgent to proceed,
Saw well th’ election with himself must rest:
But of her vow’d idolaters all press’d
To be admitted of the guardian band;
While Jealousy, infix’d in every breast,
Kept dragon watch his rivals to withstand,
And deepen’d with his cry th’ importunate demand.

She, who the sparkling secret clearly read,
Made it at once subserve her ill intent,
Using the spur of envy and of dread,
Their ling’ring course to quicken and torment -,
For well she knew without some impulse lent
To stir the long dejection of the mind,
The flow of love in stagnancy is spent;
Slow runs the steed that can outstrip the wind,
If one speeds not before, or follows fast behind.

The glance that flatter’d and the smile that woo’d,
She shared with words so seemingly sincere,
That each grew envious of the other’s good,
And hope stood trembling on the brink of fear;
Her lovers, sanction’d by her gracious cheer,
And the false charter of her loving look,
Rush’d headlong on in folly’s wild career,
By principle uncurb’d, of shame forsook,
Reckless of Godfrey’s frown, keen scorn, or sharp rebuke.

He, who made Justice his supreme delight,
Partial to none, to gladden all aspired;
And though the follies of each am’rous knight
With anger and deep shame his bosom fired;
Yet, seeing that which blindly they desired
Determinedly persisted in, he tried
Another mode to grant the boon desired:
“Each separate warrior write his name,” he cried;
“A vase shall hold the lots, and chance the cause decide.”

Their names the Chiefs with acclamations write,
Collect, and shake within an urn of gold;
At hazard drawn, the first that leaps to light,
Is Pembroke’s Earl, Artemidore the bold:
The next whose title the blind Fates unfold,
On its white leaf the name of Gerard bears;
A third the fears of Vincilas consoled,
Who, late so grave and wise in all affairs,
Now plays the lovesick youth, and shames his hoary hairs.

Oh what delight these three first chosen show
At their extreme good fortune! their fond eyes
With tears that from the full heart overflow,
Grow big, and sparkle o’er the happy prize;
The rest, whose doom still undetermined lies
In the dark urn, show signs of secret hate,
Sore jealousy, and panting, pale surmise;
Mute on the herald’s lips they hang, and wait,
Breathless, the brief decree that seals their future fate.

To Guasco fourth, succeeds Ridolpho’s name;
The sixth the fates to Olderic accord;
With Count Roussillon next, two peers of fame,
Henry the Frank, Bavarian Everard,
And, last, Rambaldo closed the blind award;
Rambaldo, who for love of that false maid,
(Has Love indeed such power?) renounced his Lord,
A traitor knight, a perjured renegade, —
The rest, shut out from hope, their fortune loud upbraid.

Inflamed with envy, jealousy, and rage,
They call her partial, wicked, and unkind;
They e’en accuse thee, Love, that thou shouldst gage
Thy judgment to an arbitress so blind:
But, as instinctively the human mind
More ardently desires what Heaven denies,
Many, in spite of fortune, have design’d
To follow yet their Lady in disguise,
Soon as night’s falling shades obscure the lucid skies.

Follow they will, in sunshine and in shade,
And venture life in battling for her right:
She her last thanks to all saluting paid,
With broken hints and sighings, that incite
The Chiefs yet more to their intended flight;
With this, with that she grieved, or seem’d to grieve,
That she must part without the dear delight
Of his desired society; — ’tis eve;
Th’ elected Champions arm, and throng to take their leave.

Each after each the Chief advised apart
That Pagan faith was but a hollow reed,
As light and insecure; and with what art
They should from snares and adverse ills recede:
His words are utter’d to the winds, — none heed
His wise advice, for when did Wisdom sway
The ear of Love? permitted to proceed,
At length they part; Armida leads the way,
All too impatient she to wait the dawn of day.

Conqueress she parts, and in a sumptuous train,
Triumphal, leads along her rival foes;
While still behind a countless throng remain,
Lovelorn, abandon’d to a thousand woes.
But when the Night on silent wings arose,
By Peace consorted in her gentle mood,
And Dreams, the erring pupils of Repose, —
With Love’s divine intelligence endued,
Their Lady’s printless path they secretly pursued.

First Eustace follow’d: scarcely could he wait
The ling’ring hours of ebbing eve, — he hied
Swiftly away, with heart and hope elate,
Through the blind darkness, led by his blind guide;
All the moist night serene he wander’d wide;
But when the sky’s proud Sultan had possess’d
The ruby gates of Morning, he descried
With all her guards the Lady of his quest,
In a small village near, her last night’s bower of rest.

Him by his arms at once Rambaldo knew,
As on fleet foot he moved to join the maid,
And cried aloud: “What seek’st thou? with what view
Com’st thou to us, in helm and mail array’d?”
“I come,” said Eustace, “in Armida’s aid;
Nor shall she have, if she my zeal approve,
A trustier friend:” “And who,” Rambaldo said,
“On this high task commission’d thee to move?
Who authorized thy flight?” “Love,” Eustace answer’d, “Love!

“Venus was my Electress, Fortune thine;
Advise which has the most authentic grant!”
To whom Rambaldo: “Off! the claim resign;
False is thy title, and impugn’d thy vaunt;
With us, legitimately call’d to plant
This virgin lily, ne’er shalt thou ally
Thy lawless aid!” Indignant at the taunt,
The youth rejoin’d, “And who will dare deny
My claims at proof of sword?” Rambaldo answered.

“That which I dare avow, I dare maintain
At my sword’s point!” he said, and saying, drew:
Not with less ardor, not with less disdain
Insulted Eustace to the quarrel flew:
But here their Mistress rush’d betwixt the two;
Staying their swords, she sooth’d their angry vein:
To that she utter’d, “What is it you do;
If you a comrade, I a champion gain,
Why should you take offence? of what can I complain?

“Seek you my safety? why would you deprive
My straiten’d cause of so renown’d a knight?”
To Eustace then, “Most welcome! you arrive
In happy hour, protector of my right:
What shade of reason can I have to slight
So grateful an ally, the prince of Franks!
Fortune forbid I should the zeal requite
With rude neglect!” while yet she paid her thanks,
From ev’ry quarter round, fresh champions join’d her ranks.

Unknown to each they came, and frown’d askance
With hatred at their rivals; she received
All with the like smooth smiling countenance,
And whisper’d them what comfort she conceived
From their arrival: now when Light relieved
The dusky watch of morning, Godfrey knew
Of their defection and his loss; he grieved,
Deeply he grieved o’er the prophetic view
Seal’d on His sight, of ills that hence must needs ensue.

While musing thus, a messenger appears,
Swift, dusty, out of breath, a shape of wo;
Like one who news of bitter import bears,
With grief engraven on his gloomy brow:
“Signior,” he said, “th’ Egyptian fleets e’en now
Put out to sea, and crowd all sails in air;
Gray ocean whitens with the moving show:
William the Admiral, beneath whose care
The Genoese navy ranks, this message bids me bear.

“Nay, more; our convoy from the navied seas,
Well victuall’d for the camp, its fate has found;
One night, encamp’d among palmetto trees,
The steeds and burden’d camels grazing round,
A horde of Arabs in the glen profound
Ambush’d, sprang forth, the slumberers to assail
In front or flank; they slew them, or they bound
As slaves of war; nor from the fatal vale
Did one escape, but he who bore th’ afflicting tale.

“Th’ audacity of these marauding hands
Is now grown so licentious, that they spread
Like an o’erwhelming torrent from the sands,
Without control, and to a desert tread
The fruitful fields they traverse; to strike dread
Into their hearts, ’tis fit that thou ordain
A troop of horse their coverts to invade;
And from the sea of Palestine, the plain
That to the army leads, inviolate maintain.

These tidings, magnified from tongue to tongue?
Known in a moment, palsied ev’ry ear;
On ev’ry rumor the light vulgar hung,
In all th’ uncertainty of anxious fear;
For fancied Famine was already near,
And the grim skeleton of Death: the Chief,
Who saw their courage droop, essay’d to cheer
Their dying hopes, and to disperse their grief,
With lively looks and words persuasive of relief.

“Ye, who through thousand perils, long flown o’er,
Have pass’d secure with me, in war and peace!
Champions of God, elected to restore
His frustrate faith! who over hills and seas,
The arms of Persia, the designs of Greece,
Thirst’s burning torment, hunger’s keen distress,
Frost, whirlwind, storm, the billow and the breeze,
Have triumph’d gloriously, O say, for less
Alarms shall daunting fear your spirits now possess?

“In the good care of God, whose Spirit gave
Your mind its impulse, can ye not confide?
Is his arm shorten’d, that it cannot save?
That arm so oft in deeper perils tried!
A time will come, not distantly descried,
When to remember ev’ry past dismay
Will be no less a pleasure than a pride;
Hold then courageous on, and keep, I pray,
Your noble hearts in cheer for that victorious day.”

These words of Godfrey, and his lively air,
Exiled their terror, and revived their pride;
But many a preying thought and anxious care
Deeply secreted, in his breast abide;
How for such various nations to provide
In the prevailing scarceness; how afford
Help to his navy on the ocean wide,
Against th’ Egyptian fleet! and how his sword
May fitly reach and quell the Arabs’ plund’ring horde.