Page:Hudibras - Volume 1 (Butler, Nash, Bohn; 1859).djvu/186

'Till stumbling, lie threw him down,^[1]
Sore bruis'd, and cast into a swoon.
Meanwhile the Knight began to rouse 655
The sparkles of his wonted prowess;
He thrust his hand into his hose,
And found, both by his eyes and nose,
'Twas only choler,^[2] and not blood,
That from his wounded body flow'd. 660
This, with the hazard of the Squire,
Inflam'd him with despightful ire;
Courageously he fac'd about,
And drew his other pistol out,
And now had half-way bent the cock, 665
When Cerdon gave so fierce a shock,
With sturdy truncheon, 'thwart his arm,
That down it fell, and did no harm:
Then stoutly pressing on with speed,
Essay'd to pull him off his steed.670
The Knight his sword had only left,
With which he Cerdon's head had cleft.
Or at the least cropt off a limb,
But Orsin came and rescu'd him.
He with his lance attack'd the Knight 675
Upon his quarters opposite.
But as a bark, that in foul weather,
Toss'd by two adverse winds together,
Is bruis'd and beaten to and fro,
And knows not which to turn him to: 680
So far'd the Knight between two foes,
And knew not which of them t' oppose;
'Till Orsin charging with his lance
At Hudibras, by spightful chance
Hit Cerdon such a bang, as stunn'd 685
And laid him flat upon the ground.
At this the Knight began to cheer up,
And raising up himself on stirrup,
Cry'd out, Victoria! lie thou there,
And I shall straight dispatch another, 690

1. We must here read stumble-ing, to make three syllables.
2. The delicate reader will easily guess what is here intended by the word choler.