LXXVIII.
The hippogryph he might have had at need,
Who next below good Rabican was tied,
But that the dame had cried to him, “Take heed,
“Thou know’st how ill that courser is to ride;”
And said the following day the winged steed
’Twas her intention from that realm to guide,
Where he should be instructed at his leisure,
To rein and run him every where at pleasure:
LXXIX.
Nor, if he took him not, would he suggest
Suspicion of the intended flight: The peer
This while performed Melissa’s every hest,
Who, still invisible, was at his ear.
So feigning, from the wanton dome possessed
By that old strumpet, rode the cavalier;
And pricking forth drew near unto a gate,
Whence the road led to Logistilla’s state.
LXXX.
Assaulting suddenly the guardian crew,
He, sword in hand, the squadron set upon;
This one he wounded, and that other slew,
And, point by point made good, the drawbridge won:
And ere of his escape Alcina knew,
The gentle youth was far away and gone.
My next shall tell his route, and how he gained
At last the realm where Logistilla reigned.
