64
THE ORLANDO FURIOSO.
CANTO II.
LXXV.
The severed end she to the count commended,
Then, grasping it, hung down that entrance steep,
With her feet foremost, by her arms suspended:
When asking if she had the skill to leap,
The traitor, with a laugh, his hands extended,
And plunged his helpless prey into the deep.
“And thus,” exclaimed the ruffian, “might I speed
“With thee each sucker of thy cursed seed!”
LXXVI.
But not, as was the will of Pinabel,
Such cruel lot fair Bradamant assayed;
For striking on the bottom of the cell,
The stout elm-bough so long her weight upstayed,
That, though it split and splintered where it fell,
It broke her fall, and saved the gentle maid.
Some while astounded there the lady lay,
As the ensuing canto will display.
