For as he sat upon his rump,105
His head like one in doleful dump,[1]
Between his knees, his hands applied
Unto his ears on either side.
And by him, in another hole,
Afflicted Ralpho, cheek by joul.[2]110
She came upon him in his wooden
Magician's circle, on the sudden,
As spirits do t' a conjurer,
When in their dreadful'st shapes th' appear.
No sooner did the Knight perceive her,115
But straight he fell into a fever,
Inflam'd all over with disgrace,
To b' seen by her in such a place;
Which made him hang his head, and scowl
And wink and goggle like an owl;120
He felt his brains begin to swim,
When thus the Dame accosted him:
This place, quoth she, they say's enchanted,
And with delinquent spirits haunted;
That here are tied in chains, and scourg'd,125
Until their guilty crimes be purg'd:
Look, there are two of them appear
Like persons I have seen somewhere:
Some have mistaken blocks and posts
For spectres, apparitions, ghosts,130
With saucer-eyes and horns; and some
Have heard the devil beat a drum:[3]
But if our eyes are not false glasses,
That give a wrong account of faces,
That beard and I should be acquainted,135
Before 'twas conjur'd and enchanted,
For though it be disfigur'd somewhat,
As if 't had lately been in combat,
- ↑ See above, Part I., Canto II., line 95, and note.
- ↑ That is, cheek to cheek, derived from two Anglo-Saxon words, ceac, and ceole. See jig by jowl in Wright's Glossary.
- ↑ The story of Mr Momposson's house being haunted by a drummer, made a great noise about the time our author wrote. The narrative is told in Glanvil on Witchcraft.
