Seven times Astolpho makes them wash the knight;
And seven times plunged beneath the brine he goes.
So that they cleanse away the scurf and blight, Which to his stupid limbs and visage grows.
This done, with herbs, for that occasion dight, They stop his mouth, wherewith he puffs and blows.
For, save his nostrils, would Astolpho leave No passage whence the count might air receive.