Sir Guyon is startled by loud shrieks, and, hastening
in the direction whence they proceed, discovers a wounded lady and a
dead knight. Close beside the lady is a young babe, whose innocent
hands are dabbling in his parent's blood. On questioning the woman,
Sir Guyon learns that her husband has been bewitched by Acrasia,--or
Pleasure,--who bore him off to the Bower of Bliss, a place where she
detains her captives, feeding them on sweets until their manly courage
is gone. On learning her husband had fallen into the power of this
enchantress, the lady had sought the Bower of Bliss and by dint of
wifely devotion had rescued her spouse. But, even as they left, the
witch bestowed upon them a magic cup, in which little suspecting its
evil powers, the wife offered water to her husband. No sooner had he
drunk than blood gushed from his mouth and he died, whereupon, frantic
at having unwittingly slain the man she loved, the lady had dealt
herself a mortal wound with his sword.

Scarcely had the sufferer finished this account when she sank back
lifeless, so Sir Guyon and the palmer, after burying the parents,
vainly tried to remove the blood stains from the infant's hands. Then,
unable to care properly for him themselves, they entrusted it to some
ladies in a castle near by, bidding them call the babe Ruddy Main, or
the Red Handed, and send him to court when he had grown up.

Having thus provided for the orphan, Sir Guyon, whose horse and spear
meanwhile have been purloined by Braggadocchio, decides to recover
possession of them, and to seek the Bower of Bliss to slay the witch
Acrasia, who has caused such grievous harm. On this quest Sir Guyon
and the palmer encounter the madman Furor, and then reach a stream
which is too deep to ford. While they are seeking some conveyance to
bear them across, they perceive a skiff rowed by a fair lady,
Phaedria,--or Mirth. At their call she pushes her boat close to them,
but no sooner has Sir Guyon sprung aboard than she pushes off, leaving
the palmer behind in spite of all entreaties. Although impelled
neither by oars nor sails, Phaedria's boat drifts rapidly over the
Idle Sea, and Sir Guyon, on questioning its owner, learns they are
bound for her magic realm.

They have scarcely touched the sedgy shores of a charming island, when
a ruffian, Cymochles,--or Deceit,--bursts out of the thicket to claim
the lady. Undaunted by the size of his challenger, Sir Guyon attacks
him, and the duel migh