who wore one eye covered in consequence of a vow he had made to forego the use of it, till he had taken a certain number of prisoners in the French wars.
Angelica no sooner him espied
Than she evanished clean, and spurred her mare.
Stanza lviii. lines 3 and 4.
It may be objected that, though Angelica might vanish by putting the ring in her mouth, her mare, with an empty saddle, must have remained visible, and that this circumstance should have been attended to and explained. But (as I have said elsewhere) there is no end to such objections where there is a question of magic.
Blaspheming his Mahoùnd and Termagant.
Stanza lix. line 5.
Speaking comparatively, it was only at a late period of society that the doctrines of Islamism came to be understood in the Christian parts of Europe. Till this epoch we find the Mussulmans constantly charged with polytheism, and Termagant, Tervagant, (or, as he is termed in the Italian, Trivigante) is a godhead, frequently associated with Mahommed by the romancers.
Each blemish of the soul was seen confest.
Stanza lxxxii. line 2.
The original says each wrinkle of the soul. Though I have ventured to attempt to naturalize many Italian expressions, I thought this too bold to bear translation; but mention it as illustrative of the spirit of Italian poetry, which prefers particularization to general terms in description and, as in the
