from the ruffians, is not far away.

After a brief rest, Prince Arthur and Sir Guyon depart together, the
former explaining how anxious he is to do anything in his power for
Queen Gloriana, whom he devotedly loves although he has never yet seen
her. Conversing together, the two ride on to a castle, where no heed
is paid to their request for a night's lodging. They are marvelling at
such a discourtesy, when a head is thrust over the battlement and a
hoarse voice bids them flee, explaining that the castle has been
besieged for seven years past by barbarians lurking in the forest,
against whom no knight has ever been able to prevail.

It is while the watchman is thus accounting for his inhospitality,
that a rout of hungry barbarians bursts out of the forest and attacks
Sir Guyon and Prince Arthur, both of whom fight to such good purpose
that they utterly annihilate their assailants. Happy to be delivered
from these foes, the inhabitants of the castle then open wide their
gates. Our knights spend several days there resting from their labors,
and perusing sundry books where they learn the history of all the
British kings. Meantime the palmer, who has followed them thither,
forges chains and a steel net, with which to capture and hold the
witch Acrasia when the right time comes. When he has finished
manufacturing these objects, he persuades Sir Guyon to start out once
more. Reaching the water again, they board a vessel, which bears them
safely past the Magnetic Rock, over the Sea of Gluttony, etc., to an
island, whose beauty human imagination cannot conceive.

On landing, the travellers are surprised to encounter strange
monsters, and to be enveloped in dense mists, through which they hear
the flapping of bat-like wings and catch glimpses of harpy-like