despite

A fals double tunge is more fiers and fell

Then Cerberus the cur couching in the kenel of hel;

Wherof hereafter, I thinke for to write,

Of fals double tunges in the diſpite.

he aſked kynge Arthur yf he wold gyue hym leue to ryde after Balen and to reuenge the deſpyte that he had done

Doo your beſt ſaid Arthur I am right wroth ſaid Balen I wold he were quyte of the deſpyte that he hath done to me and to my Courte

How often am I obliged to speak mal à propos, because my features are not sufficiently charming in a state of repose!—how often is my ingenuity racked to find a word, when a look would have been far better! I am compelled to be amusing, in my own despite.