XCIX.
Then to the pagan thus; “Gradasso hear,
“And wilt thou listen, thou shalt understand,
“And I will prove it manifest and clear,
“I came to seek thee out upon the strand;
“And afterwards on thee will make appear
“The truth of all I say with arms in hand;
“Know then thou liest, if e’er with slanderous speech
“Thou taxest me with aught in knighthood’s breach.
C.
“But warmly I beseech thee, that before
“The battle be, thou fully comprehend
“My just excuses, that thou may’st no more
“Me for my failure wrongly reprehend:
“Next for Bayardo, as agreed of yore,
“’Tis my desire that we afoot contend;
“Even as ordained by thee, in desert place,
“Alone in knightly duel, face to face.”
CI.
Courteous was Sericana’s cavalier,
(For generous bosoms aye such practice use)
And is content to listen to the peer,
How he his breach of promise will excuse.
With him he seeks the river side, and here
In simple words what chanced Rinaldo shews;
From the true history removes the veil,
And cites all Heaven to witness to his tale.
