LIBRARY 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 SANTA BARBARA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 ESTATE OF 
 
 HUBERT ORRISS
 
 UCSB LIBRARY 
 X-
 
 CONWAY CASTLE.
 
 Connoisseur's BOttton 
 
 Historical Tales 
 
 The Romance of Reality 
 
 lung 
 
 Volume III. 
 
 By 
 
 CHARLES MORRIS 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 " HALF-HOURS WITH THE BEST 
 AMERICAN AUTHORS,'' "TALES 
 FROM THE DRAMATISTS," ETC. 
 
 THE R. H. WHITTEN COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK # LOS ANGELES
 
 Copyright. 1891, by J. B. LiPPiNcoTT COMPANY. 
 Copyright, 1904, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
 
 CONTENTS OF VOLUME III. 
 
 BOOK IX. 
 
 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAK 
 
 I. THE ENCHANTED CASTLE OF KING PELL AM 5 
 II. THE MARVEL OF THE FLOATING SWORD . . 14 
 
 III. How GALAHAD GOT HIS SHIELD 31 
 
 IV. THE TEMPTATION OF SIB PERCIVALE .... 46 
 
 V. THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF SIR BORS . . 66 
 
 VI. THE ADVENTURE OF THE MAGIC SHIP ... 89 
 
 VII. How LANCELOT SAW THE SANGREAL .... 102 
 
 VlIL THE DEEDS OF THE THREE CHOSEN 
 
 KNIGHTS 113 
 
 BOOK x. 
 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND GUENEVER. 
 
 I. THE POISONING OF SIR PATRISE 123 
 
 IL THE LILY MAID OF ASTOLAT 137 
 
 III. How ELAINE DIED FOR LOVE 150 
 
 IV. THE CHEVALIER OF THE CART 160 
 
 3
 
 4 CONTENTS OF VOLUME III. 
 
 BOOK XI. 
 
 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE 
 
 I. THE TRAPPING OP THE LION 181 
 
 II. THE RESCUE OP THE QUEEN 190 
 
 III. THE RETURN OF GUENEVER 200 
 
 IV. THE WAR BETWEEN ARTHUR AND LANCELOT 218 
 
 V. THE STING OF THE VIPER 228 
 
 VI. THE PASSING OF ARTHUR 241 
 
 VII. THE DEATH OF LANCELOT AND GUENEVER 246
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 VOLUME III. KING ARTHUR. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CONWAY CASTLK Frontispiece. 
 
 ON THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL 5 
 
 THE RUINED CASTLE 105 
 
 LANCELOT LEAVES ASTOI.AT 141 
 
 ELAINE AND THE DUMB ROWER . 157
 
 ON THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL.
 
 KING ARTHUR 
 
 AND THB 
 
 KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE 
 
 BOOK: ix. 
 
 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 THE ENCHANTED CASTLE OP KING PELLAM. 
 
 AFTER many years had come and gone, and alJ 
 at the court of Arthur the king had grown older 
 and wiser, there came to pass a series of adven- 
 tures more marvellous than had ever been known 
 upon the earth before, and of a nobler kind than 
 mere tourneyings and joustings, being no less 
 than the quest of the holy vessel named the San- 
 greal, in which was kept a portion of the blood of 
 our blessed Saviour, Jesus Christ. 
 
 And through this quest much disaster came 
 upon the land, and the noble fellowship of the 
 Round Table was broken up and destroyed, for 
 many went in search of the holy vessel who had 
 lived evil lives, and of these few came back, but 
 most of them died deaths of violence. 
 
 This sacred talisman the Sangreal had been 
 brought to England centuries before by Joseph of 
 1* 5
 
 6 THI QFEBT OF THK HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 Ariinathea, a follower of our Saviour, and had 
 passed down from him to his descendant, King 
 Pellam, of Listengeise, him whom Balin struck 
 the dolorous stroke, and who was destined to lie 
 in misery and pain until he should be healed of 
 his wound by the winner of the holy vessel. 
 
 But to tell how this perilous quest began we 
 must go long years back and relate a story of 
 strange adventures and marvellous deliverances. 
 
 For it had happened that during a feast of Whit- 
 suntide Lancelot du Lake left Arthur's court at 
 Camelot and rode afar in search of adventures. 
 And after a long journey, in which many strange 
 things came to pass, he arrived at Listengeise, 
 the land of King Pellam. Here he rescued the 
 king's fair daughter, Elaine, from a dismal enchant- 
 ment, under which she had long lain through the 
 wiles of Morgan le Fay and the queen of Northgalis, 
 who hated her bitterly from her renown for beauty. 
 
 After the rescue of the lady, Lancelot fought 
 with and killed a mighty serpent that haunted a 
 tomb near by, and had done much harm in the 
 land. Then there came to him a dignified and 
 noble baron, who thanked him heartily in the 
 name of the king, and invited him to a repast in 
 the castle hall. 
 
 But as they sat at table a wonderful thing took 
 place. For in at the open window of the hall 
 there flew a dove, which bore in its mouth what 
 seemed a little censer of gold. And from this 
 censer came such a rich and penetrating perfume
 
 THE ENCHANTED CASTLE OP KINO ^ELLAM. 7 
 
 as if all the spicery of the world had been there, 
 while upon the table suddenly appeared the most 
 delicious of meats and drinks. Then came in a 
 damsel, young and beautiful, who bore in her 
 hands a vessel of gold, before which all who 
 were there kneeled and prayed devoutly. 
 
 " What may all this mean ?" asked Lancelot in 
 deep surprise. 
 
 "It has been granted you to see the most 
 precious and wonderful thing in the world," an- 
 swered the noble baron. " For you have been 
 permitted to gaze upon the holy Sangreal. In 
 the time to come all Arthur's knights shall take 
 part in a quest for this precious talisman, and 
 great shall be the woe therefrom, for through that 
 quest the Round Table fellowship shall be broken 
 up and many of its noble knights destroyed." 
 
 But all that passed in that land is too much for 
 us to tell. We shall say only that the fair Elaine 
 came to love Lancelot dearly, but he gave her 
 no love in return, for all the affection of his heart 
 was centred upon Queen Guenever. Yet King 
 Pellam so desired that Lancelot should wed his 
 fair daughter that in the end he used enchant- 
 ment, and brought him to make her his wife when 
 under a magic spell, the deluded knight fancying 
 that it was Guenever whom he had wedded. 
 
 This delusion lasted not long, and when the 
 deceived spouse came to his senses and learned 
 how he had been dealt with, he broke away like 
 a madman, and, gaining his horse, rode wildly
 
 8 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 through the land. And every knight-errant who 
 dared to joust with him was made to suffer from 
 the fury that burned in his blood. 
 
 Long afterwards, as chance and adventure 
 brought about, there came to King Pellam's castle 
 Sir Bore de Ganis, Lancelot's nephew. He was 
 gladly received, and treated with all the good 
 cheer and honor which the castle could afford. 
 And as he sat at his repast with the castle lords, 
 there came in, as it had come to Lancelot, the 
 dove with the censer, at which the air was filled 
 with the richest perfume, and the table covered with 
 the most delicious viands. Then entered the maiden 
 with the holy grail, and all fell to their prayers. 
 
 "Truly," said Bors, "this is a strange place, and 
 a land full of marvels." 
 
 "This I will say," answered the noble baron 
 who sat in the king's chair, " that of the knights 
 who come here few see the holy vessel, and fewer 
 go away with any honor. Gawaine, the good 
 knight, was here but lately ; but he saw not what 
 your eyes have beheld, and he left here in shame. 
 None but those of a worshipful life and who love 
 God devoutly can behold this marvel, or sleep in 
 this castle without coming to harm." 
 
 " I am in quest of adventures," said Bors, " and 
 shall lie in your castle this night, come what will. 
 Men call me honest and virtuous, and I stand 
 ready to dare all perils the castle may hold." 
 
 " I counsel you not," said the baron. " You 
 will hardly escape without harm and shame."
 
 THE ENCHANTED CASTLE OF KING PELLAM. 9 
 
 " Let come what will come, I am ready." 
 " Then I advise you to confess, and go to your 
 chamber with a clean soul, for you will be sorely 
 tried." 
 
 " Let it be so. Your counsel is wise." 
 After Sir Bors had been confessed and received 
 absolution, he was led into a fair large chamber, 
 around which were many doors, while a bed of 
 royal richness stood in the middle of the floor. 
 Here he was left alone, and threw himself on the 
 bed in his armor, deeming it wise to be prepared 
 for all that might come. 
 
 Not long had he lain there with open eyes and 
 alert wits, when the room was all at once bril- 
 liantly lighted up, though whence the light came 
 he could not tell. And suddenly a great and long 
 spear, whose point burnt like a taper, shot across 
 the chamber without hand to guide it, and struck 
 him in the shoulder so fierce a blow that hia 
 armor was pierced, and he received a wound a 
 hand's-breadth in depth, which pained him bitterly. 
 Quickly afterwards an armed knight strode in, 
 with shield on shoulder and sword in hand, who 
 cried in a harsh voice, 
 
 " Arise, sir knight, and fight with me." 
 " I shall not fail you," said Bors, hot with the 
 pain of his wound. " I am sorely hurt, but I 
 have vowed boldly to dare aught that might come 
 to me. If that burning spear came from your 
 hand you shall pay dearly for it." 
 
 With these words he sprang from the bed and
 
 10 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 attacked the intruder, and a hard and stern battle 
 began, which lasted long. At the end the in- 
 truding knight was driven backward to a cham- 
 ber door, through which he passed, leaving Bors 
 master of the floor. 
 
 But hardly had he rested a minute when the 
 defeated knight returned, as fresh as at the start, 
 and attacked Bors with renewed strength. Again 
 the battle went on fiercely. But when Bors saw 
 his antagonist once more retreating towards the 
 chamber door, he cried out, 
 
 " Not so, my good fellow. You played that 
 trick on me once; you shall not again. Back, 
 and defend yourself. If you defeat me it shall 
 be by strength, not by magic." And he stationed 
 himself before the door, and drove back his oppo- 
 nent with such fury, that in a moment more he 
 hurled him to the floor. 
 
 " Yield, or you die !" he cried, setting his foot 
 on the fallen knight's head. 
 
 " I yield," came the answer. 
 
 " What is your name ?" 
 
 " I am Sir Pedivere of the Straight Marches." 
 
 " Then, Sir Pedivere of the Straight Marches, 
 take yourself away. And if you have any of 
 your fellows behind yonder door, bid them to 
 keep out of this room, for I came here to sleep, 
 not to fight. At Whitsunday next, present your- 
 self at King Arthur's court, and tell him that you 
 have come thither as a prisoner of Sir Bors of 
 the sharp sword."
 
 THE ENCHANTED OASTLE OF KINO PELLAM. 11 
 
 This, Sir Pedivere swore to do, and left his con- 
 queror to what rest he could get. But this was 
 little, for enchantment surrounded the daring 
 knight. The room suddenly became full of fright- 
 ful noises and alive with peril. Whence they 
 came he knew not, whether through doors or 
 windows, but a flight of arrows and of crossbow 
 bolts filled the air, whistling shrewdly past his ears, 
 while many of them fell upon him and pierced his 
 flesh through the open places in his armor. 
 
 " Who can sleep in such a den of witchcraft as 
 this ?" he cried, in a rage, springing from the bed. 
 As he did so one of the doors opened, and a great 
 lion leaped fiercely in, with a hideous roar. 
 
 " It is better to fight a lion that one can see, 
 than arrows which nobody shoots," cried Bors, 
 and he rushed without hesitation on the danger- 
 ous animal. 
 
 Sharp was the fight that followed, but of short 
 duration. The lion sprang wildly upon him, and 
 tore the shield from his arm, while the sharp claws 
 rent his flesh. But the knight retorted with a 
 sweeping stroke that cut oft the frightful beast's 
 head, and stretched its tawny body lifeless on the 
 floor. 
 
 Then Bors walked to the window to see whither 
 the arrows had come, and as he looked into the 
 castle court he beheld a wondrous sight. For 
 before his eyes stood a dragon, huge and horrible 
 of aspect, in whose forehead were letters of gold 
 which seemed to him to form King Arthur's
 
 12 TfflB QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 emblem. And as he gazed there leaped into the 
 court an old and mighty leopard, which sprang 
 upon the dragon and engaged in desperate battle 
 with the huge monster. 
 
 At last the dragon spit out of its mouth a hun- 
 dred of what seemed small dragons, and these 
 quickly leaped upon the frightful beast and rent 
 it to fragments. Then all the animals disappeared, 
 and an old man came into the court, around whose 
 neck two adders wreathed their folds. In his 
 hand was a harp, upon which he played, while he 
 sang an old song telling how Joseph of Arima- 
 thea came to that land. When his song was 
 ended he said to Sir Bors, 
 
 " Go from this land, sir knight, for you shall 
 have no more adventures here. You have played 
 your part well and nobly, and shall do still better 
 hereafter, for wondrous things are reserved for 
 you." 
 
 Then Bors saw a dove of whitest plumage fly 
 across the court with a golden censer in its mouth, 
 from which seemed to stream the most delicious 
 perfumes. And the tempest which had raged in 
 the sky suddenly ceased, while from the rent 
 clouds the full moon poured down its white light 
 to the earth. 
 
 Next there came into the court four children 
 who bore four tapers, and an old man in their 
 midst with a censer in one hand and a spear in 
 the other, and that spear was called the spear of 
 vengeance.
 
 THI ENCHANTED CASTLE OF KINO PELLAM. 13 
 
 " Go to your cousin, Sir Lancelot," said the old 
 man, " and tell him what you have seen, and that 
 if he had been as clean of sin as he should be, the 
 adventure which all this signifies would have been 
 his. Tell him, moreover, that though in worldly 
 adventures he passes all others in manhood and 
 prowess, there are many his betters in spiritual 
 worth, and that what you have seen and done 
 this night he was not deemed worthy of." 
 
 Then Bors saw four meanly-dressed gentle- 
 women pass through his chamber, and enter an 
 apartment beyond which was lit up with a light 
 like that of midsummer. Here they knelt before 
 an altar of silver with four pillars, where also 
 kneeled a man in the dress of a bishop. And as 
 the knight looked upward he beheld a naked 
 sword hovering over his head, whose blade sbone 
 like silver, yielding a flashing light that blinded 
 him as he gazed. As he stood thus sightless, he 
 heard a voice which said, 
 
 " Go hence, Sir Bors, for as yet thou art not 
 worthy to be in this place." 
 
 Then the door of that chamber closed, and he 
 went backward to his bed, where he lay and slept 
 undisturbed till morning dawned. But when the 
 regent of King Pellam learned what had hap- 
 pened to his guest in the night, and how he had 
 escaped the perils of the enchanted chamber, he 
 greeted him joyfully, and said, 
 
 " You are the first that ever endured so well 
 that chamber's mysteries. And more has been 
 2
 
 14 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT OB4IL. 
 
 shown to your eyes than any others have seen. 
 Go home, worthy knight. You are chosen for 
 great deeds in the time to come." 
 
 Sir Bore thereupon took his horse and rode away, 
 thinking long and deeply on all that had happened 
 to him. 
 
 CHAPTBE II. 
 
 THE MABVEL OF THE FLOATING 8WOBD. 
 
 MANY and strange were the events that followed 
 those we have just related, and great trouble and 
 woe came therefrom. For when Sir Bora returned 
 to Camelot and told the story of the wedding of 
 Lancelot and Elaine, much was the secret talk 
 and great the scandal. And when the news came 
 to Guenever's ears she flamed with wrath. 
 
 Not long afterwards, Lancelot returned, still 
 half frenzied with the deception that had been 
 practised upon him. When Guenever saw him 
 she accused him bitterly of being a traitor to love, 
 and harshly bade him leave the court, and never 
 come again within her sight. 
 
 This bitter reviling turned Lancelot's frenzy to 
 a sudden madness. With distracted brain he 
 leaped from a wiudow into a garden, and ran like 
 a wild man through wood and brake, heedless 
 that his clothes were torn and his flesh rent with 
 thorns and briers. Thus hotly burns despised
 
 THE MARVEL OF THE FLOATING SWORD. 16 
 
 love in the human heart and brain, and thus it 
 may turn the strongest senses away and bring 
 madness to the clearest mind. 
 
 On learning what had passed, Bors and Hector 
 went to the queen, and accused her harshly of 
 the great wrong she had done to the noble Lan- 
 celot. But she was already torn with remorse, 
 and she knelt before these noble knights, begging 
 their forgiveness, and praying them pitifully to 
 seek Lancelot and bring him back to the court. 
 
 Months passed and Lancelot returned not, nor 
 could he be found, though he was sought through 
 many lands. For he kept afar from cities and 
 courts, and roamed through wilds and wastes, 
 where he had many adventures in his madness, 
 and did strange and wild things. 
 
 For two years he wandered hither and thither 
 in frenzy, until at length he came to Bang Pellam's 
 city of Corbin, and to the castle where dwelt the 
 fair Elaine. Here he was given shelter in a little 
 outhouse, with straw to sleep on, while every day 
 they threw him meat and set him drink, for none 
 would venture near a madman of such savage 
 aspect. 
 
 But one day as he slept, Elaine chanced to be- 
 hold him, and knew him at once for Lancelot. 
 Telling a trusty baron of her discovery, she had 
 the distracted knight borne still sleeping into a 
 tower chamber in which was kept the holy vessel, 
 the Sangreal, concealed from all eyes save those 
 of persons of saintly life Lancelot was laid near
 
 16 T"E QUEST OP THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 this, and when all had left the chamber a man 
 of sanctity entered and uncovered the vessel. 
 Such was its holy influence that it wrought 
 marvellously upon the distracted knight as he lay 
 there asleep, and the madness passed away from 
 his brain. When he woke he was himself again, 
 as whole a man in mind and body as any that 
 stood upon the earth. For so healing was the 
 virtue of that precious vessel that it not only 
 drove the cloud of madness from his mind, but 
 gave him back all his old might and comeliness 
 of body. 
 
 Then, ashamed of his frenzy, and anxious not 
 to be known, Lancelot assumed the name of the 
 Chevalier Mai Fet, or the knight who has tres- 
 passed, and took up his abode with Elaine and 
 many knights and ladies at a castle given him by 
 King Pellam. This stood on an island in the 
 midst of a deep and clear lake, which Lancelot 
 named the Joyous Isle. And now, filled again 
 with martial fervor, he made it known far and 
 wide that he would joust with any knights that 
 came that way, and that any one who should put 
 him to the worst would receive as a prize a jewel 
 of worth and a jerfalcon. 
 
 But none won the prize, though very many 
 noble knights jousted with the Chevalier Mai Fet. 
 
 Last of all came Percivale and Hector, who had 
 been long in search of Lancelot. Learning the 
 challenge, Percivale jousted with Lancelot, and 
 afterwards they fought with swords. So long
 
 THK MAKVBL OF THE FLOATING SWORD. 17 
 
 if 
 
 and even was their combat, that at length both 
 paused for breath. And now Percivale, wonder- 
 ing who this sturdy knight could be, told his 
 name, and asked for his in return. At this, Lan- 
 celot threw away his weapon, and took his late 
 opponent in his arms, crying out that he was 
 Lancelot du Lake. 
 
 Glad was the meeting between these old friends 
 and comrades, and richly were the new-comers 
 entertained in the castle. But in the end they 
 persuaded Lancelot to go with them to Camelot, 
 and the disconsolate Elaine was left to return, with 
 her knights and ladies, to her father's castle. 
 
 After these events years came and went, until 
 many summers and winters had passed over Eng- 
 land's fair isle, and age had begun to lay its hand 
 on those who had been young, while those who 
 had been children grew up and became knights 
 and ladies. Then came at length the time fixed 
 by destiny for the adventure of the Sangreal. 
 And thus this adventure began. 
 
 When again approached the vigil of Pentecost, 
 and all the fellowship of the Round Table had 
 come to Camelot. and the tables were set to dine, 
 there rode into the great hall a gentlewoman of 
 noble aspect, whose horse was white with sweat 
 and foam. 
 
 She saluted Lancelot and begged him to go with 
 
 her, though whither and for what purpose she 
 
 would not say. Stirred by his love of adventure. 
 
 he armed ai*d rode with her, and before tho day's 
 
 VOL. III.* 2*
 
 18 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 end reached an abbey of nuns in a secluded valley 
 Here, as he stood conversing with the abbess, 
 there came in to him twelve nuns, bringing with 
 them a youth who had not yet reached manhood, 
 but was large and powerful of frame, and as hand- 
 some of face as any man he had ever seen. 
 
 " Sir," said the ladies, with weeping eyes, " we 
 bring you this child, whom we have long nour- 
 ished, and pray you to make him a knight ; for 
 there is no worthier man from whom he can re- 
 ceive the order of knighthood, and we hold him 
 worthy of your sword." 
 
 Lancelot looked long at the young squire, and 
 saw that he was seemly, and demure as a dove, 
 and of wonderful beauty of form and features, 
 and his heart went out with a great love for the 
 beautiful youth. 
 
 " What is his name ?" asked Lancelot. 
 
 We call him Galahad." 
 
 " Comes this desire from himself?" 
 
 " It does," said they all. 
 
 " From whom has he sprung ?" 
 
 " His mother is dead. His father is a full noble 
 knight, as you shall soon learn." 
 
 " Then he shall be knighted by my hand to- 
 morrow at the morning services, for truly he 
 seems worthy of it." 
 
 That night, Lancelot's cousins, Bors and Lionel, 
 stopped at the abbey, and spent there a cheery 
 evening with their noble kinsman. At early morn 
 of the next day he gave the accolade to the youth,
 
 THE MARVEL OF THE FLOATING 8WOED. 19 
 
 pronouncing him knight, and bidding Bors and 
 Lionel to stand as his godfathers in the order of 
 knighthood. 
 
 " And may God make you a good man and a 
 noble knight," he said. " Beauty you have now, 
 equal to any I have ever seen, and strength and 
 courage I doubt not ; if you bear with these a 
 noble heart and an earnest mind you have the 
 best treasures that God can confer or man possess." 
 
 Then, when they had broken their fast, Lan- 
 celot said to the demure and modest young 
 knight, 
 
 " Fair sir, will you come with me to the court 
 of King Arthur?" 
 
 "I humbly beg your pardon," said Galahad, 
 " but I cannot come at this time. Trust me to 
 follow soon." 
 
 Then Lancelot and his cousins left the abbey 
 and rode to Camelot, where they arrived before 
 the hour of the feast. In the great hall were 
 many noble knights, some of them strangers, 
 who walked about the Round Table, reading the 
 names in letters of gold in the several seats, and 
 saying, 
 
 " Here sits Gawaine, here Lancelot, here Per- 
 civale," and so with the others. 
 
 At length they came to the seat perilous, in 
 which no man but Percivale had hitherto dared 
 to sit, and which he no longer occupied. To their 
 deep surprise they found there newly written in 
 letters of gold these words,
 
 20 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 " Four hundred and fifty-four winters after the 
 passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the knight shall 
 come for whom this seat is held by destiny." 
 
 " What marvellous thing is this ?" cried all who 
 saw it. " Here is a miracle." 
 
 " In the name of God, what means it ?" cried 
 Lancelot. "Percivale long since had warning 
 to leave that seat. Who shall fill it to-day, for 
 this is the feast of Pentecost of the four hundred 
 and fifty-fourth year. The year and day have 
 come, but where and who is the man ? I advise 
 that these letters be hidden, till he come for whom 
 this seat is pre-ordained." 
 
 Then it was ordered that the writing should be 
 covered with a cloth of silk ; and the king bade 
 his guests to hasten to dinner, and forget for the 
 time being what they had seen. 
 
 " Sir," said Kay, the steward, " if you go to 
 table now you will break your old custom, not to 
 sit at dinner on this day till you have seen or 
 heard of some adventure." 
 
 " Very true," said the king. " I had forgotten 
 my custom through this strange event." 
 
 As they stood thus speaking, there came hastily 
 into the court a squire, whose eyes were big with 
 wonder. 
 
 " Sire, I bring you marvellous tidings," he cried 
 to the king. 
 
 " What are they ?" demanded Arthur. 
 
 " As I stood but now by the river, I saw floating 
 on its waters a great square stone, and above this
 
 THE MABVEL OF THE FLOATING SWORD. 21 
 
 stood the hilt of a sword, whose blade was thrust 
 deeply into the stone." 
 
 " A stone that floats I" said the king. " That is 
 strange, indeed. I must see this marvel." 
 
 Then he, followed by all the knights, went to 
 the river, and saw there that the squire had 
 spoken truly; for a great stone that seemed of 
 red marble floated like wood on the water, and 
 thrust deeply into it was a rich sword, in whose 
 pommel were many jewels of price. As they 
 looked in wonder the stone whirled inward on an 
 eddy and came aground at their feet. And now 
 they saw that the precious stones were set in 
 letters of gold, which none there could read. 
 But there was a man at the court learned in 
 strange tongues, and he being sent for, read these 
 with ease, and thus interpreted them, 
 
 " Never shall the hand of man draw me from 
 this stone until he comes by whose side I am to 
 hang; and he shall be the best knight in the 
 world." 
 
 " Lay your hand on this sword and draw it," 
 said the king to Lancelot. " To you it surely 
 belongs ; for you are the best knight in the world." 
 
 "Best of hand, mayhap, but not of heart and 
 life," said Lancelot, soberly. "Certes, sir, that 
 sword is not for me, nor have I the hardiness to 
 set hand thereto. I had a vision in my last night's 
 sleep, and this it told me: that he who seeks to 
 draw that sword, and fails therein, shall in time 
 receive from it a wound which shall be very long in
 
 22 THE QUEST OP THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 healing. And this more I learned, that this same 
 day, and with the drawing of that sword, shall 
 begin the marvellous quest of *he holy vessel, the 
 Sangreal. For fate has destined that this precious 
 amulet shall be sought throughout the world ; and 
 to him who finds it the greatest of earth's honors 
 shall come." 
 
 The king and all the knights heard these words 
 with wonder, for Lancelot spoke like one inspired. 
 Then Arthur turned to Gawaine. 
 
 " Fair nephew," he said, " try you this task for 
 my love." 
 
 " Saving your good grace," said Gawaine, " that 
 I shall not do." 
 
 " Then, sir, seek to draw the sword at my com- 
 mand." 
 
 " Your command I must obey," said Gawaine, 
 " yet I dread to meddle with magic." 
 
 Then he took the sword by the handle, and 
 pulled with all his might, but he could not 
 stir it. 
 
 "I thank you," said the king, "for the trial, 
 even if you have failed." 
 
 " My lord Gawaine," said Lancelot, " bear well 
 in mind, this sword shall touch you so sore that 
 you would give the best castle in this kingdom 
 not to have set your hand thereto." 
 
 " It may be," answered Gawaine. " Yet I could 
 not disobey the command of the king." 
 
 Then the king turned to Percivaie, and asked 
 him for his love to try the task.
 
 THE MARVEL OP THE FLOATING SWORD. 23 
 
 " Gladly will I," he said, " if only to bear Ga- 
 waine fellowship." 
 
 But pull as strongly as he would, the sword 
 yielded not to his hand. And there were more 
 there so hardy as to disregard Lancelot's warning 
 and seek to draw the sword, but to no hand would 
 it yield. 
 
 " Try no more," said Kay to the king. " You 
 have seen your marvel, and now may, with a good 
 appetite, go to your dinner." 
 
 This advice seemed timely to the king, and all 
 went to the court, where the knights took their 
 seats at the Bound Table, and were served by 
 young men lately made knights. When they had 
 been fully served, every seat being filled save the 
 seat perilous, another marvellous thing happened. 
 For suddenly all the doors and windows of the 
 hall shut of themselves. Yet the room was not 
 greatly darkened, and men looked into one an- 
 other's faces with abashed and frightened visages. 
 
 " Fair fellows and lords," said the king, "this is 
 a day of strange events. And I doubt if we shall 
 not see greater before night comes, for it seems a 
 day set aside by the fates." 
 
 As he spoke, there came into the hall an ancient 
 man, clothed all in white, but no knight knew 
 through which door he had entered. By the 
 hand he led a young knight, clad in red armor, 
 but without sword or shield, an empty scabbard 
 hanging by his side. 
 
 "Peace be with you, fair lords," said the old
 
 24 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY UJEU1L. 
 
 man. Then he turned to King Arthur, and 
 said, 
 
 " Sir, I bring with me a young knight who is of 
 kingly lineage, and of the kindred of Joseph of 
 Arimathea. By his hand many strange marvels 
 are destined to be accomplished." 
 
 The king heard these words with close atten- 
 tion, and answered graciously, 
 
 "Sir, you are right welcome here, and the 
 young knight you bring." 
 
 Then the old man removed the youth's armor, 
 and put upon him a coat of red sendal and a 
 mantle that was furred with ermine. And Lan- 
 celot saw that the young man was he whom he 
 had knighted that morning at the abbey. 
 
 But the chief wonder of the day was now to 
 appear. For the old man said to his young com- 
 panion, 
 
 " Sir, follow me." He led him around the table 
 till they came to the seat perilous, beside which 
 sat Lancelot. Here the old man lifted up the 
 silken cloth, and lo ! the letters which had been 
 covered were gone, and new letters of gold were 
 visible, which read, 
 
 " This is the seat of Galahad, the high prince." 
 
 "Sir," said the old man, "this seat is yours. 
 Long has it waited your coming." 
 
 And he seated him therein, while all the circle 
 of knights looked on in wonder. Now for the 
 first time the young knight spoke. 
 
 " Dear sir," he said, " you may now depart, for
 
 THE MARVEL OF THE FLOATING SWORD. 25 
 
 you have done well what you were commanded 
 to do. Recommend me to my grandsire, King 
 Pellam, and say to him that I will come and see 
 him as soon as I may." 
 
 With this the old man departed. Outside there 
 waited twenty noble squires, who mounted when 
 he came, and rode away with him. The Knights 
 of the Round Table marvelled greatly at all this, 
 and the more so on seeing that he who occupied 
 that chair of peril was one so tender of age, and 
 a youth whom no one knew, nor whence he came ; 
 but to one another they privately said, 
 
 "This is he by whom the Sangreal shall be 
 achieved ; for none ever sat there before but Per- 
 civale, and he was not long deemed worthy to 
 occupy that seat." 
 
 The talk of this strange event quickly passed 
 through the palace, and came to the queen, who 
 heard it with wonder. Those who brought word 
 said that the youth resembled Sir Lancelot. 
 
 " I must see this strange thing," she said, and, 
 followed by her ladies, she entered the hall. 
 
 " It is Sir Lancelot in youth again," she cried, 
 on looking the young knight in the face. " Fair 
 sir, tell me truly, what father had you, and what 
 mother." 
 
 " King Pellam is my grandsire," answered Ga- 
 lahad, " and Elaine was my mother. As for my 
 father, I know him not." 
 
 " Then do I," cried the queen, " for he sits be- 
 side you Sir Lancelot is your father. Ton 
 B 3
 
 26 THE QUEST OP THE HOLY GRAIL 
 
 are son unto the noblest knight that ever wore 
 sword." 
 
 At these words Lancelot rose up in haste, for 
 he had not dreamed of what was to come ; and 
 he clasped the youth in his arms and kissed his fair 
 young face with a love that overflowed his heart. 
 
 "My son!" he said. "Can it be? Greatly, 
 indeed, have I felt drawn unto you." 
 
 " And my heart went out to you, dear father," 
 said Galahad, " from the moment I looked upon 
 your noble face." 
 
 The sight of this affecting meeting filled all 
 hearts there with joy, and the king warmly con- 
 gratulated Lancelot on having found so worthy a 
 son ; " for to him, I dare avow," he said, " is des- 
 tined that great achievement of the Sangreal of 
 which you have this day told us." 
 
 Then Arthur took Galahad by the hand, and 
 said, 
 
 "Come with me, young sir,"and led him from 
 the palace to the river to show him the marvel 
 of the stone. After them followed the knights, 
 and the queen and ladies of the court, all full of 
 hope of greater wonders yet to come. 
 
 " Sir," said the king, " that sword floated hither 
 this day. Many knights of great prowess have 
 tried to draw it and failed." 
 
 "That is no marvel," said Galahad. "The 
 sword is not theirs, but mine. And since I knew 
 it awaited me I have brought no sword ; but its 
 tcabbard, as you may see, hangs by my side "
 
 THE MABVEL OF THE FLOATING SWORD. 27 
 
 Then he laid his hand upon the sword, and, 
 while all eyes opened wide with wonder, drew it 
 from the stone as easily as if it came from the 
 water only, and thrust it into the scabbard, saying 
 to the king, 
 
 " It fits there better than in a floating stone." 
 
 " God has sent it you," said the king. " And I 
 doubt not he will send you a shield in as marvel- 
 lous a manner." 
 
 " This is the sword that at one time belonged 
 to Balin le Savage," said Galahad, " and with 
 which he killed his brother Balan, in that terri- 
 ble joust which happened many years ago. The 
 scabbard I wear was Balm's scabbard, and it was 
 Merlin who put the sword into that stone, saying 
 that no hand should draw it but that of Lancelot, 
 or his son Galahad. Nor can any man have for- 
 gotten the dolorous stroke which Balin dealt my 
 grandfather King Pellam, of which he is not yet 
 healed, nor shall be till I heal him. So has Mer- 
 lin prophesied." 
 
 As they talked thus a lady on a white palfrey 
 was seen riding down the river side to where they 
 stood. Reaching the group, she saluted the king 
 and queen, and asked if Sir Lancelot were there. 
 
 " I am here, fair lady," he answered. 
 
 " Sad is it," she said, while tears flowed from 
 her eyes, " that all your great renown is changed 
 since this day's dawn." 
 
 " Damsel, why say you this ?" 
 
 " Until to-day you were the best knight in the
 
 28 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 world," she answered. " But he who should say 
 this now would speak falsely, for there has come 
 a better than you. And this is proved by the 
 adventure of the sword to which you dared not 
 set your hand. Kemember well what I have 
 said." 
 
 " As touches that," rejoined Lancelot, " I never 
 had the pride of being the best knight in the 
 world, nor do I envy my son if any worship has 
 passed from me to him." 
 
 "Yet you were the greatest ; and still are 
 among sinful men," she persisted. "And, sir 
 king," she said to Arthur, " this more I am bid 
 to say, from the holy lips of Nancien the hermit, 
 that to you shall fall to-day the greatest of honors ; 
 for this day the Sangreal shall appear in your 
 palace, and feed you and all your fellowship of 
 the Bound Table." 
 
 With these words she turned her palfrey and 
 rode away as she had come, leaving all who had 
 heard her lost in wonder and admiration. 
 
 When they had a little got over their wonder 
 at what they had seen, the king gave orders that 
 the stone should be taken from the water, saying 
 that he would have it set up as a monument of 
 those strange events. 
 
 "And as it may be long before you all come 
 together here again, I should like to have you 
 joust in the meadow of Camelot, by way of honor 
 to this day." 
 
 Thus he spoke ; but his real purpose was to see
 
 THE MARVEL OP THE FLOATING SWORD. 29 
 
 Galahad proved, for he feared that if he once left 
 the court it might be long before he should see 
 him again. Then the knights put en their armor 
 and rode to the meadow in a gallant cavalcade. 
 Galahad also, at the earnest request of the king, 
 put on armor, but he would take no shield, though 
 the king and Lancelot prayed him to do so. The 
 most he would consent to do was to take a spear. 
 
 But noble work he did that day, meeting all 
 men who cared to break spears with him, so that 
 by the end of the joust he had thrown down 
 many good Knights of the Bound Table. Only 
 two of them, Lancelot and Percivale, were able 
 to keep their seats against the vigorous onset of 
 the strong young knight. 
 
 When the jousting was at an end, the king and 
 knights went back to Camelot, where they at- 
 tended even-song at the great minster. Thence 
 they proceeded to the palace hall, where all took 
 their seats at the table for supper. 
 
 But as they sat eating, there came outside a 
 terrible crash of thunder, and a wind arose that 
 seemed as if it would rend the great hall from its 
 foundations. In the midst of this blast the hall 
 was lighted by a sudden gleam seven times 
 brighter than the midday light, in whose glare 
 the knights sat dumb, none daring to speak. But 
 each looked at the others, and it seemed to each 
 that his fellows were fairer of visage than he had 
 ever seen them before. 
 
 Then the storm and the glare passed away as 
 8*
 
 30 THI QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 suddenly as they had come, and there entered the 
 hall the holy grail. None there saw it, for it was 
 covered with white samite, but the hall was filled 
 with the rarest odors, and each knight saw on the 
 table before him the meats and drinks that he 
 loved best in the world. 
 
 When the holy vessel had passed through the 
 hall, it suddenly vanished, none knew how. And 
 not till then dared any man speak. 
 
 " Certes," said the king, " we ought to thank 
 God devoutly for what he has shown us this day." 
 
 " We have enjoyed the richest of perfumes, and 
 have before us the rarest of food," said Gawaine ; 
 " and we have but one thing to regret, that the 
 sacred vessel was so preciously covered that no 
 eye might behold it. But this miracle has filled 
 my soul with the warmest desire to see this holy 
 thing, and I therefore vow that to-morrow, with- 
 out delay, I shall set out in quest of the Sangreal, 
 and shall not return hither till I have seen it more 
 openly, if it take me a twelvemonth or more. If 
 I fail in the end, I shall return as one who is not 
 worthy to behold the holy vessel." 
 
 On hearing these words the other knights arose 
 as one man, and repeated the vow which Gawaine 
 had made. 
 
 Upon this, King Arthur sprang to his feet in 
 deep displeasure, for there came to his mind like 
 a vision a host of evil consequences from this in- 
 considerate vow. 
 
 "You are over-hasty, Gawaine," he said, sharply,
 
 HOW GALAHAD GOT HIS SHIELD. 31 
 
 "and have done me a lifelong evil with youi 
 vow. For you have bereft me of the fairest fel- 
 lowship that ever came together in this world. 
 When my knights depart hence on that difficult 
 search, well I know that they will never all meet 
 again in this world, for many shall die in the 
 quest. Therefore it distresses me deeply, for I 
 have loved them as I loved my life, and I would 
 rather have my soul depart from my body than 
 to lose their noble fellowship. Long have we 
 dwelt together in sorrow and in joy, but I fear 
 our happy days are at an end, and that trouble 
 and suffering await us in the time to come. What 
 God wills must be, but my heart is sore at the 
 thought of it." 
 
 And men who looked upon the king could see 
 tears of distress and grief flowing from his eyes. 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 HOW GALAHAD GOT HIS SHIELD. 
 
 WHEN morning came the knights made ready 
 for their departure, amid the tears and lamenta- 
 tions of ladies, and with the deep sorrow of the 
 king and queen. For there were a hundred and 
 fifty of them in all, comprising the whole fellow- 
 ship of the Table Eound, and King Arthur had deep 
 reason for his fear that he would never gather all
 
 32 THE QUEST OP THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 these gallant knights round his festal board again. 
 And so they mounted and rode through the streets 
 of Camelot, where was weeping of rich and poor, 
 and the king turned away and could not speak 
 for grief, while Queen Guenever hid herself in 
 her chamber, to be alone with her bitter sorrow 
 at the going of Lancelot. 
 
 Onward they rode in company until they came 
 to a castle and town that were named Vagon. 
 There they stopped and were well entertained by 
 the lord of the castle, who was a man of great 
 hospitality. But when morning came it was de- 
 cided between them that they should separate, 
 each taking his own course, so that the Sangreal 
 might be sought in all quarters. This they did 
 with much sorrow and many fervent farewells, 
 each knight taking the way that he liked the 
 best, and riding alone and afar on his perilous 
 quest. 
 
 First must we follow the young knight Galahad, 
 who still rode without a shield, and who passed 
 onward for four days without an adventure. Neai 
 eventide of the fourth day he came to a white 
 abbey, where he was received with great respect, 
 and led to a chamber that he might lay off his 
 armor. And here, to his surprise, he met with 
 two of the goodly company from which he had 
 lately parted, Sir Uwaine and King Bagdemagus. 
 
 "Sirs," said Galahad, "what adventure brought 
 you hither?" 
 
 " We are told," they replied, " that within this
 
 HOW GALAHAD GOT HIS SHIELD. 33 
 
 place is a shield of perilous significance. For he 
 who bears it about his neck runs deep risk of 
 being slain within three days, or maimed forever. 
 Yet," said Bagdemagus, " I shall bear it to-mor- 
 row and try my fortune." 
 
 "In the name of God, try it," said Galahad. 
 " Yet truly you take a great risk." 
 
 " If I fail therein, you shall take the adventure. 
 I am sure you will not fail." 
 
 " I agree to that," said Galahad. " I have rid- 
 den far enough without a shield." 
 
 Then they went to supper, and afterwards to 
 sleep. When morning came Bagdemagus asked 
 of the abbot where the magic shield was, and a 
 monk led him behind an altar where hung a shield 
 as white as snow, but with a red cross in its centre. 
 
 " I hope you are well advised of what you do," 
 said the monk. "No knight, unless he be the 
 worthiest in the world, can safely bear this 
 shield." 
 
 "I know well that I am not the best of 
 knights," said Bagdemagus ; " and yet I shall wear 
 it and dare the danger." 
 
 Then he took it out of the monastery, and said 
 to Galahad, 
 
 " If it please you, await me here till you learn 
 how I shall speed." 
 
 " I shall await tidings," said Galahad. 
 
 Bagdemagus now rode forward with a squire, 
 that he might send back tidings of his good or ill 
 fortune, and passed onward for two miles, when he 
 VOL. III. o
 
 34 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL 
 
 found himself in a valley before a hermitage. 
 Here he saw a stalwart knight in white armor, 
 horse and all, who, on seeing the red-cross shield, 
 rode upon him at the full speed of his charger. 
 Bagdemagus put his spear in rest and rode to 
 meet him, but his spear broke on the white 
 knight, while he was wounded in the right 
 shoulder and borne from his horse, the treacherous 
 shield refusing to cover him. Then the victor 
 knight alighted and took the white shield from 
 him, saying, 
 
 "Sir knight, you have acted with more folly 
 than wisdom, for you should have known that 
 only he who has no peer living can safely bear 
 this shield." 
 
 Then he went to the squire who had come with 
 King Bagdemagus, and said, 
 
 " Bear this shield to the good knight Sir Gala- 
 had, whom you left in the abbey, and greet him 
 from me." 
 
 " What shall I tell him is your name ?" 
 
 " Take no heed of my name. That is not for 
 you to know, nor for any earthly man. Content 
 yourself with telling Sir Galahad that this shield 
 is for him, and for no other man to wear. And 
 may God aid him to bear it worthily and worship- 
 fully." 
 
 But the squire went first to Bagdemagus and 
 asked him if he were seriously wounded. 
 
 " Forsooth I am," he said. " I shall scarce 
 escape from death."
 
 HOW OALAHAD GOT H.8 SHIELD. 35 
 
 The squire then conveyed him in great pain to 
 the hermitage, and left him in care of the hermit. 
 And as the chronicle tells, he lay there long, and 
 barely escaped with life. 
 
 " Sir Galahad," said the squire, when he had 
 returned to the abbey, " King Bagdemagus has 
 paid dearly for his venture. He lies at a hermi- 
 tage sorely wounded. As for you, the knight 
 that overthrew him sends you greeting, and bids 
 you to bear this shield, through which marvellous 
 adventures shall come to you." 
 
 " Then blessed be God and fortune," said Gala- 
 had. 
 
 He now resumed his arms and mounted his 
 horse, hanging the white shield about his neck 
 and commending himself to God. Uwaine offered 
 to bear him company, but this was not to be. 
 
 " Sir knight," said Galahad, " I thank you for 
 your offer, but I must go alone, save that this 
 squire shall bear me fellowship." 
 
 With these words the youthful knight rode 
 away, and soon came to where the white knight 
 abode by the hermitage. They saluted each other 
 courteously, and fell into a conversation in which 
 the white knight told Galahad the story of the 
 magical shield. 
 
 "In the far past time," he said, "soon after 
 Joseph of Arimathea took down the body of our 
 Lord from the holy cross, and bore it from Jeru- 
 salem to a city named Sarras, there was a king 
 of Sarras named Evelake, who was then at war
 
 86 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY QBAIL. 
 
 with the Saracens. This king, through the 
 teachings of Joseph, was converted from the old 
 law to the new, and for him this shield was made, 
 in the name of Him who died on the cross. 
 Afterwards, when Evelake was in battle, the 
 shield was covered with a cloth, which was only 
 removed in times of deadly peril, and then his 
 enemies saw the figure of a man on the cross, 
 before which the}' fell back discomfited. At 
 times the cross of the shield would vanish away, 
 and at times stand out clear and bright; and 
 such was its virtue that a soldier whose hand was 
 stricken off was made whole again by touching 
 the cross. The time came at length when Joseph 
 left Palestine and journeyed westward, and King 
 Evelake with him, till they camo to Great Britain, 
 where all the people had been pagans, but were 
 then converted to the Christian faith. Soon 
 afterwards Joseph sickened and came near to 
 death, and while he lay in his bed he bade Eve- 
 lake bring him the shield, and on it he traced a 
 red cross with his own blood. Then he said to Eve- 
 lake, ' No man hereafter shall bear this shield but 
 he shall repent it, until Galahad, the last of my 
 lineage, shall come to seek it, and with it he shall 
 do marvellous deeds.' ' Where shall the shield 
 await his coming ?' asked Evelake. ' You shall 
 leave it in the abbey where Nancien the hermit 
 shall lie after his death, and thither the knight 
 Galahad shall come for it soon after he receives 
 the order of knighthood.' This is the story of
 
 HOW GALAHAD GOT HIS SHIELD. 37 
 
 the shield, and this day has the prediction been 
 fulfilled. Wear the shield worthily and well, 
 young knight, for much glory and renown shall 
 come to you through it. You are in God's hands ; 
 to God commend yourself." 
 
 With these words the white knight vanished 
 away, and in the place where he had stood was 
 seen but empty air. 
 
 Then the squire, who had heard these words, 
 alighted and kneeled at Galahad's feet, praying 
 that he would make him a knight. 
 
 " That I shall consider," said Galahad. " But 
 now let us return to the abbey." 
 
 Here Galahad drove away a fiend that had long 
 dwelt in a tomb near by, where it made such 
 noise that none could venture near it. But the 
 virtue of the shield protected him from all harm 
 from this evil shape, which was forced to depart. 
 
 When morning came, he asked the young squire 
 his name. 
 
 "Sir," he answered, "men call me Melias de 
 Lile, and I am the son of the king of Denmark." 
 
 " Then, fair sir, since you come of kings and 
 queens, I shall make you a knight ; and look you 
 that knighthood sit well on you, for you should 
 be a mirror of chivalry." 
 
 " That shall I seek to be," said Melias. 
 
 Then Galahad gave him the accolade as he 
 kneeled before him, and bade him rise a knight. 
 
 " Now, dear sir," said Melias, " since you have 
 done me this high honor, it is but right that
 
 38 THE QUEST OP THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 you grant mo my first request, so that it be in 
 reason." 
 
 " You speak justly," said Galahad. 
 
 " I beg, then, that you let me ride with you in 
 the quest of the Sangreal till some adventure 
 shall part us." 
 
 " That I grant willingly." 
 
 Armor was now brought to Melias, and when it 
 had been girded upon him he and Galahad rode 
 away, and passed onward all that week without an 
 adventure. But on the Monday next, as they set 
 out from an abbey, they came to where a cross 
 marked a parting of the road. On the cross was 
 written, 
 
 " Ye knights-errant, that ride in quest of adveii 
 tures, here lie two ways. He that takes the right- 
 hand road shall not leave it again, if he be a good 
 man and a worthy knight. He that takes the 
 left-hand shall not lightly win fortune, for his 
 strength and endurance will be soon tried." 
 
 " If you will suffer me to take the left-hand 
 road I should like it greatly," said Melias. " My 
 strength and skill need trial." 
 
 " It were better not. I fancy that I only should 
 face the danger that there confronts us." 
 
 " Nay, my lord, I pray you let me have this 
 adventure." 
 
 " Take it, then, in God's name," said Galahad ; 
 " and do your duty worthily." 
 
 So Melias rode forward and soon found himself 
 in a forest, through which he passed for two days.
 
 HOW GALAHAD GOT HIS SHIELD. 39 
 
 seeing there neither man, woman, nor child. Then 
 he came from the forest into a broad meadow, 
 where stood a lodge built of green boughs. And 
 in that lodge was a chair, on which lay a crown 
 of gold wrought with rich and subtle skill. Also 
 there were cloths spread upon the earth, upon 
 which delicious meats were laid. 
 
 Melias beheld all this and thought it marvellous. 
 He felt no hunger, but the crown of gold roused 
 his covetousness, and he took it up and rode away 
 with it. But not far had he ridden when a knight 
 came after him, who said, 
 
 " Sir knight, why have you taken that crown ? 
 It is not yours ; therefore defend yourself." 
 
 Then Melias blessed himself, and said, 
 
 " Fair Lord of Heaven, help and save thy new 
 made knight." 
 
 Then they rode together at full speed, but 
 Melias's prayer availed him naught, for the spear- 
 head of the other went through his hauberk, and 
 wounded him so deeply in the left side that L 
 fell to the earth like a dead man. Then the victor 
 knight took the crown and rode away. 
 
 But with wise forethought Galahad had fol- 
 lowed Melias, and now rode into the valley, where 
 he found him in peril of death. 
 
 " Ah, Melias !" he cried, " better for you had you 
 taken the other way. Who has done you this 
 harm ?" 
 
 " For God's love, let me not die in this place !" 
 said Melias in reply. "Bear me to some abbey
 
 40 THE QUEST OP THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 near by, where I may be confessed and have the 
 rites of the church." 
 
 "It shall be done," said Galahad. " But where 
 is he who has wounded you ?" 
 
 The reply came from the edge of the forest, 
 where Galahad heard a voice cry in stirring 
 tones, 
 
 " Knight, defend yourself from me." 
 
 "Beware, sir," warned Melias. "He it is that 
 has left me thus." 
 
 " Sir knight," said Galahad, " come on at your 
 peril." 
 
 Then they rode together as fast as their horses 
 2ould run, and Galahad drove his spear through 
 the shoulder of his opponent, hurling him from 
 his horse. But in his fall the spear broke. Then, 
 before the young knight could turn, another knight 
 rode from under the leaves and broke his spear 
 upon him. 
 
 At this treacherous act Galahad drew his sword 
 in wrath, and with a keen blow smote off the left 
 arm of his antagonist, whom he pursued into the 
 forest. 
 
 He soon returned, however, and took up Melias 
 gently, for the truncheon of the spear was in his 
 body, and bore him on his horse in his arms to an 
 abbey near at hand. Here the wounded knight 
 was unarmed and laid upon a bed, where the rites 
 of the church were administered to him. 
 
 " Sir Galahad," he then said, " let death come 
 when it will, I am at peace with God." And he
 
 HOW GAlcAHAD GOT HIS SHIELD. 41 
 
 drew the truncheon of the spear from his body, 
 and swooned away. 
 
 But an old monk who stood there, and who was 
 a skilful leech, examined the wound, and said, 
 " He need not die. By the grace of God I hope 
 to heal him of this wound within seven weeks." 
 
 This gladdened Galahad, and he remained at the 
 abbey three days to see how Melias should fare. 
 Then he asked him how it stood with him. 
 
 " I feel now as if I may live," he answered. 
 
 " God be thanked for that," said Galahad. " Now 
 must I depart, for I have much to do, and the quest 
 of the Sangreal will not permit long leisure and 
 delay." 
 
 " Sir," said the monk, " it is for his sin this 
 knight is so bitterly wounded. He took on him 
 the high order of knighthood without clean con- 
 fession, which was a sinful thing to do. As for 
 the two ways to which you came, the way on the 
 right betokens the highway of righteousness, and 
 the way on the left, which he chose, betokens that 
 of sinners and infidels. And when the devil saw 
 his presumption in taking the quest of the Sangreal 
 without being worthy of it, he caused his over- 
 throw. And when he took the crown of gold he 
 sinned in covetousness and theft. As for you, Sir 
 Galahad, the two knights with whom you fought 
 signify the two deadly sins which abide in Sir 
 Melias. But they could not withstand you, for 
 you are without deadly sin." 
 
 ' God send I may keep so," said Galahad. " Now 
 4*
 
 42 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 must I depart. I pray you do your utmost for 
 this knight." 
 
 " My Lord Galahad," said Melias, " I shall get 
 well, and shall seek you as soon as I can ride." 
 
 " God grant you speedy health," said Galahad, 
 and he left the room and sought his horse, and 
 rode away alone. 
 
 After he had ridden for days in various direc- 
 tions, it chanced that he departed from a place 
 called Abblasoure, where he had heard no mass, 
 as was his daily custom. But ere the day was 
 old, he came to a mountain, on which he found 
 a ruined chapel, and here he kneeled before the 
 altar, and besought God's counsel. And as he 
 prayed he heard a voice that said, " Go now, thou 
 adventurous knight, to the Castle of Maidens, and 
 do away with the wicked customs which there are 
 kept." 
 
 When Galahad heard this he took his horse and 
 rode away, full of gladness that he might thus 
 serve God. And not long nor far had he ridden 
 before he saw in a valley before him a strong 
 castle, with high towers and battlements and deep 
 ditches ; and beside it ran a broad river, named 
 the Severn. 
 
 Here he met an aged man, whom he saluted, 
 and asked the castle's name. 
 
 "It is the Castle of Maidens," said the old 
 man. 
 
 " Then it is a cursed castle, and an abode of 
 sin," said Galahad '' All pity is wanting within
 
 HOW GALAHAD GOT HIS SHIELD. 43 
 
 those walls, and evil and hardness of heart there 
 have their abode." 
 
 " Then, sir knight, you would do well to turn 
 and leave it." 
 
 " That shall I not," said Galahad. " I have come 
 here to punish the evil-doers that there abide." 
 
 Leaving the old man, he rode forward, and soon 
 met with seven fair maidens, who said to him, 
 
 " Sir knight, you ride in folly, for you have the 
 water to pass." 
 
 " And why should I not pass the water ?" asked 
 Galahad. 
 
 He continued his ride, and next met a squire, 
 who said, 
 
 u Sir knight, I bring you defiance from the 
 knights in the castle, who forbid you to go farther 
 till they learn your purpose." 
 
 " You may tell it to them, if you will. I come 
 to destroy the wicked customs of this castle." 
 
 " Sir, if you abide by that, you will have enough 
 to do." 
 
 " Go now and bear them my answer." 
 
 Then the squire returned to the castle, from 
 which there soon after rode seven knights, in full 
 armor. When they saw Galahad they cried, 
 
 " Knight, be on your guard, for you have come 
 to your death." 
 
 " "What 1" asked Galahad, " will you all assail me 
 at once ?" 
 
 ' That shall we ; so defend yourself." 
 
 Then Galahad rode against them and smote the
 
 44 THE QUEST OP THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 foremost such a blow that he nearly broke bis 
 neck. The others rode on him together, each 
 striking his shield with might. But their spears 
 broke and he still held his seat. 
 
 He now drew his sword, and set upon them with 
 such energy that, many as they were, he put them 
 all to flight, chasing them until they entered the 
 castle, and following them within its walls till they 
 fled from the castle by another gate. 
 
 Galahad was now met by an old man, clad in 
 religious costume, who said to him, 
 
 " Sir, here are the keys of the castle." 
 
 Then the victor ordered that all the gates should 
 be thrown open, and in the streets of the neighbor- 
 ing town were crowds of people, crying gladly, 
 
 " Sir knight, you are heartily welcome. Long 
 have we waited for the deliverance which you 
 bring us." 
 
 And a gentlewoman came, who said to him, 
 
 "These knights are fled, but they will come 
 again. Therefore, sir, I counsel you to send for 
 all the knights that hold their lands of this castle, 
 and make them swear to restore the old customs, 
 and do away with the evil practices which these 
 villanous knights have fostered." 
 
 " That is good counsel," said Galahad. 
 
 Then she brought him a horn of ivory, richly 
 adorned with gold, and said, 
 
 " Blow this horn loudly. It will be heard two 
 miles and more from the castle, and all that hear 
 it will come."
 
 HOW GALAIIAD GOT HIS SHIELD. 45 
 
 Galahad took the horn, and blew so loud a 
 blast that the very trees shook therewith, Then 
 he seated himself and waited to see what would 
 come from the summons. As he sat there a priest 
 came to him and said, 
 
 " Sir knight, for seven years these brethren have 
 held the castle, whose lord, Duke Lianor, they 
 killed, and held his daughter prisoner j and by 
 force they have kept all the knights of the castle 
 under their power, and have acted as tyrants, rob- 
 bing the common people of all they had, and tak- 
 ing tribute and demanding service from all the 
 country round. Seven years ago the duke's daugh- 
 ter said to them, ' You shall not hold this castle 
 for many years, for by one knight you shall be 
 overcome.' ' Say you so,' they replied. ' Then shall 
 never knight or lady pass this castle, but all that 
 come shall stay or lose their heads, till comes that 
 knight of whom you prophesy.' Therefore this is 
 called the Maidens' Castle, since its tyrants have 
 BO long made war upon maidens." 
 
 " Is the duke's daughter still here ?" 
 
 u No ; she died three days after the castle was 
 taken. But her younger sister and many other 
 ladies are held prisoners." 
 
 Soon afterwards the knights of the country 
 began to flock in, in response to the bugle-call, 
 and glad were they to find what had occurred. 
 Galahad made them do homage and fealty to the 
 duke's daughter, which they did with great wil- 
 lingness of heart.
 
 46 TH* QUEST OP THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 And when the next day dawned great news 
 was brought in, for a messenger came to Galahad 
 and told him that the seven felon brothers had 
 been met by Gawaine, Gareth, and Uwaine, and 
 all slain. 
 
 " So ends their rule and power," said Galahad, 
 fervently. " It is well done, and well are all here 
 delivered." 
 
 Then he commended them to God, and took his 
 armor and horse, and rode away amid the prayers 
 of those he had delivered. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE TEMPTATION OF SIR PERCIVALE. 
 
 MANY adventures had the other knights thai 
 set out in search of the Sangreal, and much re- 
 proof did many of them receive for the evil lives 
 they had led ; but all this we cannot stop to tell, 
 but must confine ourselves to the deeds of a few 
 only. As for Sir Gawaine, he parted from Gareth 
 and Uwaine after they had slain the seven wicked 
 knights of the Castle of Maidens, and rode from 
 Whitsuntide to Michaelmas without an adventure. 
 Then came a day in which he met Sir Hector de 
 Maris, and glad were both at the meeting. 
 
 "Truly," said Gawaine, "I am growing weary 
 of this quest."
 
 TH TEMPTATION OF SIR PEBCIVALE. 47 
 
 " And I as well," said Hector. " And of the 
 twenty knights I have met from time to time, 
 they all complain as we do." 
 
 " Have you met with Lancelot ?" 
 
 " No ; nor with Percivale, Bors, or Galahad. I 
 can learn nothing of these four." 
 
 " They are well able to take care of them- 
 selves," said Gawaine. " And if they fail to find 
 the Sangreal, it is waste of time for the rest of us 
 to seek it, for outside of them there is little virtue 
 in the Eound Table fellowship." 
 
 Afterwards these two knights went far in com- 
 pany, and had strange dreams and visions, the 
 meaning of which was expounded to them by the 
 hermit Nancien. This holy man also reproved 
 Gawaine severely for his evil life, and bade both 
 him and his companion to give up the search for 
 the Sangreal, as that high achievement was not 
 for hands like theirs. 
 
 Soon after they met an armed knight in the 
 road, who proffered to joust with them. Gawaine 
 accepted the challenge, and rode against this un- 
 known opponent, dealing him so severe a blow that 
 he was hurled from his horse with a mortal wound. 
 But when they had removed his helmet, what was 
 their horror to find that it was their friend and 
 comrade, TJwaine. 
 
 " Alasl" cried Gawaine, " that such a fatal mis- 
 adventure should have befallen me I I would 
 sooner have died myself." 
 
 "Thus ends my quest of the Sangreal," said
 
 48 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 Uwaine. "And thus will end that of many a 
 noble knight. Dear friends, commend me to King 
 Arthur, and to my fellows of the Bound Table, anH 
 sometimes think of me for old brotherhood's sake." 
 
 And he died in their arms, leaving them plunged 
 in the deepest grief, from which they were long in 
 recovering. 
 
 Meanwhile Lancelot and Percivale rode far in 
 company, and many things happened to them. 
 While journeying through a strange region they 
 met an unknown knight, whom they challenged 
 to joust. But the event turned out little to their 
 satisfaction, for Lancelot was hurled to the ground, 
 horse and man, and Percivale received so fierce a 
 sword-blow that he would have been slain had not 
 the sword swerved. 
 
 Then the victor knight rode rapidly away, 
 leaving them to recover as they best could. But 
 a recluse near whose hut this encounter had taken 
 place told them that the victor was Sir Galahad. 
 On learning this they pursued him at all speed, 
 but in vain. 
 
 Percivale now turned back to question the 
 recluse further, but Lancelot kept on, passing 
 through waste and forest till he came to a stone 
 cross at the parting of two ways. 
 
 Near by was a ruined chapel, with broken door, 
 and other signs of waste and decay, as if it had 
 been long deserted. But when he looked within 
 he saw to his great surprise a high altar richly 
 dressed with cloth of white silk, on which stood
 
 THE TEMPTATION OP SIR PERCIVALB. 49 
 
 a lofty candelabra of silver which bore six great 
 candles, all lighted. 
 
 Lancelot sought to enter the chapel, but try as 
 he would he could not pass the broken door, nor 
 find entrance elsewhere. Some invisible power 
 seemed to stand between him and admission to 
 that sacred place. 
 
 Then, out of heart at this ill success, he took 
 off his helm and sword, relieved his horse of 
 saddle and bridle, and lay down to sleep before 
 the cross. Night came upon him as he lay there, 
 and with the night came strange visions. 
 
 For as he lay but half asleep he saw a sick 
 knight brought thither in a litter. This knight 
 prayed earnestly for aid in his affliction, and as 
 he did so Lancelot saw the silver candlestick come 
 from the chapel to the cross, and after it a table 
 of silver on which was the holy grail. The sick 
 knight crawled painfully to it on his hands and 
 knees, and raised himself so as to touch and 
 kiss the sacred vessel. No sooner had he done so 
 than he grew whole and sound, with all his pain 
 and sickness gone, and rose to his feet with his 
 former strength and vigor. 
 
 " Lord, I thank thee deeply,' ' he said ; " for through 
 thy infinite grace I am healed of my affliction." 
 
 Then the holy vessel returned to the chapel, 
 and Lancelot strove hard to rise and follow it. 
 But his limbs were powerless, and he lay like one 
 chained to the ground. 
 
 He now fell into deep slumber, and waked not 
 VOL. III. c d 5
 
 50 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 till near morning. And as he raised himself and 
 Bat on the ground he heard a voice in the air, 
 that seemed to come from no earthly lips. 
 
 " Sir Lancelot," it said, " more hard than is the 
 stone, more bitter than the wood, more bare than 
 the barren fig-tree, arise and go from hence, and 
 withdraw thyself from this holy place." 
 
 Lancelot arose with a heavy heart, for the sense 
 of these words sank deeply within him. But when 
 he sought his horse and helm and sword he found 
 they were gone, for they had been taken by the 
 knight whose healing he had seen. 
 
 Deeply depressed and unhappy at this misfor- 
 tune, he left the cross on foot, and wandered on- 
 ward till he came to a hermitage on a high hill. 
 
 Here he told the hermit what had happened to 
 him, and confessed all the evil deeds of his life, 
 saying that he had resolved to be a different man 
 from what he had been, and to live a higher life 
 than that of doing deeds of arms that men might 
 applaud. 
 
 Then the holy man gave him absolution, with 
 injunctions of penance, and prayed that he would 
 abide with him all that day. This Lancelot did, 
 talking much with him upon his sins, and repent- 
 ing sincerely the worldly life he had led. 
 
 Meanwhile Percival had returned to the recluse, 
 and questioned her as to how he should find Gala- 
 had. 
 
 " That I cannot surely tell," she said. " Ride 
 hence to a castle which is called Goothe, where he
 
 THE TEMPTATION OF SIE PEBCIVALE. 51 
 
 has a cousin-german. If he can give you no 
 tidings, then rido straight to the castle Carbonek, 
 where the maimed king lies, and there you shall 
 hear sure tidings of him." 
 
 Percivale, leaving her, rode onward till eventide, 
 and as he looked around him for shelter he heard 
 a clock strike loud and clear. He now perceived 
 before him a mansion, with lofty walls and deep 
 ditches. Here he knocked loudly, and was let in 
 without delay. 
 
 After laying off his armor, he was led to the 
 supper hall, where he was well served, and after- 
 wards spent the night in comfort. When morn- 
 ing dawned he entered the chapel for the mass, 
 and found there a priest ready at the altar. On 
 the right side was a pew closed with iron, and 
 behind the altar a rich bed, covered with cloth of 
 silk and gold. On this bed lay a person with 
 covered visage, so that he could not tell if it were 
 man or woman. 
 
 After the service was over the occupant of the 
 bed sat up and threw back the covering, and then 
 Percivale saw that it was a man of very great 
 age, on whose head was a crown of gold. But 
 his shoulders and body to the middle were unclad, 
 and were covered with wounds, as were also his 
 arms and face. 
 
 To all seeming he might have been three hun 
 dred years of age, for so venerable a face Perci- 
 vale had never gazed upon, and as he sat up he 
 prayed fervently, with joined hands. When the
 
 52 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 mass was over the priest bore the sacrament to 
 the sick king. And when he had used it, he 
 took off his crown and commanded it to be set 
 on the altar. Then he lay down again. 
 
 Percivale now asked one of the attendants who 
 this venerable man was. 
 
 "You have heard of Joseph of Arimathea," 
 was the reply, " and how he came into this land 
 to convert the heathen. With him came a king 
 named Evelake, whom he had converted in the 
 city of Sarras, in Palestine. This king afterwards 
 had an earnest desire to be where the Sangreal 
 was, and on one occasion he ventured so nigh it 
 that God was displeased with him, and struck him 
 almost blind. Then King Evelake prayed for 
 mercy and pardon, and begged that he might not 
 die until he who was to achieve the Sangreal 
 should come, that he might see him and kiss him. 
 There answered him a voice that said : ' Thy 
 prayers are heard ; thou shalt not die till he has 
 kissed thee. And when he comes thy eyes shall 
 be opened to see clearly, and thy wounds shall be 
 healed ; but not until then.' So King Evelake 
 has lived in this mansion for three hundred win- 
 ters, waiting for the coming of the knight who 
 shall heal him. Now, sir, will you tell me what 
 knight you are, and if you are of the Bound Table 
 fellowship ?" 
 
 "That am I, and my name is Percivale de 
 Galis." 
 
 On hearing this the good man welcomed Per-
 
 THE TEMPTATION OP SIB PEBCIVALE. 53 
 
 civale warmly, and pressed him to remain. But 
 the knight replied that he could not, for his duty 
 led him onward. 
 
 Percivale now left the chapel, and, arming him- 
 self, he took his horse and rode onward. And 
 that day more strange things happened to him 
 than we have space to tell. Not far had he ridden 
 when he met twenty men-at-arms, who bore on a 
 bier a dead knight. On learning that he was from 
 King Arthur's court, they assailed him fiercely, 
 killed his horse, and would have slain him ; but 
 when he was at the worst strait a knight in red 
 armor came hastily to his rescue, and rode fiercely 
 on the assailants. 
 
 He attacked these, indeed, with such fury that 
 many of them were soon stretched on the ground ; 
 while the others fled into a thick forest, whither 
 they were hotly pursued by their assailant. 
 
 On seeing him thus ride away, Percivale was 
 deeply grieved, for he well knew his rescuer was 
 Galahad, and he had no horse to follow him. 
 
 He went forward as fast as he could on foot, and 
 had not gone far when he met a yeoman riding on 
 a hackney, and leading a great war-horse, blacker 
 than any bear. 
 
 Percivale begged that he would lend him this 
 horse, that he might overtake a knight before him. 
 But this the yeoman refused, saying that the owner 
 of the horse would slay him if he should do so. 
 
 Not long afterwards, as Percivale sat woebegone 
 beneath a tree, an armed knight came riding past 
 6*
 
 54 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 on the black horse, pursued by the yeoman, who 
 called him robber, and moaned bitterly that hia 
 master would kill him for the loss of his charge. 
 
 " Lend me your hackney," said Percivale ; " 1 
 may get you your horse again." 
 
 This the yeoman gladly did, and Percivale pur- 
 sued the robber knight, loudly bidding him to 
 stand and deliver. 
 
 The knight at this turned and rode fiercely 
 upon him, but directed his spear against the horse 
 instead of the rider, striking it in the breast, so 
 that it fell to the earth. 
 
 He now rode away, without heeding Percivale's 
 angry demand that he should stop and fight it out 
 on foot. When the dismounted knight found that 
 Jiis antagonist would not turn, he was so filled 
 with chagrin that he threw away his helm and 
 sword, and raved like one out of his wits. Thus 
 he continued till night came on, when he lay down 
 exhausted and fell into a deep slumber. 
 
 Near the midnight hour he suddenly awakened, 
 and saw in the road before him a woman, who 
 said, 
 
 " Sir Percivale, what do you here ?" 
 
 " I do neither good nor ill," he replied. 
 
 " You need a horse," she said. " If ycu will 
 promise to do my will when I shall summon you, 
 I will lend you mine. You will find him no 
 common one '' 
 
 " I promise that," cried Percivale. " I would 
 do much for a horse just now."
 
 THE TEMPTATION OF SIR PERCIVALE. 55 
 
 "Wait, then; I shall fetch you the noblest 
 animal you ever bestrode." 
 
 She departed, but quickly came again, leading 
 a horse of midnight blackness, and richly ap- 
 parelled for knightly service. 
 
 Percivale looked at it with admiration. He had 
 not hoped for so great and noble a steed as this. 
 Thanking her warmly, ho sprang to his feet, leaped 
 to the saddle, and put spurs to the horse, from 
 whose nostrils fire seemed to glare. 
 
 Away went the black horse under the moon- 
 light, making such marvellous strides that it 
 seemed to leave the earth behind it in its magical 
 progress. With such wondrous speed did it go 
 that in an hour it had made a four days' journey. 
 Then it came to the brink of a great body of 
 water, whose waves foamed and leaped boister- 
 ously against the shore. 
 
 When Percivale saw the heaving waves, which 
 stretched far away under the moonlight, he drew 
 with all his force upon the rein ; but the fiendish 
 brute which he rode heeded not his hand, but bore 
 him madly to the brink. Fear and doubt now 
 filled the knight's mind, and with a hasty impulse 
 he made the sign of the cross. At this the beast 
 roared loudly in rage, while flame a foot long 
 poured from its nostrils, and with a wild rear it 
 shook off its rider, and plunged madly into the 
 wild billows. And the showering drops which fell 
 upon Percivale from the plunge burnt like sparks 
 of fire.
 
 56 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 " God be thanked that I am here alive," crieJ 
 the knight, fervently. " I have ridden the foul 
 fiend in the image of a horse, and barely have 
 I escaped perdition." 
 
 Then he commended himself to God, and prayed 
 earnestly to the Lord to save him from all such 
 perils and temptations. He continued in prayer 
 all the remainder of that night until the next day 
 dawned upon the earth. 
 
 When sunrise came he looked heed fully about 
 him, anxious to learn whither he had been borne 
 by the unholy brute. To his surprise and alarm 
 he found himself in a wild waste, which was closed 
 in on one side by the sea, and on the other by 
 a range of rough and high mountains, impass- 
 able to human feet; a land that seemed with- 
 out food or shelter, and the lurking-place of wild 
 
 He trembled with fear on seeing this, and went 
 forward with doubtful steps. Not far had he gone 
 before he saw a strange thing, for a great serpent 
 passed near him, bearing a young lion by the 
 neck. Fiercely after it came a great lion, roaring 
 with rage, and fell upon the serpent, which turned 
 in defence, so that a mighty battle was waged 
 before the knight. 
 
 " By my faith," he cried, " the lion is the most 
 natural beast of the two, and it fights for its 
 young. The lion it is my duty to help." 
 
 He drew his sword with these words and struck 
 the serpent so fierce a stroke that it fell dead.
 
 THE TEMPTATION OF SIR PERCIVALI. 57 
 
 Then he turned his shield against the lion, but as 
 the latter made no show of fighting him, but 
 fawned upon him with every mark of joy and 
 gratitude, he cast down his shield and removed 
 his helm, and sat there stroking the neck and 
 shoulders of the beast. 
 
 Until noon he comforted himself with the fel- 
 lowship of the lion. Then it took up its whelp 
 and bore it away, leaving Percivale alone. But 
 he was not unhappy, for he believed fervently in 
 God, and prayed with all earnestness that he might 
 be saved from unholy things, and chosen as a 
 champion of right and truth. 
 
 When night came, Percivale, to his joy, saw the 
 lion coming towards him. It crouched at his feet 
 like a spaniel, and all that night the lion and the 
 knight slept in company, his head being pillowed 
 on the shoulder of the beast. 
 
 But during the night a strange dream came to 
 him. He seemed to see two women, one of whom 
 was young, and rode upon a lion, and the other 
 was old, and sat upon a gliding serpent. And the 
 younger spoke to him as follows, 
 
 " Sir Percivale," she said, " my lord salutes you, 
 and sends a warning to you to make ready, for to- 
 morrow you will have to fight with the strongest 
 champion in the world. And if overcome you 
 will be shamed to the world's end." 
 
 " Who is your lord ?" he asked. 
 
 " The greatest lord in all the world," she said ; 
 and then suddenly vanished.
 
 58 THE QUEST OP THE HOLT GBAIL. 
 
 Then came the lady upon the serpent, and 
 said, 
 
 " Sir Percivale, I have done you no harm, and 
 yet you have worked me injury." 
 
 "What have I done? I have been always 
 heedful to offend no lady." 
 
 " I have long nourished here a great serpent, 
 and yesterday you killed it for seeking its prey. 
 Why did you this ? The lion was not in your 
 care." 
 
 " I aided the lion because it was a nobler beast 
 than the serpent. In that I did nothing against 
 you." 
 
 " You did me a great wrong, and in return for 
 this injury I demand that you become my man." 
 
 " That shall I never be," he answered. 
 
 " Beware, then, proud knight, who pride your- 
 self on your piety. You have robbed me of that 
 which I loved ; take heed that I catch you not 
 unawares, or mine you shall be, body and soul." 
 
 With these words she departed, and Percivale 
 finished his sleep without further vision. In the 
 morning, when he awoke, he felt feeble. And as 
 he rose and blessed himself he saw not far off in 
 the sea a ship that sailed towards him. As it came 
 near he perceived it to be covered within and with- 
 out with white samite, while on the deck stood an 
 old man dressed in a surplice like a priest. 
 
 " Sir," said Percivale, " you are welcome." 
 
 " God keep you," said the old man ; " whence 
 come you ?"
 
 THE TEMPTATION OF SIB PERCIVALE. 59 
 
 " 1 am of King Arthur's court, and a Knight of 
 the Bound Table, and am in quest of the SangreaL 
 But here I find myself in a wilderness, with no 
 hope of escape." 
 
 " Doubt not, if you be a true knight." 
 
 <( Who are you ?" asked Percivale. 
 
 " I have come hither from a strange country to 
 comfort you," said the old man. 
 
 " Then, sir, can you tell me what my dream 
 signifies ?" and Percivale related what had befallen 
 him. 
 
 " That can I," said the old man. " She that rode 
 on the lion betokens the new law of holy church, 
 and she came through love, to warn you of the 
 great battle that is before you." 
 
 "With whom shall I fight?" asked Perci- 
 vale. 
 
 "With the strongest champion of the world, 
 and if you fail in the fight you shall not escape 
 with the loss of a limb, but shall be shamed 
 to the world's end. As for her that rode on the 
 serpent, she betokens the old law. Heed her not. 
 The serpent you slew betokens the devil that you 
 rode hither, and whom you overcame by the sign 
 of the cross. Yield not to her or any of her 
 kindred, or worse will befall you." 
 
 Then the ship turned and sailed away, leaving 
 Prcivale again alone. But when he went up the 
 rocks he found there the lion, which he stroked 
 and made joyful fellowship with. 
 
 A.nd thus time went on till midday. Then Per-
 
 60 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 civale saw a ship approaching with such speed a* 
 if all the winds in the world had driven it. On 
 it kept till it reached land at the beach below him. 
 He hurried hopefully to meet it, and saw that it 
 was covered with black silk, while on the deck 
 stood a lady of great beauty, who was dressed in 
 the richest apparel. 
 
 " What brought you into this wilderness ?" she 
 cried to the knight. " Here you are likely to die 
 of hunger, for no man may cross yonder rocks 
 and escape." 
 
 " I serve the best master in the world," said 
 Percivale. " He will not suffer harm to come to 
 me." 
 
 " Sir Percivale," said she, " know you who I 
 am?" 
 
 " Who taught you my name ?" he answered. 
 
 "I know you better than you deem," she re- 
 plied, laughing. " This much I may tell you, that 
 not long since I was in the waste forest, where I 
 saw the red knight with the white shield." 
 
 "Ah! is that so? Fain would I meet with 
 him." 
 
 " I shall bring you to him ; but only on cove 
 nant that you will come to my aid when I summon 
 you." 
 
 " If it be in reason and uprightness, you may 
 trust me," he replied. 
 
 " I saw him," she continued, " chase two knights 
 into the stream that is called Mortaise, and follow 
 them into the water. But they passed over, and
 
 THE TEMPTATION OF SIR PERCIVALS. 61 
 
 his horse was drowned, and only by his great 
 strength he got safe to land again." 
 
 " That I am very glad to hear. It would have 
 been a sad day had that good knight been 
 drowned." 
 
 " You look pale and thin," she remarked. 
 " Have you eaten lately ?" 
 
 " Not these three days," he answered. " Yet I 
 spoke of late with a good man, whose words re- 
 freshed me as if I had partaken of rich viands." 
 
 " Ah, sir knight," she said, " beware of that old 
 man. I know him better than you. He is a false 
 enchanter, who seeks your harm. If you heed 
 his words shame will be your lot, and you will die 
 on this rock and be devoured by wild beasts. I 
 am here to help you in your need, for I am not 
 content to see so good a knight come to harm and 
 disgrace." 
 
 " Who are you," asked Percivale, " that proffer 
 me so great a kindness ?" 
 
 " Once I was the richest woman in the world," 
 she answered. "Now I am disinherited and in 
 want." 
 
 " Then I pity you greatly. "Who is it that has 
 disinherited you ?" 
 
 " I dwelt with the greatest man in the world," 
 she answered, " and to him I owe my beauty, a 
 beauty of which I was, alas I too proud. Then 1 
 said that which offended him deeply, and he drove 
 me away from him, and robbed me of my heritage, 
 and has never since had pity for me nor for my 
 6
 
 62 THE QUEST OP THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 friends. Since this has happened I have done my 
 best to wean his men from him, and many of them 
 now cling to me, and I and they war against him 
 day and night. I know no good knight, nor good 
 man, but that I strive to win him to my side, and 
 all such I repay well for their services. For he 
 against whom I wage war is strong, and I need 
 all the aid to be had. Therefore, since I know 
 you for a valiant knight, I beseech you to help 
 me. A fellow of the Round Table cannot, under 
 his vow, fail any woman that is disinherited, and 
 that seeks his aid." 
 
 " That is true, indeed," said Percivale, " and I 
 shall do all I can for you." 
 
 " You have my earnest thanks," she said. 
 
 Then, as the weather was hot, she called some 
 of her attendants, and bade them bring a pavilion 
 and set it up on the gravel near the sea-line. 
 
 " Sir knight," she said, " I pray you to rest here 
 in the heat of the day, while my attendants pre- 
 pare food for you." 
 
 He thanked her and laid aside his helm and 
 shield, and fell asleep within the pavilion, where 
 he slumbered long. When he awoke he asked her 
 if the food was ready. 
 
 "Yes," she answered; "I have worked while 
 you slumbered." 
 
 Then a table was set within the pavilion, and 
 covered with a rich array of meats and drinks, 
 of which Percivale ate with great appetite, whiJe 
 the lady sat opposite him with a very gracious
 
 THE TEMPTATION OF SIR PEBOIYALX. 63 
 
 aspect. The wine he drank was the strongest 
 that had ever passed his lips, and its strength 
 soon got into his veins and heated his brain. 
 
 The lady now smiled graciously upon him, and 
 it seemed to him that he had never beheld so fair 
 a creature. Her beauty so worked upon his 
 heated blood, indeed, that he proffered her his 
 love, and prayed earnestly for hers in return. 
 
 When she saw his loving ardor, and that the 
 wine worked like fire in his blood, she said, with 
 a smile of witchery, 
 
 " Sir Percivale, if I become yours, you must 
 become mine. I shall not grant you my love 
 unless you swear that henceforth you will be my 
 true servant, and do nothing but what I shall 
 command. Will you thus bind yourself, as you 
 are a true knight ?" 
 
 "That will I, fair lady, by the faith of my 
 body." 
 
 " Then this I will say, that of all the knights 
 in the world you are he whom I most love. And 
 you may seal upon my lips the compact we have 
 made." 
 
 But when Percivale came towards her, to claim 
 the proffered kiss, which she offered with such 
 bewitching grace, by chance or through God's 
 aid he saw his sword, which lay on the ground at 
 his feet, and in its pommel a red cross, with the 
 sign of the crucifix therein. Then came to his 
 mind the promise he had made to the old man, 
 and his knightly vows, and with a pious impulse
 
 64 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT QUAIL. 
 
 he raised his hand and made the sign of the cross 
 on his forehead, the while his eyes were fixed 01 
 the lovely face of the tempter before him. 
 
 As he did so her smile changed to a look of 
 deadly hate, and the loveliness of her face to a 
 hideous aspect, while in the same moment the 
 pavilion fell as before a great wind, and then van- 
 ished in smoke and cloud. 
 
 Over the sea the wind rose and roared, and as 
 he looked he saw the ship battling with heaving 
 waves, while the water seemed to burn behind it. 
 On the deck stood the lady, who cried, 
 
 " Sir Percivale, you have betrayed me I Beware, 
 proud knight, I shall have my revenge." Then 
 the ship drove out to sea, and vanished from his 
 sight. 
 
 But in a passion of remorse Percivale snatched 
 up the sword that lay before him, and crying. 
 " Since my flesh has been my master I will punish 
 it," he drove the naked blade through his thigh, 
 till the blood spouted out like a fountain. 
 
 " "Wretch that I am, how nearly was I lost !" 
 he cried, in a torment of conscience. " Fair sweet 
 Father, Jesus Christ my Lord, let me not be 
 shamed, as I would now have been but for thy 
 good grace. Take this wound in recompense for 
 what I have done against thee, and forgive me 
 my deep transgression, I humbly pray thee." 
 
 But as he lay moaning and bleeding the wild 
 winds went down and the sea grew dmooth, while 
 ho saw coming from the Orient the ship with the
 
 THE TEMPTATION OF SIR PEBOIVALE. 65 
 
 good man on board, on beholding whom he fell 
 into a swoon. 
 
 When he awoke he found that his wound had 
 been dressed and the bleeding stopped. Beside 
 him sat the good man, who asked him, 
 
 " How hast thou done since I departed ?" 
 
 " Weakly and wickedly enough," he answered. 
 ' A witch beguiled me, and I nearly fell a victim 
 to her wiles." 
 
 " Knew you her not ?" 
 
 " Only that I deem the foul fiend sent her here 
 to shame me." 
 
 " Worse than that, good knight. Your victory 
 is greater than you deem. That seeming woman 
 who deceived you was no less an adversary than 
 the master-fiend of hell, who has power over all 
 the lesser devils, and, had you yielded, you had 
 been lost forever. For this is the mighty cham- 
 pion against whom you were forwarned ; he who 
 was once the brightest angel of heaven, and was 
 driven out by our Lord Christ for his sins, and 
 thus lost his heritage. But that the grace of God 
 was on your side you would have fallen before 
 this champion of evil. Take this, Sir Percivale, 
 as a warning and an example." 
 
 With these words the good man vanished away. 
 Then the mariners carried the wounded knight 
 on board their ship, and set sail, bearing him 
 rapidly away from that scene of temptation and 
 victory. 
 
 VOL. III. e 6*
 
 66 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 CHAPTEK V. 
 
 THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF SIR BOR8. 
 
 WHEN Sir Bors parted from his companions, on 
 the quest of the Sangreal, not far had he gone 
 when he met a religious man riding on an ass, 
 whom he courteously saluted. 
 
 " Who are you ?" asked the good man. 
 
 " I am one of those knights who have set out in 
 quest of the Sangreal," said Bore. " I would fain 
 have your counsel in this high duty, for great 
 honor shall come to him who succeeds therein." 
 
 " That is true," said the good man. " He that 
 wins the Sangreal will be counted the best knight 
 and the purest soul among men. None can hope 
 to attain it except through cleanness of spirit." 
 
 Then they rode together till they came to a 
 hermitage. Here Bore went into the chapel with 
 his companion, and confessed to him, and ate 
 bread and drank water with him. 
 
 " Now," said the good man, " I charge you that 
 you take no other food than bread and water till 
 you sit at the table where the Sangreal shall be." 
 
 " To that I agree. But how know you that I 
 shall ever sit there ?" 
 
 " I know it, let that suffice ; but few of your 
 comrades shall have that honor."
 
 TfflB 8TRANOE ADVENTURES OP SIR BOBS. 67 
 
 " All that God sends me will be welcome, ' said 
 Bors 
 
 " Also, instead of a shirt, and in token of chas- 
 tisement, you shall wear this garment," and the 
 good man produced a scarlet coat, which Bore 
 promised to wear next his skin till the Sangreal 
 should be won. 
 
 Then, after further wholesome advice, he re- 
 sumed his armor and departed. He had gone but 
 a little way from the hermitage when he passed a 
 tree that was little more than an old and leafless 
 trunk, and on one of its boughs he saw a great bird, 
 surrounded by young that were nearly dead with 
 hunger. As he continued to look at this strange 
 sight, the bird smote itself in the breast with its 
 shai'p beak, and bled till it died among its young. 
 Then the young birds fed on their mother's blood, 
 and were revived thereby. 
 
 This to Bors seemed full of deep significance, 
 and he pondered deeply upon it as he rode onward. 
 By even-song he found himself near a strong and 
 high tower, where he asked shelter for the night, 
 and was hospitably welcomed. 
 
 When he had disarmed he was led to a richly 
 furnished apartment, where he found a young and 
 fair lady, who welcomed him gladly to her tower, 
 and invited him to take supper with her. 
 
 The table was set with rich meats and many 
 dainties, but Bors forgot not the hermit's charge, 
 and bade an attendant to bring him water. In 
 this he sopped bread and ate it.
 
 68 fHK QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 "How is this?" asked the lady in surprise, 
 " Like you not my meat ?" 
 
 " Truly I do, madam j yet I may eat no other 
 food this day." 
 
 Then the lady was silent, for she feared to dis 
 please him by questioning. After supper, while 
 they sat talking, a squire came, who said, 
 
 " Madam, you know well what is set for 
 to-morrow. You must provide a champion to 
 fight in your quarrel against Pridam le Noire, 
 or your sister will have this castle and all your 
 lands." 
 
 "I know that," she said, with a deep sigh. 
 " May God save me from being robbed, for I see 
 no earthly aid." 
 
 Her sorrow touched Bors, who asked, 
 
 " What means this, madam ?" 
 
 " Sir," she said, " I shall tell you. There was 
 formerly a king named Aniause, who owned all 
 these lands. By chance he loved my sister, who 
 is much older than I, and much wickeder also, I 
 fear. He gave her this land to govern ; but she 
 brought into it many evil customs, and caused the 
 death of many of his kinsmen. When the king 
 saw how vilely she governed, he drove her away, 
 and put me over this district. But he is now 
 dead, and she is making war on me, and has 
 destroyed many of my men, and turned others 
 from me, so that I have little left but this tower, 
 and the few men that guard it. Even this she 
 now threatens to take from me, unless I can find
 
 THE STRANGE ADVENTURES Of SIR BORS. 69 
 
 a knight to fight her champion, who will appear 
 before my gates to-morrow." 
 
 " Is it so ?" said Bors. " Who is this Pridam le 
 Noire?" 
 
 " He is the most stalwart knight in this country, 
 and has no equal among us." 
 
 " Madam," said Bors, " you have given me shel- 
 ter ; in return I shall aid you as far as I can in 
 your trouble. You may send word that you have 
 found a knight who will fight with this Pridam 
 the Black, in God's quarrel and yours." 
 
 " Then may God's blessing rest upon you," she 
 cried, gladly. And word was sent out that she 
 had found a champion who would take on himself 
 her quarrel. 
 
 That evening she did what lay in her power to 
 make Bors welcome, and sent him at bedtime to 
 a chamber whose bed was soft as down, and spread 
 with silken coverings. 
 
 But in no bed would he rest, but laid himself 
 on the floor, as he had vowed to do till he found 
 the Sangreal. 
 
 As he lay there asleep there came to him a 
 vision. He seemed to see two birds, one white as 
 a swan, the other of smaller size, and shaped like 
 a raven, with plumage of inky blackness. The 
 white bird came to him and said, " If thou wilt 
 give me meat and serve me, I shall give thee all 
 the riches of the world, and make thee as fair and 
 white as I am." Then the white bird departed, 
 and f ,he black bird came and said, " I beg that you
 
 70 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 will serve me to-morrow, and hold me in no de- 
 Bpite ; for this I tell you, that my blackness will 
 avail you more than the other's whiteness." And 
 this bird, too, departed. 
 
 But his dream continued, and he seemed to come 
 to a great place, that looked like a chapel. Here 
 he saw on the left side a chair, which was worm- 
 eaten and feeble. And on the right hand were 
 two flowers of the shape of a lily, and one would 
 have taken the whiteness from the other but that 
 a good man separated them, and would not let 
 them touch. And out of each came many flowers 
 and plentiful fruit. Then the good man said, 
 " Would not he act with great folly that should 
 let these two flowers perish to succor the rotten 
 tree, and keep it from falling ?" " Sir," said the 
 dreamer, "it seems to mo that the flower is of 
 more value than the wood." " Then take heed 
 that you never choose the false for the true." 
 
 With this Bors awoke, and made the sign of 
 the cross on his forehead, and then rose and 
 dressed. When he had come to the lady she 
 saluted him, and led him to a chapel, where they 
 heard the morning service. Quickly afterwards 
 there came a company of knights that the lady 
 had sent for, to lead her champion to battle. 
 After he had armed, she begged him to take some 
 strengthening food. 
 
 "Nay madam," he answered, " that I shall not 
 do till I have fought this battle, in which I ask 
 but God's grace to aid me."
 
 THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF SIR BOBS. 71 
 
 This said, he sprang upon his horse, and set out 
 with the knights and men, closely followed by the 
 lady and her train. They soon came to where 
 the other party were encamped, and with them 
 the lady of their choice. 
 
 "Madam," said the lady of the tower, "you 
 have done me great wrong to take from me the 
 lands which King Aniause gave me. And I am 
 sorry that there should be any battle." 
 
 " You shall not choose," said the other, " unless 
 you withdraw your knight and yield the tower." 
 
 "That I shall not do. You have robbed me 
 enough already." 
 
 Then was the trumpet sounded, and proclama- 
 tion was made that whichever champion won the 
 battle, the lady for whom he fought should enjoy all 
 the land. This done, the two champions drew aside, 
 and faced each other grimly in their arm or of proof. 
 
 But when the sound for the onset was blown 
 they put spurs to their steeds, which rushed to- 
 gether like two lions, and the knights struck each 
 other with such force that their spears flew to 
 pieces, and both fell to the earth. 
 
 They quickly rose and drew their swords, and 
 hewed at each other like two woodmen, so that 
 soon each was sorely wounded and bleeding pro- 
 fusely. Bors quickly found that he had a stur- 
 dier antagonist than he expected, for Pridam was 
 a strong and hardy fighter, who stood up lustily 
 to his work, and gave his opponent many a sturdy 
 blow.
 
 72 THE QUEST OP THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 Bore, perceiving this, took a new course, and 
 played with his antagonist till he saw that he was 
 growing weary with his hard work. Then he ad- 
 vanced upon him fiercely, and drove him step by 
 step backward, till in the end Pridam fell. Bora 
 now leaped upon him and pulled so strongly upon 
 his helm as to rend it from his head. Then he 
 struck him with the flat of his sword upon the 
 cheek, and bade him yield, or he would kill him. 
 
 " For God's love, slay me not !" cried the knight. 
 44 1 yield me to thy mercy. I shall swear never 
 to war against thy lady, but be henceforth her 
 friend and protector." 
 
 With this assurance, Bors let him live ; while 
 the covetous old lady fled in fear, followed by all 
 her knights. The victorious champion now called 
 to him all those who held lands in that estate, and 
 threatened to destroy them unless they would do 
 the lady such service as belonged to their holdings. 
 This they swore to do, and there and then paid 
 homage to the lady, who thus came to her own 
 again through the mighty prowess of Sir Bors de 
 Granis. 
 
 Not until the country was well in peace did he 
 take his leave, refusing the offers of wealth which 
 the grateful lady pressed upon him, and receiving 
 her warm thanks with a humility that well became 
 him. 
 
 Hardly would she let him go j but at length he 
 bade her farewell, and rode away from her tears 
 and thanks. On he journeyed for all that day,
 
 THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OP SIR BOBS. 73 
 
 and till midday of the next, when he found him- 
 self in a forest, where a strange adventure befell 
 him. 
 
 For at the parting of two ways he met two 
 knights who had taken prisoner his brother 
 Lionel, whom they had bound all naked upon a 
 hackney, while they beat him with thorns till the 
 blood flowed from every part of his body. Yet 
 so great of heart was he that no word came from 
 his lips, and he made no sign of pain. 
 
 Bors, seeing this, was on the point of rushing 
 to his rescue, when he beheld on the other side a 
 knight who held as prisoner a fair lady, whom he 
 was taking into the thickest part of the forest to 
 hide her from those who sought her. And as they 
 went she cried in a lamentable voice, 
 
 " Saint Mary, rescue me ! Holy mother, succor 
 your maid I" 
 
 When she saw Bors she cried out to him griev- 
 ously for aid and rescue. 
 
 " By the faith you owe to the high order of 
 knighthood, and for the noble King Arthur's sake, 
 who I suppose made you knight, help me, gracious 
 sir, and suffer me not to come to ghame through 
 this felon knight I" 
 
 On hearing this appeal the distracted knight 
 knew not what to do. On one side his brother in 
 danger of his life ; on the other a maiden in penl 
 of her honor. 
 
 " If I rescue not my brother he will be slain ; 
 and that I would not have for the earth. Yet if 
 D 7
 
 74 THE QUEST OF THB HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 I help not the maiden, I am recreant to my vows 
 of knighthood, and to my duty to the high order 
 Df chivalry." 
 
 Tears ran from his eyes as he stood in cruel 
 perplexity. Then, with a knightly resolution, he 
 cried, 
 
 " Fair sweet Lord Jesus, whose liegeman I am, 
 keep Lionel my brother that these knights slay 
 him not ; since for your service, and for Mary's 
 sake, I must succor this maid." 
 
 Then he turned to the knight who had the 
 damsel, and loudly cried, 
 
 " Sir knight, take your hands from that maiden 
 and sot her free, or you are a dead man." 
 
 On hearing this the knight released the maiden 
 as bidden, but drew his sword, as he had no spear, 
 and rode fiercely at the rescuer. Bors met him 
 with couched spear, and struck him so hard a 
 blow as to pierce his shield and his hauberk on 
 the left shoulder, beating him down to the earth. 
 On pulling out the spear the wounded knight 
 swooned. 
 
 " You are delivered from this felon. Can I help 
 you further?" said Bors to the maiden. 
 
 " I beg you to take me to the place whence he 
 carried me away." 
 
 " That shall I do as my duty." 
 
 Then he seated her on the knight's horse, and 
 conducted her back towards her home. 
 
 "You have done nobly, sir knight," she said. 
 u If you had not rescued me, five hundred men
 
 THE STRANGE ADVINTUBB8 OF SIB BOBS. 75 
 
 might have died for this. The knight you 
 wounded is my cousin, who yesterday stole me 
 away from my father's house, no one mistrusting 
 him. But if you had not overcome him, there 
 would soon have been others on his track." 
 
 Even as she spoke there came a troop of twelve 
 knights riding briskly forward in seurch of her. 
 When they found her delivered their joy was 
 great, and they thanked Bors profusely, begging 
 him to accompany them to her father, who was a 
 great lord, and would welcome him with gladness. 
 
 " That I cannot do," said Bors, '' much as I 
 should like to ; for I have another matter of high 
 importance before me. I can but say, then, fare- 
 well, and God be with you and this fair maiden." 
 
 So saying, he turned and rode briskly away, 
 followed by their earnest thanks. Beaching the 
 point where he had seen Lionel in custody, he 
 took the trail of the horses, and followed them 
 far by their hoof-marks in the road. Then he 
 overtook a religious man, who was mounted on a 
 strong horse, blacker than a berry. 
 
 " Sir knight," he asked, " what seek you ?" 
 
 " I seek my brother," he replied, " who came 
 this way beaten by two knights." 
 
 " Then seek no further, but be strong of heart, 
 for I have sad tidings for you. Your brother is 
 dead." 
 
 He then led Bors to a clump of bushes, in 
 which lay a newly slain body, which seemed to 
 be that of Lionel. Seeing this, Bors broke into
 
 76 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 uuch grief that he fell to the earth in a swoon, 
 and long lay there. When he recovered he said, 
 sadly, 
 
 " Dear brother, I would have rescued you had 
 not a higher duty called me. But since we are 
 thus parted, joy shall never again enter my deso- 
 late heart. I can now but say, be He whom I 
 have taken for my master my help and comfort." 
 
 Thus grieving, he took up the body in his arms, 
 and put it upon his saddle-bow. Then he said to 
 his companion, 
 
 "Can you tell me of some chapel, where I may 
 bury this body ?" 
 
 " Come with me. There is one near by." 
 
 They rode forward till they came in sight of a 
 tower, beside which was an old and half-ruined 
 chapel. Here they alighted, and placed the corpse 
 in a tomb of marble. 
 
 "We will leave him here," said the good man, 
 " and seek shelter for the night. To-morrow we 
 will return and perform the services for the dead." 
 
 "Are you a priest?" asked Bore. 
 
 " Yes," he answered. 
 
 " Then you may be able to interpret a dream 
 that came to me last night." 
 
 Thereupon he told his dream of the birds, and 
 that of the flowers. 
 
 " I can interpret the vision of the birds now," 
 said the priest. " The rest must wait till later. 
 The white bird is the emblem of a rich and fair 
 lady, wfio loves you deeply, and will die for lovo
 
 THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OP SIR BOR8. 77 
 
 if you pity her not. I counsel you, therefore, 
 not to refuse her, for this I shall tell you, that if 
 you return not her love, your cousin Lancelot, 
 the best of knights, shall die. Men will call you 
 a manslayer, both of your brother Lionel and 
 your cousin Lancelot, since you might have saved 
 them both easily if you would. You rescued a 
 maiden who was naught to you, and let your 
 brother perish. Which, think you, was your 
 greater duty ?" 
 
 " I did what I thought my duty," said Bors. 
 
 " At any rate, bear this in mind, you will bo in 
 sad fault if you suffer your cousin Lancelot to 
 die for an idle scruple." 
 
 " I should be sad, indeed," said Bors. " Bather 
 would I die ten times over than see my cousin 
 Lancelot perish through fault of mine." 
 
 " The choice lies in your hand," said the priest. 
 " It is for you to decide." 
 
 As he spoke they came in front of a fair- 
 showing tower and manor-house, where were 
 knights and ladies, who welcomed Bors warmly. 
 When he was disarmed there was brought him a 
 mantle furred with ermine. Then he was led to 
 the company of knights and ladies, who received 
 him so gladly, and did so much to make his stay 
 pleasant, that all thoughts of his brother Lionel 
 and of the danger of Lancelot were driven from 
 his mind. 
 
 As they stood in gay converse there came out of 
 a chamber a lady whom Bors had not before seen,
 
 78 THE QTTB8T OF TH1 HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 and whose beauty was such that he felt he had 
 never beheld so lovely a face, while her dress was 
 richer than Queen Guenever had ever worn. 
 
 "Here, Sir Bors," said those present, "is the 
 lady to whom we all owe service. Eicher ana 
 fairer lady the world holds not, and she loves you 
 above all other knights, and will have no knight 
 but you." 
 
 On hearing this, Bore stood abashed. This, 
 then, he thought, was the white bird of his dream. 
 Her love he must return or lose Lancelot, so fate 
 had spoken. 
 
 As he stood deeply thinking, the lady came up 
 and saluted him, taking his hand in hers, and bid- 
 ding him sit beside her, while her deep eyes rested 
 upon him with looks that made his soul tremble. 
 Never had he gazed into such eyes before. 
 
 Then she spoke of many things, luring him 
 into pleasant conversation, in which he forgot his 
 fears, and began to take delight in her presence. 
 At the end she told him how deeply and how long 
 she had loved him, and begged him to return her 
 love, saying that she could make him richer than 
 ever was man of his age. 
 
 These words brought back all his trouble of 
 soul. How to answer the lady he knew not, for 
 his vow of chastity was too deep to be lightly 
 broken. 
 
 " Alas I" she said, " must I plead for your love 
 in vain?" 
 
 " Madam," said Bore, " I cannot think of earthly
 
 THE 8TRANX3E ADVENTURES OF SIR BOBS. 79 
 
 ties and delights while my brother lies dead, and 
 awaits the rites of the Church." 
 
 " I have loved you long," she repeated, " both for 
 your beauty of body and soul, and the high re- 
 nown you have achieved. Now that chance has 
 brought you to my home, think not ill of me if I 
 let you not go without telling my love, and be 
 seeching you to return it." 
 
 " That I cannot do," said Bors. 
 
 At these words she fell into the deepest sorrow, 
 while tears flowed from her beautiful eyes. 
 
 " You will kill me by your coldness," she be- 
 wailed. Then she took him by the hand and bade 
 him look upon her. " Am I not fair and lovely, 
 and worthy the love of the best of knights? 
 Alas ! since you will not love me, you shall see me 
 die of despair before your eyes." 
 
 " That I do not fear to see," he replied. 
 
 " You shall see it within this hour," she said, 
 sadly. 
 
 Then she left him, and, taking with her twelve 
 of her ladies, mounted to the highest battlement 
 of the tower, while Bors was led to the court-yard 
 below. 
 
 " Ah, Sir Bors, gentle knight, have pity on us !" 
 cried one of the ladies. " We shall all die if you 
 are cruel to our lady, for she vows that she and 
 all of us shall fall from this tower if you disdain 
 her proffered love." 
 
 Bors looked up, and his heart melted with pity, 
 to see so many fair faces looking beseechingly
 
 80 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 down upon him, while tears seemed to rain from 
 their eyes. Yet he was steadfast of heart, for he 
 felt that he could not lose his soul to save their 
 lives, and his vow of chastity in the quest of the 
 Sangreal was not to be broken for the delights of 
 earthly love. 
 
 As he stood, some of the maidens flung them- 
 selves from the tower, and lay dead and bleeding 
 at his feet, while above he saw the fair face of the 
 lady looking down, as she stood balanced on the 
 battlement, like a fair leaf tkat the next wind 
 would sweep to certain death. 
 
 " God help me and guide me I" cried Bors in 
 horror. " What shall I do ? Here earthly endur- 
 ance is too weak ; I must put my trust in heaven." 
 And he made the sign of the cross on his forehead 
 and his breast. 
 
 Then came a marvel indeed. A roar was heard 
 as if thunder had rent the sky, and a cry as if all 
 the fiends of hell were about him. For the moment 
 he closed his eyes, stunned by the uproar. When 
 he opened them again all had gone, the tower, 
 the lady, the knights, and the chapel where he had 
 placed his brother's body, and he stood in the 
 road, armed and mounted, while only a broad, 
 empty plain spread before him. 
 
 Then he held up his hands to heaven and cried 
 fervently: " Father and Creator, from what have I 
 escaped ! It is the foul fiend in the likeness of a 
 beautiful woman who has tempted me. Only the 
 sign of the holy cross has saved me from perdition "
 
 THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF SIB BOR8. 81 
 
 Putting spurs to his horse he rode furiously 
 away, burning with anxiety to get from that 
 accursed place, and deeply glad at his escape. 
 As he proceeded a loud clock-bell sounded to the 
 right, and turning thither ho came to a high wall, 
 over which he saw the pinnacles of an abbey. 
 
 Here he asked shelter for the night, and was 
 received with a warm welcome, for those within 
 deemed he was one of the knights that sought the 
 Sangreal. When morning came he heard mass, 
 and then the abbot came and bade him good- 
 morning. A conversation followed, in which he 
 told the abbot all that had happened to him, and 
 begged his interpretation thereof. 
 
 " Truly you are strong in the service of the 
 Lord," said the abbot, "and are held for great 
 deeds. Thus I interpret your adventures and 
 visions. The great fowl that fed its young with 
 its own blood is an emblem of Christ, who shed 
 his blood for the good of mankind. And the bare 
 tree on which it sat signifies the world, which 
 of itself is barren and without fruit. Also King 
 Aniause betokens Jesus Christ, and the lady for 
 whom you took the battle the new law of Holy 
 Church ; while the older lady is the emblem of 
 the old law and the fiend, which forever war 
 against the Church. 
 
 " By the black bird also was emblemed the 
 
 Holy Church, which saith, ' I am black but he is 
 
 fair.' The white bird represented the fiend, which, 
 
 like hypocrisy, is white without and foul within. 
 
 VOL. III./
 
 82 THl QUIST OF THI HOLT ORAIL. 
 
 As for the rotten chair and the white lilies, the 
 first was thy brother Lionel, who is a murderer 
 and an untrue knight ; while the lilies were the 
 knight and the lady. The one drew near to the 
 other to dishonor her, but you forced them to 
 part. And you would have been in great peril 
 had you, for the rescue of a rotten tree, suffered 
 those two flowers to perish ; for if they had sinned 
 together they had both been damned. 
 
 " The seeming man of religion, who blamed you 
 for leaving your brother to rescue a lady, was the 
 foul fiend himself. Your brother was not slain, as 
 he made it appear, but is still alive. For the 
 corpse, and the chapel, and the tower were all 
 devices of the evil one, and the lady who offered 
 her love was the fiend himself in that showing. 
 He knew you were tender-hearted, and he did 
 all this to make you lose your hope of the San- 
 greal. Much you may thank God that you with- 
 stood his temptation, and that until now you have 
 come through all your adventures pure and un- 
 blemished." 
 
 This gladdened the heart of the virtuous knight, 
 and a warm hope of winning the Sangreal arose 
 in his soul. Much more passed between them, 
 and when Bors rode forth it was with the fervent 
 blessing of the holy abbot. 
 
 On the morning of the second day Bors saw 
 before him a castle that rose in a green valley t 
 and met with a yeoman, whom he stopped and 
 asked what was going on in that country.
 
 THX STRANGE ADVENTURES OP SIR BORS. 83 
 
 " Sir knight," he answered, " there is to be held 
 a great tournament before that castle." 
 
 " By what people ?" asked Bors. 
 
 " The Earl of Plains," was the answer, " leads 
 one party, and the nephew of the Lady of Hervin 
 the other." 
 
 With this the yeoman rode on, and Bors kept on 
 his course, thinking he might meet Lionel or some 
 other of his old comrades at the tournament. At 
 length he turned aside to a hermitage that stood 
 at the entrance to the forest. And to his surprise 
 and joy he saw his brother Lionel sitting armed 
 at the chapel door, waiting there to take part in 
 the tournament the next morning. 
 
 Springing from his horse, Bors ran up gladly, 
 crying, " Dear brother, happy is this meeting I" 
 
 " Come not near me !" cried Lionel, leaping 
 to his feet in a burst of fury. " False recreant, 
 you left me in peril of death to help a yelping 
 woman, and by my knightly vow you shall pay 
 dearly for it. Keep from me, traitor, and defend 
 yourself. You or I shall die for this." 
 
 On seeing his brother in such wrath Bors 
 kneeled beseechingly before him, holding up his 
 hands, and praying for pardon and forgiveness. 
 
 " Never 1" said Lionel. " I vow to God to punish 
 you for your treachery. You have lived long 
 enough for a d">g and traitor." 
 
 Then he strode wrath fully away, and came back 
 soon, irounted and with spear in hand. 
 
 "Bors de Ganis," he cried, "defend yourself,
 
 84 THE QUEST OP THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 for I hold you as a felon and traitor, and the un- 
 truest knight that ever came from so worthy a 
 house as ours. Mount and fight. If you will not, 
 I will run on you as you stand there on foot. 
 The shame shall be mine and the harm yours; 
 but of that shame I reck naught." 
 
 When Bors saw that he must fight with his 
 brother or die he knew not what to do. Again 
 he kneeled and begged forgiveness, in view of the 
 love that ought to be between brothers. 
 
 But the fiend that sought his overthrow had 
 put such fury into Lionel's heart that nothing 
 could turn him from his wrathful purpose. And 
 when he saw that Bors would not mount, he 
 spurred his horse upon him and rode over him, 
 hurting him so with his horse's hoofs that he 
 swooned with the pain. Then Lionel sprang 
 from his horse and rushed upon him sword in 
 hand to strike off his head. 
 
 At this critical moment the hermit, who was a 
 man of great age, came running out, and threw 
 himself protectingly on the fallen knight. 
 
 " Gentle sir," he cried to Lionel, " have mercy 
 on me and on thy brother, who is one of the 
 worthiest knights in the world. If you slay him, 
 you will lose your soul." 
 
 "Sir priest," said Lionel, sternly, "if you leave 
 not I shall slay you, and him after you." 
 
 "Slay me if you will, but spare your brothei, 
 for my death would not do half so much harm as 
 his."
 
 THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF SIB BOBS. 85 
 
 "Have it, then, meddler, if you will!" cried 
 Lionel, and he struck the hermit a blow with his 
 sword that stretched him dead on the ground. 
 
 Then, with unquenched anger, he tore loose the 
 lacings of his brother's helmet, and would have 
 killed him on the spot but for a fortunate chance. 
 
 As it happened, Colgrevance, a fellow of the 
 Round Table, rode up at that moment, and won- 
 dered when he saw the hermit dead, and Lionel 
 about to slay his brother, whom he greatly loved. 
 
 Leaping hastily to the ground, he caught the 
 furious knight by the shoulders and drew him 
 strongly backward. 
 
 " What would you do ?" he cried. " Madman, 
 would you kill your brother, the worthiest knight 
 of our brotherhood? And are you so lost to 
 honor as to slay any knight thus lying insensi- 
 ble ?" 
 
 " Will you hinder me ?" asked Lionel, turning 
 in rage. " Back, sirrah, or I shall slay you first 
 and him afterwards." 
 
 " Why seek you to slay him ?" 
 
 " He has richly deserved it, and die he shall, 
 whoever says the contrary." 
 
 Then he ran upon Bors and raised his sword to 
 strike him on the head. But Colgrevance pushed 
 between them and thrust him fiercely backward. 
 
 " Off, you murderer !" he cried. " If you are 
 BO hot for blood you must have mine first." 
 
 " Who are you ?" demanded Lionel. 
 
 <4 I am Colgrevance, one of your fellows. Bound 
 8
 
 86 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY QUAIL. 
 
 Table Knights should be brothers, not foes, but I 
 would challenge King Arthur himself in this 
 quarrel." 
 
 " Defend yourself, meddler," cried Lionel, rush- 
 ing upon him and striking him fiercely on the 
 helm with his sword. 
 
 " That shall I," rejoined Colgrevance, attacking 
 him in turn. 
 
 Then a hot battle began, for Colgrevance was a 
 good knight, and defended himself manfully. 
 
 While the fight went on Bors recovered his 
 aenses, and saw with a sad heart Colgrevance 
 defending him against his brother. He strove to 
 rise and part them, but his hurts were such that 
 he could not stand on his feet. And thus he sat 
 watching the combat till he saw that Colgrevance 
 had the worst, for Lionel had wounded him sorely, 
 and he had lost so much blood that he could barely 
 stand. 
 
 At this juncture he saw Bors, who sat watching 
 them in deep anguish. 
 
 " Bore," he cried, " I am fighting to succor you. 
 Will you sit there and see me perish ?" 
 
 " You both shall die," cried Lionel, furiously. 
 "You shall pay the penalty of your meddling, 
 and he of his treason." , 
 
 Hearing this, Bors rose with aching limbs, and 
 painfully put on his helm. Colgrevance again 
 called to him in anguish, 
 
 " Help me, Bors ! I can stand no longer. Will 
 you let me die without lifting your hand T
 
 TELE STRANGE ADVENTURES OP SLR BOBS. 87 
 
 At this moment Lionel smote the helm from his 
 head, and then with another fierce blow stretched 
 him dead and bleeding upon the earth. 
 
 This murderous deed done, he ran on Bors 
 with the passion of a fiend, and dealt him a blow 
 that made him stoop. 
 
 " For God's love leave me I" cried Bors. " If I 
 slay you or you me, we will both be dead of that 
 sin." 
 
 " May God never help me if I take mercy on you, 
 if I have the better hand," cried Lionel, in reply. 
 
 Then Bors drew his sword, though his eyes 
 were wet with tears. 
 
 " Fair brother," he said, " God knows my heart. 
 You have done evil enough this day, in slaying a 
 holy priest and one of our own brotherhood of 
 knights. I fear you not, but I dread the wrath 
 of God, for this is an unnatural battle which you 
 force upon me. May God have mercy upon me, 
 since I must defend my life against my brother." 
 
 Saying this, Bors raised his sword and advanced 
 upon Lionel, who stood before him with the wrath 
 of a fury. 
 
 Then would have been a most unholy battle, 
 had not God come to the rescue. For as they 
 thus stood defiant a voice came to them from the 
 air, which said, 
 
 " Flee, Bors, and touch him not, for if you do, 
 you will surely slay him." 
 
 And between them descended a cloud that 
 gleamed like fire, and from which issued a mar-
 
 88 THE QUEST OF THK HOLY QRAIL. 
 
 rellous flame that burned both their shields to a 
 cinder. They were both so affrighted that they 
 fell to the earth, and lay there long in a swoon. 
 
 When they came to themselves Bors saw that 
 his brother bad received no harm. For this he 
 thanked God, for he feared that heaven's ven- 
 geance had fallen upon him. Then came the 
 voice again. 
 
 " Bors," it said, " go hence, and bear thy brother 
 company no longer. Take thy way to the sea 
 where Percivale awaiteth thee." 
 
 " Forgive me, brother," said Bors, " for what 1 
 have done against you." 
 
 " God has forgiven you, and I must," said 
 Lionel. " It was the foul fiend that filled my soul 
 with fury, and much harm has come of it." 
 
 Then Bors rode away, leaving Lionel in the 
 company of those whom he had slain, and took 
 the most direct road towards the sea. 
 
 At length he came to an abbey that was near 
 the water-side. And at midnight as he rested 
 there he was roused from his sleep by a voice, 
 that bade him leave his bed and ride onward. 
 
 He started up at this, and made the sign of the 
 cross on his forehead ; then took his harness and 
 horse, and rode out at a broken place in the abbey 
 wall. An hour or so brought him to the water- 
 side, and on the strand there lay awaiting him a 
 ship all covered with white samite. Bors alighted, 
 and leaving his horse on the strand entered the ship, 
 commending himself to Christ's fostering care.
 
 THE ADVENTURE OP THE MAGIC SHIP. 89 
 
 Hardly had he done so before the sails spread, 
 as of themselves, and the vessel set out to sea so 
 fast that it seemed to fly. But it was still dark 
 night, and he saw no one about him. So he lay 
 down and slept till day. 
 
 When he awaked he saw a knight lying in the 
 middle of the deck, all armed but the helm. A 
 glance told him that it was Porcivalo de G-alis, and 
 he sprang towards him with joy. But Percivale 
 drew back, asking him who he was. 
 
 " Know you me not ?" asked Bors. 
 
 " I do not. But I marvel how you came hitner, 
 unless brought by our Lord himself." 
 
 Then Bors took off his helm and smiled. Great 
 was Percivale's joy when he recognized him, and 
 long did they converse in gladness, telling each 
 other their adventures and temptations. 
 
 And so they went far over the sea, the ship 
 taking them they knew not whither, yet each 
 comforted the other, and daily they prayed for 
 God's grace. 
 
 "Now, that we two are together," said Perci- 
 vale, " we lack nothing but Galahad, the best of 
 knights." 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 THE ADVENTURE OF THE MAGIO SHIP. 
 
 AFTER Galahad had rescued Percivale from the 
 twenty knights, he rode into a vast forest, through 
 which he journeyed for many days, meeting there 
 8*
 
 90 THE QUEST OF TELE HOLT GRAIL, 
 
 many strange adventures. Then fortune took 
 him past a castle where a tournament was in 
 progress, and where the men of the castle had so 
 much the worse of it that they were driven back 
 to their gates, and some of them slain. Seeing 
 this, Galahad rode to the aid of the weaker party, 
 and did marvellous deeds of arms, soon aiding 
 them to drive back their foes. 
 
 As it happened, Gawaine and Hector de Maris 
 were with the outer party, and when they beheld 
 the white shield with the red cross, they said to 
 one another, 
 
 " That hewer of helms and shields is Galahad, 
 none less. We should be fools to meet him face 
 to face." 
 
 Yet Gawaine did not escape, for Galahad came 
 at full career upon him, and gave him such a blow 
 that his helm was cleft, and so would his head 
 have been but that the sword slanted, and cut the 
 shoulder of his horse deeply. 
 
 Seeing Gawaine thus dealt with, Hector drew 
 back, not deeming it wise to meet such a cham- 
 pion, nor the part of nature to fight with his 
 nephew. Galahad continued his onset till he had 
 beaten down all the knights opposed to him. 
 Then, seeing that none would face him, he turned 
 and rode away as he had come, none knowing 
 whither he, who had come upon them with the 
 suddenness of a thunder-clap, had gone. 
 
 " Lancelot du Lake told no less than the truth," 
 declared Gawaine, bitterly, " when he said that, for
 
 THE ADVENTURE OF THE MAGIC SHIP. 91 
 
 seeking to draw the sword from the stone, I 
 would get a sore wound from that same blade. 
 In faith, I would not for the best castle in the 
 world have had such a buffet." 
 
 " Your quest is done, it seems," said Hector. 
 
 " As for that, it was done before. You can still 
 seek the Sangreal if you will, but I shall seek my 
 bed ; and I fear I shall stay there much longer 
 than I care to." 
 
 Then he was borne into the castle, where a 
 leech was found for him, while Hector remained 
 with him, vowing he would not leave till his com- 
 rade was well. 
 
 Meanwhile Galahad rode on, leaving many a 
 groan and more than one sore head behind him, 
 and at night reached a hermitage near the castle 
 of Carbonek. Here he was welcomed by the 
 hermit ; but late at night, when they were asleep, 
 a loud knock came on the door, which roused the 
 host. Going to see who knocked at that untimely 
 hour, he found a lady at the door, who said, 
 
 " Ulfin, rouse the knight who is with you. 1 
 must speak with him." 
 
 This he did, and Galahad went to the door, and 
 asked her what she wished. 
 
 " Galahad," she replied, " I am sent here to seek 
 you. You must arm and mount your horse at 
 once, and follow me. Within three days I shall 
 bring you to the greatest adventure that ever 
 knight met." 
 
 Without further question Galahad obeyed, and,
 
 92 THK QUEST OF THE HOLT QRAIL. 
 
 haying commended himself to God, he bade his 
 fair guide to lead, and he would follow wherever 
 she wished. 
 
 Onward they rode during the remainder of 
 the night and the next day, till they came to a 
 castle not far from the sea, where Galahad was 
 warmly welcomed, for the damsel who guided 
 him had been sent by the lady of that castle. 
 
 " Madam," said the damsel, " shall he stay here 
 all night ?" 
 
 " No," she replied j " only until he has dined, 
 and has slept a little. He must ride on until des- 
 tiny is accomplished." 
 
 So at early nightfall Galahad was called and 
 helped to arm by torchlight. Then he and the 
 damsel again took horse, and rode on at speed till 
 they suddenly found themselves at the ocean's 
 brink, with the waves breaking at their feet. And 
 here lay a ship covered with white samite, from 
 which manly voices cried, 
 
 " Welcome, Sir Galahad. We have long awaited 
 you. Come on board." 
 
 "What means this?" asked Galahad of the 
 damsel. " Who are they that call ?" 
 
 "No others than your friends and comrades, 
 Sir Bors and Sir Percivale. Here you must leave 
 your horse, and I mine, and both of us enter the 
 ship, for so God commands." 
 
 This they did, taking their saddles and bridles 
 with them, and making on them the sign of the 
 cross. When they had entered the ship the two
 
 THE ADVENTURE OF THE MAQIO SHIP. 93 
 
 knights received them with great joy. And as 
 they stood greeting each other the wind suddenly 
 rose and drove the ship from the land, forcing it 
 through the waves at a marvellous speed. 
 
 " Whence comes this ship ?" asked Galahad. 
 
 Then Bors and Percivale told him of their ad- 
 ventures and temptations, and by what miracles 
 they had been brought on board that vessel. 
 
 " Truly," said Galahad, " God has aided you 
 marvellously. As for me, had it not been for 
 the lady who led me, I should never have found 
 you." 
 
 " If Lancelot, your father, were but here," said 
 .Bors, " then it would seem to me that we had all 
 that heart could wish." 
 
 " That may not be," answered Galahad, " unless 
 by the pleasure of our Lord." 
 
 As they conversed the ship suddenly ran be- 
 tween two rocks, where it held fast, but where 
 they could not land for the raging of the sea. 
 But just before them lay another ship, which 
 they could reach without danger. 
 
 " Thither we must go," said the lady, " and there 
 we shall find strange things, for such is the Lord's 
 will." 
 
 At this they approached the ship, and saw that 
 it was richly provided, but without man or woman 
 on board. And on its bow there was written in 
 large letters, 
 
 " You who shall enter this ship, take heed of 
 your belief: for I am Faith, and bid you beware
 
 94 THI QTTIST OF TH HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 If you fail I shall not help you. He who enters 
 here must be of pure heart and earnest trust." 
 
 They stood looking earnestly at one another 
 after having read these words. 
 
 " Percivale," said the lady, " know you who I 
 am?" 
 
 " I do not," he replied. " Have I ever seen you 
 before?" 
 
 " Know, then, that I am your sister, the daugh- 
 ter of King Pellinore. I love no man on earth as 
 I do you. I warn you, therefore, not to enter this 
 ship unless you have perfect belief in our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, for if your faith fails you aught here 
 you shall perish." 
 
 " Fair sister," he replied, " happy am I, indeed, 
 to know you. As for the ship, I shall not fail to 
 enter it. If I prove an untrue knight or a mis- 
 believer, then let me perish." 
 
 As they spoke, Galahad blessed himself and 
 entered the ship, and after him came the lady, 
 and then Bors and Percivale. On reaching the 
 deck they found it so marvellously fair and rich 
 that they stood in wonder. In the midst of the 
 ship was a noble bed; and when Galahad went 
 thither he found on it a crown of silk. Below 
 this lay a sword, half drawn from its scabbard, 
 the pommel being of stone of many colors. The 
 scales of the haft were of the ribs of two beasts. 
 One beast was a serpent, known in Calidone as the 
 serpent of the fiend ; and its bone had the magic 
 virtue that the hand which touched it should
 
 THE ADVXNTURX O7 THE MAOI<1 SHIP. 95 
 
 never be weary or hurt. The other beast was a 
 fish, that haunted the flood of Euphrates, its name 
 Ertanax ; its bone had the virtue that he who 
 handled it should not think on the joys and sor- 
 rows of his past life, but only of that which he 
 then beheld. And no man could grasp this sword 
 but the one who passed all others in might and 
 virtue. 
 
 " In the name of God," said Percivale, " I shall 
 seek to handle it." 
 
 But in vain he tried, he could not grasp the 
 magic hilt. No more could Bors, who attempted 
 it in his turn. Then Galahad approached, and as 
 he did so saw written on the sword in letters like 
 blood, " He who draweth me has peril to endure. 
 His body shall meet with shame, for he shall be 
 wounded to the death." 
 
 " By my faith, the risk is too great," said Gala- 
 had. " I shall not set my hand to so fatal a 
 blade." 
 
 " That you must," said the lady. " The drawing 
 of this sword is forbidden to all men, save you. 
 No one can draw back from that which destiny 
 commands." 
 
 Then she told a marvellous story of that strange 
 blade. 
 
 " "When this ship arrived in the realm of Eng- 
 land," she said, " there was deadly war between 
 King Labor and King Hurlame, who was a chris- 
 tened Saracen. Here they fought one day by the 
 sea-side, and Hurlame was defeated and his men
 
 96 TH QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 slain. Then he fled into this ship, drew the sword 
 which he saw here, and with one stroke smote King 
 Labor and his horse in twain. But a fatal stroke 
 it proved, for with it there came harm and pesti- 
 lence to all this realm. Neither corn nor grass 
 would grow, fruit failed to ripen, the waters held 
 no fish, and men named this the waste land of the 
 two marches. Nor did King Hurlame escape. 
 When he saw the strange carving of the sword, a 
 craving came into his mind to possess the scab- 
 bard. Entering the ship for that purpose, he 
 thrust the sword into the sheath ; but no sooner 
 had he done so than he fell dead beside the bed. 
 And there his body lay till a maiden entered the 
 ship and cast it out, for no man could be found 
 hardy enough to set foot on that fatal deck." 
 
 The three knights on hearing this looked ear- 
 nestly at the scabbard, which seemed to them 
 made of serpent's skin, while on it was writing 
 in letters of gold and silver. But the girdle was 
 poor and mean, and ill suited to so rich a sword. 
 The writing was to this effect : " He who shall 
 wield me must be hardy of nature. Nor shall h> 
 ever be shamed while he is girt with this girdle ; 
 which must never be put away except by the 
 hands of a maiden and a king's daughter. And 
 she, if she shall ever cease to be a maid, shall 
 die the most villanous death that woman ever 
 endured." 
 
 " Turn the sword," said Percivale, " that we may 
 see what is on the other side."
 
 THE ADVENTURE OF THE MAGIC SHIP. 97 
 
 On doing so they found it red as blood, with 
 coal-black letters, which said : " He that shall 
 praise me most shall find me most to fail him in 
 time of great need ; and to whom I should be most 
 fair shall 1 prove most foul. Thus is it ordained." 
 
 Then Percivale's sister told them the history of 
 the sword, which was a very strange and admi- 
 rable thing to hear. More than once had it been 
 drawn in modern times ; once by Nacien, who after- 
 wards became a hermit, and in whose hands the 
 sword fell in half, and sorely wounded him in the 
 foot. Afterwards it was drawn by King Pellam, 
 and it was for this boldness that he was destined 
 to be deeply wounded by the spear with which 
 Balin afterwards struck him. 
 
 The knights now observed the bed more closely, 
 and saw that above its head there hung two 
 swords. With them were three strange spindles, 
 one of which was white as snow, one red as blood, 
 and one as green as emerald. As they gazed at 
 them with curious wonder, the damsel told a 
 strange story of the surprising things they had 
 gazed upon. And thus her story ran. 
 
 When mother Eve gathered the fruit for which 
 Adam and she were put out of Paradise, she 
 took with her the bough on which the apple 
 grew. As it kept fair and green, and she had no 
 coffer in which to keep it, she thrust it in the 
 earth, where, by God's will, it took root, and soon 
 grew to a great tree, whose branches and leaves 
 were as white as milk. But afterwards, at the 
 VOL. III. * y 9
 
 98 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT QHAIL. 
 
 time of Abel's birth, it became grass-green. It 
 was under this tree that Cain slew Abel, and then 
 it quickly lost its green color, and grew rod as 
 blood. So it lived and thrived, and was in full 
 life when Solomon, the wise king, came to the 
 throne. 
 
 It came to pass that, as Solomon studied over 
 many things, and, above all, despised women in 
 his heart and in his writings, a voice came which 
 told him that of his line would be born the Virgin 
 Mary, the purest and noblest of human kind, and 
 that afterwards would come a man, the last of his 
 blood, as pure in mind as a young maiden, and as 
 good a knight as Joshua of Israel. This reve- 
 lation he told to his wife, who had questioned him 
 as to the reason of his deep study. 
 
 " Sir," she said, " since this knight is to come, it 
 is our duty to prepare for him. Therefore, I 
 shall first have made a ship of the best and most 
 durable wood that man may find." 
 
 This was done by Solomon's command. When 
 the ship was built and ready to sail, she made a 
 covering for it of cloth of silk, of such quality 
 that no weather could rot it. And in the midst 
 she placed a great bed, of marvellously rich work- 
 manship, and covered with silk of the finest text- 
 ure. 
 
 "Now, my dear lord," she said to Solomon, 
 " since this last knight of your lineage is to pass 
 in valor and renown all other knights that have 
 been before or shall come after him, therefore I
 
 THE ADVENTURE OP THE MAOIO SHIP. 99 
 
 counsel you to go into the Temple of the Lord, 
 where is the sword of the great King David, your 
 father, which is of magic temper and virtue. 
 Take off the pommel of this sword and make one 
 of precious stones, skilfully wrought. And make 
 a hilt and sheath of great richness and beauty. 
 As for the girdle, leave that to me to provide." 
 
 Solomon did as she advised, and she took the 
 sword and laid it in the bed ; but when he looked 
 at it he grew angry, for the girdle was meanly 
 made of hemp. 
 
 " I have nothing," she said, " fit to make a 
 girdle worthy of such a sword. But when the 
 time comes a maiden will change this for a girdle 
 worthy of him that is to wear it." 
 
 This done, she went with a carpenter to the tree 
 under which Abel was slain. 
 
 " Carve me from this tree as much wood as will 
 make me a spindle," she said. 
 
 " Ah, madam," said he, " I dare not cut the tree 
 which our first mother planted." 
 
 " Do as you are bidden," she ordered. " Dare 
 not disobey me." 
 
 But as he began to cut the tree drops of blood 
 flowed out. Then he would have fled, but she 
 made him cut sufficient to form a spindle. Next 
 she went to the green and the white trees, which 
 had grown from the roots of the other, and 
 bade him cut as much from each of these. From 
 this wood were three spindles wrought, which she 
 hung up at the head of the bed.
 
 100 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 " You have done marvellously well," said Solo- 
 mon, on seeing this. " Wonderful things, I deem, 
 shall come of all this, more than you yourself 
 dream of." 
 
 " Some of these things you shall soon know," 
 she answered. 
 
 That night Solomon lay near the ship, and as 
 he slept he dreamed. There came from heaven, 
 as it seemed to him, a great company of angels, 
 who alighted in the ship, and took water that was 
 brought by an angel in a vessel of silver, and 
 sprinkled it everywhere. Then the angel came 
 to the sword and drew letters on the hilt, and on 
 the ship's bow he wrote, " You who shall enter 
 this ship take heed of your belief," and further 
 as the knights had read. When Solomon had 
 read these words he drew back, and dared not 
 enter, and there soon arose a wind which drove 
 the ship far to sea, so that it was quickly lost to 
 sight. Then a low voice said, " Solomon, the last 
 knight of thy lineage shall rest in this bed." 
 With this Solomon waked, and lo ! the ship was 
 gone. 
 
 This was the story that the fair damsel, Per- 
 civale's sister, told to the knights, as they stood 
 curiously surveying the bed and the spindles. 
 Then one of them lifted a cloth that lay on the 
 deck, and under it found a purse, in which was a 
 written paper, telling the same strange story they 
 had just heard. 
 
 " The sword i* here," said Galahad ; " but where
 
 THE ADVENT ORB OP THE MAGIC SHIP. 101 
 
 shall be found the maiden who is to make the new 
 girdle ?" 
 
 " You need not seek far," said Percivale's sister. 
 " By God's leave, I have been chosen to make that 
 girdle, and have it here." 
 
 Then she opened a box which she had brought 
 with her, and took from it a girdle that was richly 
 wrought with golden threads and studded with 
 precious stones, while its buckle was of polished 
 gold. 
 
 " Lo, lords and knights," she said, " here is the 
 destined girdle. The greater part of it was made 
 of my hair, which I loved dearly when I was a 
 woman of the world. When I knew that I was 
 set aside for this high purpose, I cut off my hair 
 and wrought this girdle in God's name." 
 
 " Well have you done 1" cried Bors. " Without 
 you we would have learned nothing of this high 
 emprise." 
 
 Then the noble maiden removed the moan girdle 
 from the sword, and put upon it the rich one she 
 had brought, which became it wonderfully. 
 
 " By what name shall we call this sword ?" they 
 now asked her. 
 
 " Its name is," she answered, " the sword with 
 the strange girdle ; and that of the sheath is, 
 mover of blood. But no man with blood in him 
 shall ever see the part of the sheath that was 
 made of the tree of life." 
 
 Then she took the sword and girded it about Gal 
 ahftd, fastening the golden buckle about his waist 
 9*
 
 102 THE QUEST OP THE HOLY QEAIL. 
 
 " Now reck I not though I die," she said, " for 
 I hold that I am one of the world's blessed 
 maidens, since it has been given to me to arm the 
 worthiest knight in the world." 
 
 After this they left the magic ship at her bid- 
 ding, and entered the one in which they had come. 
 And immediately there rose a great wind which 
 blew their vessel from between the rocks, and 
 carried it afar over the sea. 
 
 CHAPTBE VII. 
 
 HOW LANCELOT SAW THE SANQREAL. 
 
 THE ship that bore the three knights and the 
 maiden came ashore at length near a castle iu 
 Scotland, where they landed. From here they 
 journeyed far, while many were their adventures, 
 all of which tried their virtue and belonged to the 
 quest of the Sangreal. In them all the sword 
 with the strange girdle proved of such marvel- 
 lous worth that no men, were they a hundred 
 in number, could stand before it. 
 
 Finally they came to a castle which had the 
 strange custom that every maiden who passed 
 that way should yield a dish full of blood. When 
 they asked the reason of this dreadful custom, 
 they were told, 
 
 "There is in this castle a lady to whom the
 
 HOW LANCELOT SAW THE 8ANQREAL. 103 
 
 domain belongs, and who has lain for years sick 
 of a malady which no leech can cure And a 
 wise man has said that she can only be cured if 
 she have a dish full of blood from a pure virgin 
 and a king's daughter, with which to anoint 
 her." 
 
 " Fair knights," said Percivale's sister, " I alone 
 can aid the sick lady, who must die otherwise." 
 
 " If you bleed as they demand, you may die," 
 said Galahad. " Is not your life worth more than 
 hers ?" 
 
 " This I answer," said she. " If I yield not my 
 blood there will be mortal war between you and 
 the knights of the castle to-morrow, and many 
 men must die that one woman may not bleed. 
 If I die to heal this sick lady I shall gain renown 
 and do God's will, and surely one harm is better 
 than many. That you will fight for me to the 
 death, I know, but wherefore should you?" 
 
 Say what they would, she held to her will, and 
 the next morning bade the people of the castle 
 bring forth the sick lady. She lay in great pain 
 and suffering, and bent her eyes pleadingly on 
 the devoted maiden. 
 
 Then Percivale's sister bared her arm, and bado 
 them bleed her. This they did till a silver dish 
 was filled with her life blood. Then she blessed 
 the lady, and said, 
 
 " Madam, I have given my life for yours ; for 
 God's love, pray for me !" and she fell in a swoon. 
 
 Galahad and his fellows hastened to stanch
 
 104 THE QUEST OP THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 the blood, but it was too late, her life was ebbing 
 fast. 
 
 " Fair brother Percivale," she said, " death ia 
 upon me. But before I die I have this to tell you. 
 It is written that I shall not be buried in tnis 
 country. When I am dead, seek you the sea- 
 shore near by, and put my body in a boat, and let 
 it go where fortune bears it. But when you three 
 arrive at the city of Sarras, in Palestine, which 
 you will in God's good time, you shall find me 
 arrived there before you. There bury me in con- 
 secrated soil. This further I may say, that there 
 the holy Grail shall be achieved, and there shall 
 Galahad die and be buried in the same place." 
 
 And as they stood there weeping beside her :i 
 voice came to them, saying, 
 
 " Lords and comrades, to-morrow at sunrise you 
 three must depart, each taking his own way, and 
 you shall not meet again till adventure bring you 
 to the maimed king." 
 
 After that all was done as had been foreseen 
 and desired. The maiden died, and the same day 
 the sick lady was healed, through the virtue of 
 her blood. Then Percivale wrote a letter telling 
 who she was and what things she had done. 
 This he put in her right hand, and laid her body 
 in a vessel that was covered with black silk. The 
 wind now arose and drove it far from the land, 
 while all stood watching it till it was out of sight. 
 
 Then they returned towards the castle. But 
 suddenly a tempest of wind, thunder, and rain
 
 THE RUINED CASTLE.
 
 HOW LANCELOT SAW THE 8ANQREAL. 105 
 
 broke from the sky, so furious that the very earth 
 seemed to be torn up. And as they looked they 
 saw the turrets of the castle and part of its walls 
 totter and fall, and in a moment come crashing 
 in ruin to the earth. 
 
 That night they slept in a chapel, and in the 
 morning rode to the castle, to see how it had fared 
 in the storm. But when they reached it they 
 found it in ruins, while of all that had dwelt 
 there not one was left alive. All of them, man 
 and woman alike, had fallen victims to the ven- 
 geance of God. And they heard a voice that 
 said, 
 
 " This vengeance is for the shedding of maidens' 
 blood." 
 
 But at the end of the chapel was a church-yard 
 in which were threescore tombs, over which it 
 seemed no tempest had passed. And in these lay 
 all the maidens who had shed their blood and 
 died martyrs for the sick lady's sake. On these 
 were their names and lineage, and all were of 
 royal blood, and twelve of them kings' daughters. 
 
 The knights turned away, marvelling much at 
 what they had seen and heard. 
 
 " Here we must part," said Galahad. " Let us 
 pray that we may soon meet again." 
 
 Then they kissed each other, and wept at the 
 parting, and each rode his own way into the forest 
 before them. 
 
 But we must now leave them and return to 
 Lancelot, whom we left sorely repentant of hie
 
 106 THE QUBST OF THE HOLY QRAIL. 
 
 sins. After he departed from the hermitage he 
 rode through many lands and had divers adven 
 tures, and in the end came to the sea-shore, beside 
 which he lay down and slept. 
 
 In his slumber, words came to his ear, saying, 
 " Lancelot, rise and take thine armor, and enter 
 into the first ship that thou shalt find." On hear- 
 ing these words he started up, and saw that all 
 about him was strangely clear, the skies giving 
 out a light like that of midday. Then he blessed 
 himself, and took his arms, and advanced to the 
 strand, where he saw a ship without sails or oars. 
 This he entered, as ho had been bidden, and when 
 he was within it his heart was filled with such 
 joy as he had never before known. 
 
 Naught had he ever thought of or desired but 
 what seemed come to him now, and in his glad- 
 ness he returned thanks fervently to the Lord. 
 
 "I know not what has happened to me," he 
 said, " but such joy as I feel I never dreamed the 
 human heart could hold." 
 
 Then he lay down and slept on the ship's deck, 
 and when he woke the night had passed and it 
 was broad day. 
 
 And in the ship he found a bed, whereon lay a 
 dead lady, with a letter in her right hand which 
 Lancelot read. From this he learned that the 
 fair corpse was that of Percivale's sister, together 
 w ! th many of the strange things that had hap- 
 pened to her and the chosen knights. 
 
 For a 1 month or more Lancelot abode in this
 
 HOW LANCELOT SAW THE SANQBBAL. 107 
 
 ship, driven about the seas, and sustained by no 
 food, but by the grace of the Holy Ghost, for he 
 prayed fervently for God's aid night and morning. 
 
 At length came a night when the ship touched 
 the shore. Here he landed, being somewhat weary 
 of the deck. And as he stood on the strand he 
 heard a horse approach, and soon one rode by that 
 seemed a knight. 
 
 When he came to the ship he checked his horse 
 and alighted. Then, taking the saddle and bridle 
 from the horse, he turned it free and entered the 
 ship. Lancelot, in surprise, drew near. 
 
 " Fair knight," he said, " I know not who you 
 are or why you come. But since you seek pas- 
 sage on my ship you are welcome." 
 
 The other saluted him in turn, and asked, 
 
 " What is your name ? I pray you, tell me, for 
 my heart warms strangely towards you." 
 
 " My name is Lancelot du Lake." 
 
 " Then are we well met indeed. You are my 
 father." 
 
 " Ah ! then you are Galahad ?" 
 
 " Yes, truly," and as he spoke he took off his 
 helm, and kneeled, and asked his blessing. 
 
 Joyful indeed was that meeting, and gladly 
 there father and son communed, telling each 
 other all that had happened to them since they 
 left the court. When Galahad saw the dead 
 maiden he knew her well, and told his father the 
 story of the sword, at which he marvelled greatly. 
 
 " Truly, Galahad," he said, " I never heard of
 
 108 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 aught so strange, and can well believe you were 
 born for wondrous deeds." 
 
 Afterwards for nearly half a year the father 
 and son dwelt together within that ship, serving 
 God day and night with prayer and praise. Now 
 they touched on peopled shores, and now on 
 desert islands where only wild beasts abode, and 
 perilous and strange adventures they met. But 
 these we shall not tell, since they had naught to 
 do with the Sangroal. 
 
 But at length came a Monday morning when 
 the ship touched shore at the edge of a forest, 
 before a cross, where they saw a knight armed all 
 in white, and leading a white horse. He saluted 
 them courteously, and said, 
 
 "Galahad, you have been long enough with 
 your father. You must now leave the ship, and 
 take this horse, and ride whither destiny shall lead 
 you in the quest of the Sangreal." 
 
 Hearing this command, Galahad kissed his 
 father, and bade him farewell, saying, 
 
 " Dear father, I know not if we shall ever meet 
 again." 
 
 "Then I bid you," said Lancelot, "to pray to 
 the great Father that He hold me in His service." 
 
 There came in answer a mysterious voice that 
 spoke these words, 
 
 "Think each to do well; for you shall never 
 Bee each other till the dreadful day of doom." 
 
 This voice of destiny affected them greatly, and 
 they bade each other a tearful farewell, Lancelot
 
 HOW LANCELOT SAW THX SANQBHAL. 109 
 
 begging again the prayers of his son in his behalf. 
 Then Galahad mounted the white horse and rode 
 into the forest, while a wind arose which blew the 
 ship from shore, and for a month drove it up and 
 down the seas. 
 
 But at length came a night when it touched 
 shore on the rear side of a fair and stately castle. 
 Brightly shone the moon, and Lancelot saw an 
 open postern in which stood on guard two great 
 lions. As he looked he heard a voice. 
 
 " Lancelot," it said, " leave this ship and enter 
 the castle. There shalt thou see a part of that 
 which thou desirost." 
 
 Lancelot at this armed himself and went to the 
 gate, where the lions rose rampant against him. 
 With an instinct of fear he drew his sword, but 
 at that instant appeared a dwarf, who struck him 
 on the arm so sharply that the sword fell from 
 his hand. 
 
 " Oh, man of evil hope and weak belief," came 
 the mysterious voice, " trust you more in your 
 armor than in your Maker ? Does He who brought 
 you hero need a sword for your protection ?" 
 
 " Truly am I reproved," said Lancelot. " Happy 
 am I to be held the Lord's ward and servant." 
 
 He took up his sword and put it in the sheath, 
 then made a cross on his forehead, and advanced 
 to the lions, which raged and showed their teeth 
 as if ready to rend him in pieces. Yet with a 
 bold step and tranquil mien he passed between 
 them unhurt, and entered the castle. 
 10
 
 110 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT QRAIL. 
 
 Through it he went, room by room, passage by 
 passage, for every door stood wide and no living 
 being met him as ho advanced. Finally he came 
 to a chamber whose door was closed, and which 
 yielded not to his hand when he sought to open 
 it. He tried again with all his force, but the door 
 resisted his strength. 
 
 Then he listened, and heard a voice that sang 
 more sweetly than he had ever heard. And the 
 words seemed to him to be, " Joy and honor be 
 to the Father of Heaven I" 
 
 Lancelot no longer sought to open the dooi, 
 but kneeled before it, feeling in his heart that the 
 Sangreal was within that chamber. 
 
 " Sweet Father Jesus," he prayed, " if ever I 
 did aught in thy service, in pity forgive me my 
 sins, and show me something of that which I 
 seek." 
 
 As be prayed the door opened without hands, 
 and from the room came a light brighter than if 
 all the torches of the world had been there. He 
 rose in joy to enter, but the voice spoke sternly in 
 his ear, 
 
 " Forbear, Lancelot, and seek not to enter here. 
 If you enter, you shall repent it dearly." 
 
 Then he drew back hastily, and looked into the 
 chamber, where he saw a table of silver, on which 
 was the holy vessel covered with red samite, with 
 angels about it, one of which held a burning 
 candle of wax, and one a cross. And before the 
 holy vessel stood a priest, who seemed to be
 
 HOW LANCELOT SAW THE SANGREAL, 111 
 
 serving the mass. In front of the priest ap- 
 peared to be three men, two of whom put the 
 youngest between the priest's hands, who neld 
 him up high as if to show him. Yet so heavy 
 seemed the figure that the priest appeared ready 
 to fall with weakness, and with a sudden impulse 
 Lancelot rushed into the room, crying, "Fair 
 Lord Jesus, hold it no sin that I help the good 
 man, who seems in utmost need." 
 
 But as he rashly entered and came towards the 
 table of silver, a breath that seemed half fire 
 smote him so hotly in the face that he fell heavily 
 to the earth, and lay like one bereft of all his 
 senses. Then many hands seemed to take him 
 up, and bear him without the door, where he lay 
 to all seeming dead. 
 
 When morning dawned he was found there by 
 the people of the castle, who marvelled how he 
 got there, and could not be sure if he were dead 
 or alive. But they laid him in a bed, and watched 
 him closely, for days passed without signs of life 
 or death. At length, on the twenty-fifth day, he 
 gave a deep sigh, and opened his eyes, and gazed 
 in wonder on the people about him. 
 
 "Why have you wakened me?" he cried. 
 " Why left you me not to my blessed visions ?" 
 
 " What have you seen ?" they asked, eagerly. 
 
 " Such marvels as no tongue can tell nor ear 
 understand," he said. " And more had I seen but 
 that my son was here before me. For God's love, 
 gentlemen tell me where I am."
 
 112 THE QUEST OF TELE HOLY GSAIL. 
 
 " Sir, you are in the castle of Carbonek." 
 
 " I thank God of His great mercy for what 1 
 have seen," he said. " Now may I leave the quest 
 of the Sangreal, for more of it shall I never see, 
 and few men living shall see so much." 
 
 These words said, he arose and dressed in new 
 clothing that they brought him, and stood in hia 
 old strength and beauty before the people. 
 
 " Sir Lancelot I" they cried, " is it you ?" 
 
 " Truly so," he answered. 
 
 Then word was brought to King Pellam, the 
 maimed king, who now dwelt in that castle, that 
 the knight who had lain so long between death 
 and life was Lancelot. Glad was the king tc 
 hear this, and he bade them bring Lancelot to 
 him. 
 
 " Long has my daughter Elaine been dead," he 
 said. " But happy she lived in having been loved 
 by you, and in the grace of her noble son Gala- 
 had." 
 
 "I was but cold to her," answered Lancelot, 
 " for she was a lovable lady. But in truth I have 
 been held from love and life's delights, for my 
 fate has not been my own to control." 
 
 For four days he abode at the castle, and then 
 took his armor and horse, saying that now his 
 quest of the Sangreal was done, and duty bade 
 him return to Camelot. 
 
 Back through many realms he rode, and in time 
 came to the abbey where Galahad had won the 
 white shield. Here he spent the night, and the
 
 THE DEEDS OF THE THREE CHOSEN KNIGHTS. 113 
 
 next day rode into Camelot, where he was received 
 with untold joy by Arthur and the queen. 
 
 For of the Knights of the Eound Table who 
 had set out on that perilous quest more than 
 half had perished, and small was the tale of that 
 gallant fellowship that could now be mustered. 
 So the coming of Lancelot filled all hearts with 
 joy. 
 
 Great was the marvel of the king when Lance- 
 lot told him of what he had seen and done, and 
 of the adventures of Galahad, Percivale, and 
 Bors. 
 
 " God send that they were all here again," said 
 the king. 
 
 " That shall never be," said Lancelot. " One 
 of them shall come again, but two you shall never 
 see." 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE DEEDS OF THE THBEE CHOSEN KNIOHT8. 
 
 AFTER Galahad left the ship and his father 
 Lancelot, he rode far and had many adventures, 
 righting many wrongs and achieving many mar- 
 vels. Among these he came to the abbey where 
 was the ancient King Evelake, who had laid 
 blind three hundred years, as we have elsewhere 
 told. 
 
 The old king knew well that his deliverance 
 VOL. III. A 10*
 
 114 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 had come, and begged to be embraced by the 
 pious youth. No sooner had he been clasped in 
 his arms than his sight returned, and his flesh 
 grew whole and young. 
 
 " Now, sweet Saviour, my destiny is fulfilled ; 
 receive thou my soul," he prayed. 
 
 As he said these words the soul left his body, 
 and the miracle of his fate was achieved. 
 
 Many days after this Galahad met Percivale, 
 and soon the two came upon Bors, as he rode out 
 of a great forest, that extended many days' jour- 
 ney through the land. 
 
 And so they rode in glad companionship, with 
 many a tale of marvel to tell, till in time they 
 came to the castle of Carbonek, where they were 
 gladly received, for those in the castle knew that 
 the quest of the Sangreal was now wellnigh 
 achieved. 
 
 "When evening approached, and the table for 
 supper was set, the mysterious voice that so often 
 had guided these knights spoke again. 
 
 " They that are not worthy to sit at the table 
 of Jesus Christ arise," it said ; " for now shall the 
 worthiest be fed." 
 
 Then all arose save Bliazar, the son of King 
 Pellam, and a maid who was his niece, and the 
 three knights. But as they sat at supper nine 
 other knights, in full armor, entered at the hall 
 door, and took off their helmets and armor, and 
 said to Galahad, 
 
 " Sir, we have come far and in haste to be with
 
 THE DEEDS OF THE THREE CHOSEN KNIGHTS. 115 
 
 you at this table, where the holy meat shall be 
 served." 
 
 " If you are worthy, you are welcome," said 
 Galahad. " Whence come you ?" 
 
 Three of them answered that they were from 
 Gaul, three from Ireland, and three from Den- 
 mark, and that they had come thither at the 
 bidding of the strange voice. 
 
 So they all sat at table. But ere they began to 
 eat, four gentlewomen bore into the hall a bed, 
 whereon lay a man sick, with a crown of gold on 
 his head. Setting him down, they went away. 
 
 "Galahad, holy knight, you are welcome," said 
 he who lay in the bed, raising his head feebly. 
 " Long have I waited your coming, in pain and 
 anguish, since Balin, the good knight, struck me 
 the dolorous stroke. To you I look for aid and 
 release from my long suffering." 
 
 Then spoke the voice again : " There be those 
 here who are not in the quest of the Sangreal ; 
 let them depart." And the son and niece of the 
 king rose and left the room. 
 
 Then there came suddenly four angels, and a 
 man who bore a cross and wore the dress of a 
 bishop, whom the angels placed in a chair before 
 the silver table of the Sangreal. In his forehead 
 were letters which said, " This is Joseph, the first 
 bishop of Christendom." 
 
 Next opened the chamber door, and angela 
 entered, two bearing wax candles, the third a 
 towel, and the fourth a spear that bled, the blood
 
 116 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY QRAIL. 
 
 drops falling into a silver vessel which he held in 
 his other hand. The candles were set on the 
 table, the towel spread upon the vessel, and the 
 spear set upright on this. 
 
 The bishop then said mass, at which other 
 strange signs were seen ; for a figure like a child, 
 with a face that shone like name, entered into the 
 bread of the sacrament. Then the bishop kissed 
 Galahad, and bade him kiss his fellows. This 
 done, he said, 
 
 " Servants of Jesus Christ, ye shall here be fed 
 on such meats as never knights tasted ;" and with 
 these words he vanished. 
 
 But as they knelt in prayer before the table, 
 they saw come out of the holy vessel a man 
 who bore all the signs of the passion of Jesus 
 Christ. And he took up the vessel and bore it to 
 Galahad and to the other knights, who kneeled to 
 receive the sacrament ; and so sweet was it that 
 their hearts marvelled and were filled with joy. 
 
 " Now have you tasted of Christ's own food," 
 he said, " and seen what you highly and holily 
 desired. But more openly shall you see it in the 
 city of Sarras, in the spiritual place. Therefore 
 you must go hence, for this night the holy vessel 
 will leave this realm, and will never more be seen 
 here. To-morrow you three shall go to the sea, 
 where a ship awaits you ; and you must take with 
 you the sword with the strange girdle." 
 
 " Shall not these good knights go also ?" asked 
 Galahad.
 
 THX DEEDS OF THE THREE CHOSEN KNIGHTS. 117 
 
 " Not so. They have seen all that is fitting to 
 them. As for you, two of you shall die in my 
 service, and the third shall return and tell what 
 he has seen." 
 
 Then he gave them his blessing, and vanished 
 from out their midst. 
 
 When they had somewhat recovered from the 
 weight of these marvels, Galahad went to the 
 spear that lay on the table, and touched the blood 
 with his fingers, and with it anointed the wounds 
 of the maimed king. And at this touch he started 
 up whole and strong, thanking God fervently for 
 his healing. 
 
 But he went not into the world again, but to a 
 monastery of white monks, where he became a 
 man of holy renown. 
 
 At midnight came a voice to the nine knights, 
 which said, 
 
 " My sons, and not my chieftains ; my friends, 
 and not my warriors ; go ye hence, and do well 
 what comes to you, in my service." 
 
 " Lord," they replied, " wilt thou vouchsafe also 
 to call us thy sinners ? Thy servants we shall be 
 henceforth." 
 
 And they arose, armed, and departed, bidding 
 a solemn adieu to the three knights. When 
 morning dawned these three rose also, and rode 
 till they came to the sea. Here awaited them the 
 ship wherein they had found the sword and the 
 three magic spindles, and to their wonder and 
 delight the beheld in its midst the table of silver
 
 118 THI QUEST OF THE HOLT QUAIL. 
 
 and the Sangreal, which was covered with red 
 samite. 
 
 It was a joyous company that sailed over the 
 sea in that magical ship, and at the wish of his 
 comrades Galahad slept in the bed where the 
 sword had lain, and Bors and Percivale on the 
 deck beside him. 
 
 And so they went by day and by night, and at 
 length came to the city of Sarras. Here, as they 
 would have landed, they saw beside them, just 
 come to shore, the ship that bore the corpse of 
 Percivale's sister, and this as fair and as fresh as 
 when first placed within it. 
 
 Then they took up the silver table and bore it 
 to the city, at whose gate sat an old and crooked 
 cripple. 
 
 " Come hither, and help us carry this heavy 
 thing," said Galahad. 
 
 " How shall I do that ? I have not gone for ten 
 years without crutches." 
 
 " No matter for that. Show your good will by 
 trying." 
 
 Then the cripple rose and took hold, and in 
 that instant he was whole and strong, and helped 
 them bear the table to the palace. This done, they 
 returned, and bore to the palace the corpse of 
 Percivale's sister, which they placed in a rich 
 tomb, suited to a king's daughter. 
 
 Meanwhile the report had spread through the 
 city that a cripple had been made whole by three 
 strange knights, and people flocked to see them.
 
 THE DEEDS OF THE THREE CHOSEN KNIGHTS. 119 
 
 When the king of the city saw and heard all 
 this, he came to the knights and asked them who 
 they were, and what it was they had brought into 
 his realm. 
 
 Galahad answered him, telling of the marvel 
 of the Sangreal, and of God's power and grace 
 therein. 
 
 But the king, Estorause, a tyrant in will and a 
 pagan in faith, heard this with wrath and un- 
 belief, and ordered the knights to be put in prison 
 as spies and felons. 
 
 For a whole year they lay thus in prison, yet 
 were always kept whole and in good spirits ; for 
 the holy Sangreal came to them in their dungeons, 
 and filled their souls with joy. When the year 
 ended, Estorause grew sick unto death, and in 
 remorse sent for the imprisoned knights, whose 
 pardon and forgiveness he fervently begged. This 
 they gave him, and he straightway died. 
 
 His death threw the city into dismay, for he 
 had left no successor to the throne. But as the 
 lords sat in council there came a voice that bade 
 them choose the youngest of the three knights 
 for their king. This mysterious behest was told 
 to the citizens, and with one acclaim they hailed 
 it as God's will, and demanded Galahad as their 
 king. 
 
 Thereupon he became king of Sarras, though it 
 was not his wish ; but he felt it to be God's com- 
 mand. And when he came to the throne he had 
 constructed a chest of gold and precious stones, in
 
 120 THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL. 
 
 which was placed the table of silver with the holy 
 vessel, and before this the three knights kneeled 
 and prayed daily with fervent zeal. 
 
 And so time rolled on till came the day that was 
 the anniversary of that in which Galahad had 
 taken the crown. On this morning he rose be- 
 times, and before the holy vessel he saw a man 
 dressed like a bishop, while round about him was 
 a great fellowship of angels. 
 
 " Come forth, thou servant of Jesus Christ, and 
 thou shalt see what thou hast so much desired," 
 said the bishop. 
 
 Then Galahad began to tremble, his flesh quak- 
 ing in the presence of things spiritual. And he 
 held his hands up towards heaven, saying, 
 
 " Lord, I thank thee, for now my desire is ful- 
 filled. And if it be thy will that I should come 
 to thee, I wish no longer to live." 
 
 " I am Joseph of Arimathea," said the strange 
 presence, " and am sent by the Lord to bear thee 
 fellowship. Thou resemblest me in two things ; 
 for thou hast seen the highest marvel of the San- 
 greal, and are pure of heart and of body. Now 
 say farewell to thy comrades, for thy time is come 
 to depart." 
 
 Galahad thereupon went to Percivale and JBors, 
 and kissed them, and commended them to God, 
 saying to Bors, 
 
 " Fair friend, who art destined to return to our 
 native realm, salute for me my lord and father 
 Lancelot, and bid him remember the evils of this
 
 rax DEEDS OF THE THREE CHOSEN KNIGHTS. 121 
 
 unstable world, and bear in mind the duty he has 
 been taught." 
 
 Then he kneeled before the table and prayed 
 fervently, and suddenly his soul departed from his 
 body, a multitude of angels bearing it visibly 
 upward toward heaven, in full view of his late 
 comrades. Also they saw come from heaven a 
 hand, with no body visible, and take up the holy 
 vessel and the spear, and bear them to heaven. 
 And from that moment no man ever saw on earth 
 again the blessed Sangreal. 
 
 Afterwards Galahad's body was buried with 
 great honor, and with many tears from his two 
 fellows and from the people whom he had gov- 
 erned. Then Percivale betook him to a hermit- 
 age, and entered upon a religious life ; while Bors 
 stayed with him, but in secular clothing, for it was 
 his purpose to return to England. 
 
 Fora year and two months Percivalo lived thus 
 the holy life of a hermit, and then he passed out 
 of this world, and was buried by Bors who 
 mourned him as deeply as ever man was 
 mourned beside his sister and Galahad. This 
 pious office performed, Sir Bors, the last of the 
 three chosen knights, felt that his duty in that 
 land was at an end, and thereupon took ship at the 
 city of Sarras and sailed for the realm of England, 
 where he in good season arrived. Here he took 
 horse and rode in all haste to Camelot, where 
 King Arthur and the court then were, and where 
 he was received with the greatest joy and wonder, 
 F 11
 
 122 THE QUEST OF THE HOLT GRAIL. 
 
 for BO long had it been since any man there had 
 set eyes on him, that all believed him to be dead. 
 
 But greater than their wonder was their ad- 
 miration when the returned knight told the story 
 of miracle and adventure which had befallen 
 him and his two comrades, and the pious maid, 
 Percivale's sister, and of the holy life and death 
 of Galahad and Percivale. This marvellous nar- 
 rative the king had told again to skilled clerks, 
 that they might put upon record the wonderful 
 deeds of these good knights. And it was all 
 written down in great books, which were put in 
 safe keeping at Salisbury. 
 
 Bors then gave to Lancelot the message which 
 his son had sent him, and Lancelot took him in 
 his arms, saying, " Gentle cousin, gladly do I 
 welcome you again. Never while we live shall we 
 part, but shall ever be true friends and brothers 
 while life may last to us." 
 
 And thus came to an end the marvellous and 
 unparalleled adventure of the Holy Grail.
 
 BOOK X. 
 
 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND GlENEVER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE POISONING OF SIR PATRISE. 
 
 AFTER the quest of the Sangreal was ended, and 
 all the knights who were left alive had come again 
 to Camelot, there was great joy in the court, with 
 feasts and merrymakings, that this fortunate rem- 
 nant might find a glad welcome. Above all, King 
 Arthur and Queen Gruenever were full of joy in 
 the return of Lancelot and Bors, both from the 
 love they bore them and the special honor they 
 had gained in the quest. 
 
 But, as is man's way, holy thoughts vanished 
 with the holy task that gave them rise, the knights 
 went back to their old fashions and frailties, and 
 in Lancelot's heart his earthly love for the queen 
 soon rose again, and his love of heaven and holy 
 thoughts grew dim as the days went by. Alas 
 that it should have been so ! for such an unholy 
 passion could but lead to harm. To fatal ills, 
 indeed, it led, and to the end of Arthur's reign 
 and of the worshipful fellowship of the Table 
 Bound, as it is our sorrowful duty now to tell. 
 
 128
 
 124 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND QUENEVEE. 
 
 All this began in the scandal that was raised 
 in the court by the close companionship between 
 Lancelot and the queen. Whisper of this secret 
 talk at length came to that good knight's ears, and 
 he withdrew from Queen Guenever as much as 
 he could, giving himself to the society of other 
 ladies of the court, with design to overcome the 
 evil activity of slanderous tongues. 
 
 This withdrawal filled the queen with jealous 
 anger, and she accused him bitterly of coldness in 
 his love. 
 
 " Madam," said Lancelot, " only that love for 
 you clung desperately to my heart, and drove out 
 heavenly thoughts, I should have gained as great 
 honor in the quest of the Sangreal as even my 
 son Galahad. My love is still yours, but I fear to 
 show it, for there are those of the court who love 
 me not, such as Agravaine and Mordred, and these 
 evil-thinking knights are spreading vile reports 
 wherever they may. It is for this I make show 
 of delight in other ladies' society, to cheat the 
 bitter tongue of slander." 
 
 To this the queen listened with heaving breast 
 and burning cheek. But at the end she burst into 
 bitter tears and sobs, and wept so long that 
 Lancelot stood in dismay. When she could speak, 
 she called him recreant and false, declared she 
 should never love him more, and bade him leave 
 the court, and on pain of his head never come 
 near her again. 
 
 This filled the faithful lover with the deepest
 
 THE POISONING 07 SIB PATRI8K. 125 
 
 grief and pain j yet there was anger, too, for he 
 felt that the queen had shut her ears to reason, and 
 had let causeless jealousy blind her. So, without 
 further words, he turned and sought his room, 
 prepared to leave the court. He sent for Hector, 
 Bors, and Lionel, and told them what had hap- 
 pened, and that he intended to leave England and 
 return to his native land. 
 
 " If you take my advice you will do nothing so 
 rash," said Bors. " Know you not that women 
 are hasty to act, and quick to repent ? This is not 
 the first time the queen has been angry with you ; 
 nor will her repentance be a new experience." 
 
 "You speak truly," said Lancelot. "I will 
 ride, therefore, to the hermitage of Brasias, near 
 "Windsor, and wait there till I hear from you if 
 my lady Guenever changes her mood. I pray you 
 do your best to get me her love again." 
 
 " That needs no prayer. Well you know I will 
 do my utmost in your behalf." 
 
 Then Lancelot departed in haste, none but Bors 
 knowing whither he had gone. But the queen 
 showed no sign of sorrow at his going, however 
 deeply she may have felt it in her heart. In 
 countenance she remained serene and proud, as 
 though the world went well with her, and her 
 heart was free from care. 
 
 Her desire, indeed, to show that she took as 
 
 much joy in the society of other knights as in that 
 
 of Lancelot led to a woful and perilous event, 
 
 which we have next to describe. For she gave a 
 
 11*
 
 126 THI LOV* OF LANCELOT AND GHTENITEK. 
 
 private dinner, to which she invited Gawaine and 
 his brethren and other knights, to the number of 
 twenty-four in all. A rich feast it was, with all 
 manner of dainties and rare devices. Much was 
 the joy and merriment of the feasting knights. 
 
 As it happened, Gawaine had a great love for 
 fruits, especially apples and pears, which he ate 
 daily at dinner and supper ; and all who invited 
 him to dine took care to provide his favorite 
 fruits. This the queen failed not to do. But 
 there was at the feast an enemy of Gawaine's, 
 named Pinel le Savage, who was a cousin of 
 Lamorak de Galis, and had long hated Gawaine 
 fbr the murder of that noble knight. 
 
 To obtain revenge on him, Pinel poisoned some 
 of the apples, feeling sure that only Gawaine 
 would eat them. But by unlucky chance a knight 
 named Patrise, cousin to Mador de la Porte, eat 
 one of the poisoned apples. So deadly was the 
 venom that in a moment he was in agony, and 
 very soon it so filled his veins that he fell dead 
 from his seat. 
 
 Then was terror and wrath, as the knights 
 sprang in haste and turmoil from their seats. For 
 they saw that Patrise had been poisoned, and sus- 
 picion naturally fell upon the queen, the giver of 
 the feast. 
 
 " My lady, the queen," cried Gawaine in anger, 
 " what thing is this we see ? This fate, I deem, was 
 meant for me, since the fruit was provided for my 
 taste Madam, what shall I think ? Has this
 
 THX POISONING OF SIB PATRI8E. 127 
 
 good knight taken on himself the death that was 
 intended to be mine ?" 
 
 The queen made no answer, being so confused 
 and terrified that she knew not what to say. 
 
 " This affair shall not end here," cried Mador de 
 la Porte in great wrath. "Here lies a noble 
 knight of my near kindred, slain by poison and 
 treason. For this I shall have revenge to the 
 utterance. Queen Guenever, I hold you guilty of 
 the murder of my cousin, Sir Patrise. I demand 
 from the laws of the realm and the justice of our 
 lord the king redress for this deed. A knight 
 like this shall not fall unrevenged, while I can 
 wield spear or hold sword." 
 
 The queen, at this hot accusation, looked appeal- 
 ingly from face to face ; but all stood grave and 
 silent, fbr greatly they suspected her of the crime. 
 Then, seeing that she had not a friend in the 
 room, she burst into a passion of tears, and at 
 length fell to the floor in a swoon. 
 
 The story of this sad business soon spread 
 through the court, and quickly came to the ears 
 of the king, who hastened to the banqueting hall 
 full of trouble at what he had heard. When 
 Mador saw him, he again bitterly accused the 
 queen of treason, as murder of all kinds was 
 then called. 
 
 " This is a serious affair," said the king, gravely. 
 " I, as a rightful judge, cannot take the matter 
 into my own hands, or I would do battle in this 
 cause myself, for I know well that my wife is
 
 128 THX LOVE OF LANCELOT AND QU1N1VXK. 
 
 wrongly accused. To burn a queen on a hasty 
 accusation of crime is no light matter, though you 
 may deem it so, Sir Mador ; and if you demand 
 the combat, fear not but a knight will be found to 
 meet you in the lists." 
 
 "My gracious lord," said Mador, "you must 
 hold me excused, for though you are our king, you 
 are a knight also, and held by knightly rules. 
 Therefore, be not displeased with me, for all the 
 knights here suspect the queen of this crime. 
 What say you, my lords ?" 
 
 " The dinner was made by the queen," they an 
 swered. " She or her servants must be held guilty 
 of the crime." 
 
 " I gave this dinner with a good will, and with 
 no thought of evil," said the queen, sadly. " May 
 God help me as an innocent woman, and visit this 
 murder on the base head of him who committed 
 it. My king and husband, to God I appeal for 
 right and justice." 
 
 " And justice I demand," said Mador, " and re- 
 quire the king to name a day in which this wrong 
 can be righted." 
 
 " Be it so, then," said the king. " Fifteen days 
 hence be thou ready armed on horseback in the 
 meadow beside Winchester. If there be a knight 
 there to meet you, then God speed the right. If 
 none meet you, then my queen must suffer the 
 penalty of the law." 
 
 When Arthur and the queen had departed, he 
 asked her how this case befell.
 
 THE POISONING OF SIB PATRI8E. 129 
 
 " God help me if I know," she answered. 
 
 " Where is Lancelot ?" asked the king. If he 
 were here, he would do battle for you." 
 
 " I know not," she replied. " His kinsmen say 
 he has left, the land." 
 
 " How cometh it," said the king, " that you can- 
 not keep Lancelot by your side ? If he were here 
 your case would be won. Sir Bors will do battle 
 in his place, I am sure. Go seek him and demand 
 his aid." 
 
 This the queen did, begging Bors to act as her 
 champion ; but he, as one of the knights who had 
 been at the dinner, demurred, and accused her of 
 having driven Lancelot from the country by her 
 scorn and jealousy. 
 
 Then she knelt and begged his aid, and the 
 king, coming in, also requested his assistance, for 
 he was now sure the queen had been unjustly 
 defamed. 
 
 " My lord," answered Bors, " it is a great thing 
 you require of me, for if I grant your request I 
 will affront many of my Eound Table comrades. 
 Yet for your and Lancelot's sake I will be the 
 queen's champion on the day appointed, unless it 
 may happen that a better knight than I come to 
 do battle for her." 
 
 "Will you promise me this, on your faith?" 
 asked the king. 
 
 " I shall not fail you," said Bors. " If a better 
 knight than I come, the battle shall be his. If 
 not, I will do what I can " 
 VOL. III. i
 
 130 THK LOVE OF LANCELOT AND GUENEVER. 
 
 This promise gladdened the king and queen, 
 who thanked Bora heartily, and were filled with 
 hope, for they trusted greatly in this good knight's 
 prowess and skill. 
 
 Bors, however, had other thoughts than they 
 dreamed of, and left the court secretly, riding to 
 the hermitage of Brasias, where he found Lan- 
 celot and told him of what had occurred. 
 
 "This happens well," said Lancelot. "The 
 queen shall not suffer. Do you make ready fr 
 the battle, but tarry and delay, if I am not there, 
 as much as you may, till I arrive. Mador is a 
 hot knight, and will be hasty to battle. Bid him 
 cool his haste." 
 
 "Leave that to me," said Bors. "Doubt not 
 that it will go as you wish." 
 
 Meanwhile the news spread throughout the 
 court that Bors had taken on himself the queen's 
 championship. This displeased the most of the 
 knights, for suspicion of the queen was general. 
 On his return many of his fellows accused him 
 hotly of taking on himself a wrongful quarrel. 
 
 " Shall we see the queen of our great lord King 
 Arthur brought to shame ?" he demanded. " To 
 whom in the world do we owe more ?" 
 
 "We love and honor our king as much as 
 you do," they answered. "But we cannot love 
 a destroyer of knights, as Queen Guenever has 
 proved herself." 
 
 " Fair sirs," said Bors, " you speak hastily, me- 
 thinks. At all times, so far as I know, she has
 
 THE POISONING OF SIB PAXfUSK. 131 
 
 been a maintainer, not a destroyer, of knights, 
 and has been free with gifts and open-handed in 
 bounty to all of knightly fame. This you cannot 
 gainsay, nor will I suffer the wife of our noble 
 king to be shamefully slain. She is not guilty 
 of Sir Patrise's death, for she never bore him ill 
 will, nor any other at that dinner. It was for 
 good will she invited us there, and I doubt not 
 her innocence will be proved ; for howsoever the 
 game goeth, take my word for it, some other than 
 she is guilty of that murder." 
 
 This some began to believe, convinced by his 
 words, but others still held their displeasure, be- 
 lieving the queen guilty. 
 
 When at length the day that had been fixed fox 
 the battle came, there was a great gathering of 
 knights and people in the meadow beside Win- 
 chester, where the combat was to take place. 
 But many shuddered when they saw another 
 thing, for an iron stake was erected, and fagots 
 heaped round it, for the burning of the queen 
 should Mador win the fight. 
 
 Such, indeed, was the custom of those days. 
 Neither for favor, for love, nor for kindred could 
 any but righteous judgment be given, as wel 1 upon 
 a king as upon a knight, upon a queen as upon a 
 poor lady, and death at the stake was the penalty 
 for those convicted of murder. 
 
 Now there rode into the lists Sir Mador de la 
 Porte, and took oath before the king that he held 
 the queen to be guilty of tho death of Sir Patrise,
 
 132 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND QUENEVEB. 
 
 and would prove it with his body against any one 
 who should say to the contrary. 
 
 Sir Bora followed, and made oath as the queen's 
 champion that he held her guiltless, and would 
 prove it with his body, unless a better knight 
 came to take the battle on him. 
 
 " Make ready then," said Mador, " and we shall 
 prove which is in the right, you or I." 
 
 " You are a good knight, Sir Mador," said Bors, 
 " but I trust that God will give this battle to 
 justice, not to prowess." 
 
 He continued to talk and to make delay till 
 Mador called out impatiently, 
 
 " It seems to me that we waste time and weather. 
 Either come and do battle at once, or else say nay." 
 
 " I am not much given to say nay," answered 
 Bors. "Take your horse and make ready. I 
 shall not tarry long, I promise you." 
 
 Then each departed to his tent, and in a little 
 while Mador came into the field with his shield 
 on his shoulder and his spear in his hand. But 
 he waited in vain for Bors. 
 
 " Where is your champion ?" cried Mador to the 
 king. " Bid him come forth if he dare 1" 
 
 When this was told to Bors ho was ashamed to 
 delay longer, and mounted his horse and rode to 
 his appointed place. But as he did so he saw a 
 knight, mounted on a white horse, and bearing a 
 shield of strange device, emerge from a neighbor 
 ing wood, and come up at all speed. Ho con 
 tinued hia course till be came to Sir Bors.
 
 THE POISONING OF SIB PATBfBI. 133 
 
 " Be not displeased, fair knight," he said, " if I 
 claim this battle. I have ridden far this day to 
 have it, as I promised you when we spoke last. 
 And for what you have done I thank you." 
 
 Then Bors rode to the king and told him that a 
 knight had come who would do battle for the 
 queen and relieve him from the championship. 
 
 " What knight is this?" asked the king. 
 
 " All I may say is that he covenanted to be here 
 to-day. He has kept his word, and I am dis- 
 charged. 
 
 " How is this ?" demanded Arthur. " Sir knight, 
 do you truly desire to do battle for the queen ?" 
 
 " For that, and that alone, came I hither," an 
 swered the knight. " And I beg that there be no 
 delay, for when this battle is ended I must depart 
 in haste on other duties. I hold it a dishonor to 
 all those knights of the Round Table that they 
 can stand and see so noble a lady and courteous a 
 queen as Queen Guenever rebuked and shamed 
 among them all. Therefore I stand as her cham- 
 pion." 
 
 Then all marvelled what knight this could be, 
 for none suspected him. But Mador cried impa- 
 tiently to the king, 
 
 "We lose time here. If this knight, whoever 
 he be, will have ado with me, it is time to end 
 words and begin deeds." 
 
 " You are hot, Sir Mador. Take care that youi 
 valor be not cooled," said the other. 
 
 They now moved to their appointed station, 
 12
 
 134 THE LOVE OP LANCELOT AND OTTENEVEB. 
 
 and there couched their spears and rode together 
 with all the speed of their chargers. Mador's 
 spear broke, but the spear of his opponent held, 
 and bore him and his horse backward to the 
 earth. 
 
 But he sprang lightly from the saddle, and 
 drew his sword, challenging the victor to do battle 
 with him on foot. This the other knight did, 
 springing quickly to the ground, and drawing his 
 sword. Then they came eagerly to the combat, 
 and for the space of near an hour fought with 
 the fury of wild beasts, for Mador was a strong 
 knight, proved in many battles. 
 
 But at last the strange champion struck his 
 opponent a blow that brought him to the earth. 
 He stepped near him to hurl him flat, but at that 
 instant Mador suddenly rose. As he did so he 
 struck upward with his sword, and ran the other 
 through the thick of the thigh, so that the blood 
 flowed freely. 
 
 When he felt himself wounded ho stepped back 
 in a rage, and grasping his sword struck Mador 
 a two-handed blow that hurled him flat to the 
 earth. Then he sprang upon him to pull off his 
 helm. 
 
 "I yield me!" cried Mador. "Spare my life, 
 and I release the queen." 
 
 "I shall not grant your life," said the other, 
 " only on condition that you freely withdraw this 
 accusation from the queen, and that no charge 
 against her be made on Sir Patrise's tomb."
 
 THK POISONING OF SIR PATRI8B. 135 
 
 " All this shall be done. I have lost, and ad. 
 judge her innocent." 
 
 The knights-parters of the lists now took up 
 Sir Mador and bore him to his tent. The other 
 knight went to the foot of King Arthur's seat 
 By that time the queen had come thither also, 
 and was heartily kissed by her overjoyed lord 
 Then king and queen alike thanked the victor 
 knight, and prayed him to take off his helmet, 
 and drink some wine for refreshment. This he 
 did, and on the instant a loud shout went up from 
 all present, for they recognized the noble face of 
 Lancelot du Lake. 
 
 " Sir Lancelot !" cried the king. " Never were 
 you more heartily welcome. Deep thanks I and 
 Queen Guenever owe you for your noble labor 
 this day in our behalf." 
 
 "My lord Arthur," said Lancelot, "I would 
 shame myself should I ever fail to do battle for 
 you both. It was you who gave me the high honor 
 of knighthood. And on the day you made me 
 knight I lost my sword through haste, and the 
 lady your queen found it and gave it me when I 
 had need of it, and so saved mo from disgrace 
 among the knights. On that day I promised her 
 to be ever her knight in right or wrong." 
 
 " Your goodness merits reward," said the king, 
 " and therein I shall not fail you." 
 
 But as the queen gazed on Lancelot, tears came 
 to her eyes, and she wept so tenderly that she 
 almost sank to the ground from sorrow and
 
 136 TH LOYX OF LANCELOT AND GUENEVIB. 
 
 remorse at her unkindness to him who had done 
 her such noble service. 
 
 Now the knights of his blood came around 
 Lancelot in the greatest joy, and all the Knights 
 of the Eound Table after them, glad to welcome 
 him. 
 
 And in the days that followed Lancelot was 
 cured of his wound, and Mador put under the 
 care of skilful leeches, while great joy and glad- 
 ness reigned in the court for the happy issue of 
 that combat which had promised so fatal an 
 ending. 
 
 About this time it befel that Nimue, the damsel 
 of the lake, came to the court, she who knew so 
 many things by her power of enchantment, and 
 had such great love for Arthur and his knights. 
 When tho story of the death of Sir Patrise and 
 the peril of the queen was told her, she answered 
 openly that the queen had been falsely accused, 
 and that the real murderer was Sir Pinel, who 
 had poisoned the apples to destroy Gawaine, in 
 revenge for the murder of Lamorak. This story 
 was confirmed when Pinel fled hastily from the 
 court, for then all saw clearly that Guenever was 
 innocent of the crime. 
 
 The slain knight was buried in the church of 
 Westminster, and on his tomb was written, 
 
 " Here lieth Sir Patrise of Ireland, slain by Sir 
 Pinel le Savage, through poisoned apples intended 
 for Sir Gawaine." And to this was added the 
 story of how Guenever the queen had been
 
 THX LILT MAID OF ABTOLAT. 137 
 
 charged with that crime, and had been cleared in 
 the combat by Sir Lancelot du Lake, her cham- 
 pion. 
 
 All this was written on the tomb, to clear the 
 queen's good fame. A.nd daily and long Sir Mador 
 sued the queen to have her good grace again. 
 At length, by means of Lancelot, he was forgiven, 
 and entered again into the grace of king and 
 queen. Thus once more peace and good -will were 
 restored to Camelot. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THB LILT MAID OF ASTOLAT. 
 
 IT came to pass that, within fifteen days of the 
 Feast of the Assumption, King Arthur announced 
 that a great tournament would be held on that 
 day at Camelot, where he and the king of Scots 
 would hold the lists against all who should come. 
 This tidings went far, and there came to Camelot 
 many noble knights, among them the king of 
 North Wales, King Anguish of Ireland, the king 
 with the hundred knights, Sir Galahalt the high 
 prince, and other kings, dukes, and earls. 
 
 But when Arthur was ready to ride from Lon- 
 don, whore he then was, to Camelot, the queen 
 begged to be excused from going with him, saying 
 that she was not well. Lancelot, too, would not 
 12*
 
 138 THJ LOVE OF LANCELOT AND GUENEVKB. 
 
 go, on the plea that he was not well of the wound 
 which Sir Mador had given him. So the king set 
 out in grief and anger, for the absence of his wife 
 and Lancelot tried him sorely. On his way to 
 Camelot he lodged in a town named Astolat, which 
 is now known as Gilford, and here he remained 
 for several days. 
 
 But hardly had he departed before the queen 
 sought Lancelot, and blamed him severely for not 
 going with the king, saying that he thus exposed 
 her to slander. 
 
 " Madam, your wisdom comes somewhat late. 
 Why gave you not this advice sooner?" said 
 Lancelot. " I will go, since you command it ; but 
 I warn you that at the jousts I will fight against 
 the king and his party." 
 
 "Fight as you will, but go," said Gruenever. 
 " If you take my counsel, however, you will keep 
 with your king and your kindred." 
 
 " Bo not displeased with me, madam," said 
 Lancelot. " I will do as God wills, and that, 1 
 fear, will be to fight against the king's party." 
 
 So the knight took horse and rode to Astolat, 
 and here in the evening he obtained quarters in 
 the mansion of an old baron, named Sir Bernard 
 of Astolat. It happened that this mansion was 
 near the quarters of the king, who, as in the dusk 
 he walked in the castle garden, saw Lancelot 
 draM near to Sir Bernard's door, and recognized 
 him. 
 
 <' Aha !" said the king, " is that the game ? That
 
 THE LILT MAID OF A8TO1.AT. 139 
 
 gives me comfort. I shall have one knight in the 
 lists who will do his duty nobly." 
 
 " Who is that ?" asked those with him 
 
 "Ask me not now," said the king, smiling. 
 " You may learn later." 
 
 Meanwhile Lancelot was hospitably received by 
 the old baron, though the latter knew not his 
 guest. 
 
 " Dear sir," said Lancelot to his host, " I thank 
 you for your kindness, and I shall owe you deeper 
 thanks if you will lend me a shield. Mine is too 
 well known, and I wish to fight in disguise." 
 
 " That shall I willingly," answered his host. 
 " I have two sons who were lately knighted, and 
 the elder, Sir Tirre, has been hurt. His shield you 
 shall have, for it is yet unknown in list or field. 
 As for my younger son, Sir Lavaine, he is a strong 
 and likely youth, whom I beg you will take with 
 you. I feel that you must be a champion of re- 
 nown, and hope you will tell me your name." 
 
 " Not at present, if you will excuse me," said 
 Lancelot. " If I speed well at the tournament I 
 will return and tell you. But I shall be glad to 
 have Sir Lavaine with me, and to use his brother's 
 shield." 
 
 " You are welcome to both," said Sir Bernard. 
 
 This old baron had a daughter of great beauty, 
 and in the freshness of youth, who was known in 
 that region as the Fair Maid of Astolat, by name 
 Elaine le Blank. And when she saw Lancelot her 
 whole heart went out to him in love, a love of
 
 140 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND QUENKVX&. 
 
 that ardent nature that never dies while she who 
 wears it lives. 
 
 Lancelot, too, was strongly attracted by her 
 fresh young face, of lily-like charm ; but he had 
 no love to give. Yet he spoke in tender kindness 
 to the maiden, and so emboldened her that she 
 begged him to wear her token at the tournament. 
 
 " You ask more than I have ever yet granted 
 to lady or damsel," said Lancelot. " If I yield to 
 your wish I shall do more for your love than any 
 woman born can claim." 
 
 She besought him now with still more earnest- 
 ness, and it came to his mind that if he wished to 
 go to the lists disguised he could take no better 
 method, for no one would recognise Lancelot 
 under a damsel's token. 
 
 " Show me what you would have me wear, fail 
 maiden," he said. 
 
 " It is a red sleeve of mine," she answered, " a 
 sleeve of scarlet, embroidered with great pearls," 
 and she brought it to him. 
 
 " I have never done this for damsel before," said 
 Lancelot. " In return I will leave my shield in your 
 keeping. Pray keep it safe till we meet again." 
 
 Then the evening was spent in merry cheer ; 
 but that night Elaine slept but lightly, for her 
 slumber was full of dreams of Lancelot, and her 
 heart burned with fears that he might come to 
 harm in the lists. 
 
 On the next day King Arthur and his knights 
 set out for Camelot. Soon afterwards Lancelot and
 
 LANCELOT LEAVES ASTOLAT.
 
 THB LILY MAID OP A8TOLAT. 141 
 
 Lavaine took leave of Sir Bernard and his fair 
 daughter, while the eyes of Elaine followed the 
 noble form of Lancelot fondly and far, as he rode. 
 Both the knights had white shields, and Lancelot 
 bore with him Blame's red embroidered sleeve. 
 When they reached Camelot they took lodging 
 privately with a rich burgess of the town, that 
 none might know them. 
 
 When came Assumption Day, the lists were set, 
 the trumpets blew to the field, the two parties of 
 knights gathered promptly to the fray, and fierce 
 was the encounter between them. In the end, 
 after hard fighting, the party of Arthur bore back 
 their opponents, who wero headed by the kings 
 of Northumberland and North Wales. 
 
 All this was seen by Lancelot and Lavaine, who 
 sat their horses at a distance looking on. 
 
 " Come," said Lancelot, " let us help these good 
 fellows, who seem to be overpowered." 
 
 " Lead on," said Lavaine. " I shall follow and 
 do my best." 
 
 Then Lancelot, with the red sleeve fastened 
 upon his helmet, rode in to the thickest of the press, 
 and smote down such numbers of knights with 
 spear and sword that the party of the Round 
 Table were forced i> give back, and their oppo- 
 uents came on with fresh heart. And close upon 
 Lancelot's track Lavaine smote down several good 
 knights. 
 
 "Who can this wonderful fighter be?" aeked 
 Gawaino of the king.
 
 142 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND GUENEVER. 
 
 " I know him well," said Arthur, " but will not 
 name him since he is in disguise." 
 
 " I could believe it was Lancelot," said Gawaine, 
 " but for that red sleeve. No man ever saw Lan- 
 celot wear a woman's token." 
 
 " Let him be," said Arthur. " He will be better 
 known before he is done." 
 
 Then nine knights of Lancelot's kindred, angry 
 at seeing this one champion beat down all before 
 him, joined together and pressed hotly into the 
 din, smiting down all that opposed them. Three 
 of them Bors, Hector, and Lionel spurred to- 
 gether on Lancelot, all striking him at once with 
 their spears. So great was their force that Lance- 
 lot's horse was hurled to the ground, and his 
 shield pierced by Bors, whose spear wounded him 
 in the side, breaking and leaving its head deep in 
 the flesh. 
 
 Seeing this misfortune, Lavaine spurred fiercely 
 on the king of the Scots, thrust him from his 
 horse, and, in despite of them all, brought that 
 horse to Lancelot, and helped him to mount. 
 Then, though so sorely hurt, Lancelot drew his 
 sword, and, aided by Lavaine, did such deeds of 
 arms as he had never surpassed in his hours of 
 greatest strength. As the chronicles say, that day 
 he unhorsed more than thirty knights ; and La- 
 vaine followed his example well, for he smote 
 down ten Knights of the Eound Table in this his 
 first tournament. So does a noble example stir 
 young hearts.
 
 THX LILT MAID OF ASTOLAT. 143 
 
 " I would give much to know who this valiant 
 knight can be," said Gawaine. 
 
 " He will be known before he departs," answered 
 Arthur. Trust me for that." 
 
 Then the king blew to lodging, and the prize 
 was given by the heralds to the knight with the 
 white shield who bore the red sleeve. Around 
 Lancelot gathered the leaders on his side, and 
 thanked him warmly for gaining them the vic- 
 tory. 
 
 " If I have deserved thanks I have sorely paid 
 for them," said Lancelot, " for I doubt if I escape 
 with my life. Dear sirs, permit me to depart, for 
 just now I would rather have repose than be lord 
 of all the world." 
 
 Then he broke from them and galloped away, 
 though his wound forced piteous groans from his 
 steadfast heart. Wben out of sight of them all 
 he checked his horse, and begged Lavaine to help 
 him dismount and to draw the spear-head from 
 his side. 
 
 " My lord," said Lavaine, " I would fain help 
 you ; yet I fear that to draw the spear will be 
 your death." 
 
 " It will be my death if it remains," said Lance- 
 lot. " I charge you to draw it." 
 
 This Lavaine did, the pain being so deadly that 
 Lancelot shrieked and fell into a death-like swoon, 
 while a full pint of blood gushed from the wound. 
 Lavaine stopped tho bleeding as well as he could, 
 and with great trouble got the wounded knight to
 
 144 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND GTTENEVER. 
 
 a neighboring hermitage, that stood in front of a 
 great cliff, with a clear stream running by its foot. 
 
 Here Lavaine beat on the door with the butt of 
 his spear, and cried loudly, 
 
 " Open, for Jesus' sake ! Open, for a noble 
 knight lies bleeding to death at your gate I" 
 
 This loud appeal quickly brought out the her- 
 mit, who was named Baldwin of Brittany, and 
 had once been a Round Table knight. He gazed 
 with pity and alarm on the pale face and bleeding 
 form before him. 
 
 " I should know this knight," he said. " Who 
 is he?" 
 
 "Fair sir," said Lancelot, feebly, "I am & 
 stranger and a knight-errant, who have sought 
 renown through many realms, and have come 
 here to my deadly peril." 
 
 As he spoke the hermit recognized him, by a 
 wound on his pallid cheek. 
 
 " Ah, my lord Lancelot," he said, "you cannot 
 deceive me thus." 
 
 " Then, if you know me, help me for heaven's 
 sake. Relieve me from this pain, whether it be 
 by life or death." 
 
 " I shall do my best," said the hermit. " Fear 
 not that you will die." 
 
 Then he had him borne into the hermitage, and 
 laid in bed, his armor being removed. This done, 
 the hermit stanched the bleeding, anointed the 
 wound with healing ointments, and gave Lancelot 
 a refreshing and healing draught.
 
 THE LILT MAID OF A8TOLAT. 146 
 
 Meanwhile King Arthur invited the knights of 
 both parties to a great evening feast, and there 
 asked the king of North Wales to bring forward 
 the knight of the red sleeve, that he might receive 
 the prize he had won. 
 
 " That I cannot do," was the answer. " He was 
 badly, if not fatally, wounded, and left us so has- 
 tily that we know not whither he went." 
 
 " That is the worst news I have heard these 
 seven years," said Arthur. " I would rather lose 
 my throne than have that noble knight slain." 
 
 " Do you know him ?" they all asked. 
 
 " I have a shrewd suspicion who he is ; and 1 
 pray God for good tidings of him." 
 
 " By my head," said Gawaine, " I should be sorry 
 enough to see harm come to one that can handle 
 spear and sword like him. He cannot be far away, 
 and if he is to be found I shall find him." 
 
 " Fortune aid you in the quest," said the king. 
 
 Then Gawaine took a squire, and they rode in 
 all directions for six or seven miles around Game- 
 lot, but could learn nothing of the missing knight. 
 Two days afterwards Arthur and his fellowship 
 set out on their return to London. On their way 
 they passed through Astolat, and here it happened 
 that Gawaine lodged with Sir Bernard, Lancelot's 
 former host. 
 
 He was well received, and the old baron and his 
 fair daughter begged him earnestly for tidings of 
 the tournament, being specially eager to know who 
 had done best there. 
 
 VOL. III. o * IS
 
 146 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND QUENEVSR. 
 
 " Two knights bore all before them," said Ga- 
 waine. " Both carried white shields, and one 
 wore on his helmet a red sleeve, as some fair 
 lady's token. Never saw I a man before do 
 such mighty deeds, and his fellow seconded him 
 nobly." 
 
 " Blessed be God that that knight did so well," 
 broke out Elaine, " for he is the first man I ever 
 loved, and shall be the last." 
 
 " You know him then ?" said Gawaine. " Pray 
 tell me his name." 
 
 " That I know not, nor whence he came ; but 
 this I truly know, that I love him, and that the 
 token he wore was mine. This, and this only, I 
 can justly affirm." 
 
 " This is a strange story," said Gawaine. " What 
 knowledge have you of him ? and how came you 
 to know him ?" 
 
 In response, she told him how the knight had 
 left his shield with her, and taken that of her 
 brother, with what else she knew. 
 
 " I would thank you much for a sight of that 
 shield," said Grawaine. 
 
 " I have it in my chamber, covered with a case, 
 and will send for it," said Elaine. 
 
 When the shield was brought Gawaine removed 
 the case, and at sight he knew it to be Lancelot's 
 shield. 
 
 " Ah, mercy I" said Grawaine, " the sight of this 
 makes my heart heavy." 
 
 " Why so ?" she demanded.
 
 THE LILT MAID OF ASTOLAT. 147 
 
 " For good cause," he answered. " Is the owner 
 of this shield your love f' 
 
 " Truly so," she replied. " I love him dearly ; 
 would to God ho loved me as dearly." 
 
 " Then must I say that you have given your 
 love to the noblest and most renowned knight in 
 the world." 
 
 " So it seemed to me ; for he carries a noble soul 
 in his face." 
 
 " This I may say," said Gawaine. " I have 
 known this knight for more than twenty years, 
 and never knew him before to wear a woman's 
 token at joust or tournament. You owe him 
 thanks, indeed, that he wore yours. Yet I dread 
 greatly that you will never see him again, and it 
 ifl for this that my heart is heavy." 
 
 " Why say you so ?" she cried, starting up with 
 pallid face. " Is he hurt ? Is he slain ?" 
 
 " Not slain ; but sadly hurt. This more it is 
 my duty to tell you: he is the noble knight, Sir 
 Lancelot du Lake. I know him by his shield." 
 
 "Lancelot! Can this be so? And his hurt 
 who gave it ? Is it really perilous ?" 
 
 "Had the knight who wounded him known 
 him, he would have been grieved almost to death. 
 As for Sir Lancelot, I can tell you nothing more. 
 On receiving his hurt he left the lists with his 
 comrade, and cannot be found. He is somewhere 
 concealed." 
 
 "Then shall I go seek him!" cried Elaine. 
 " Give me leave to do so, dear father, if you would
 
 148 THX LOVE OF LANCELOT AND GUENEVEB. 
 
 not have me lose my mind. I shall never rest till 
 I find him and my brother, and nurse him back 
 to health." 
 
 "Go, daughter, if you will," said her father, 
 ' for I am sick at heart to hear such tidings of 
 that noble knight." 
 
 In the morning Gawaine rejoined King Arthur, 
 and told him of what he had learned. 
 
 "I knew already it was Lancelot," said the 
 king ; " but never before knew I him to wear 
 woman's token." 
 
 " By my faith, this lily maiden of Astolat loves 
 him deeply," said Gawaine. "What it means I 
 cannot say, but she has set out to seek him, and 
 will break her heart if she fail to find him." 
 
 And so they rode on to London, where Gawaine 
 made known to the court that it was Lancelot 
 who wore the red sleeve and won the prize at the 
 tournament. 
 
 This tidings made no small trouble in the court. 
 Bors and his kinsmen were heavy at heart when 
 they learned that it was Lancelot whom they had 
 so hotly assailed. And Queen Guenever was be- 
 side herself with anger on learning that it was 
 Lancelot who had worn the red sleeve at the 
 tournament. 
 
 Meanwhile Elaine journeyed to Camelot in 
 search of the wounded knight, and as she sought 
 far and near about the town, sick at heart, it 
 chanced that she espied her brother Lavaine, as 
 he rode out to give his horse air. She called
 
 THE LILT MAID OF A8TOLAT. 149 
 
 loudly to him, and when he came up asked 
 him, 
 
 " How does my lord, Sir Lancelot ?" 
 
 " Who told you, sister, that my lord's name was 
 Lancelot ?" 
 
 She told him how she had learned this, and they 
 rode together to the hermitage, where Lavaine 
 brought her in to see the wounded knight. 
 
 But when she saw him lying there so sick and 
 pale, and with a death-like hue upon his face, she 
 stood gazing upon him with dilated eyes and 
 whitening face, and then suddenly fell to the floor 
 in a deep swoon. 
 
 " I pray you, Lavaine, take her up and bring 
 her to me," said Lancelot. 
 
 When she was brought near him he kissed her 
 pale face, and at the touch of his lips her cheeks 
 flamed out with red, and life came back to her. 
 
 " Fair maiden," said Lancelot, " it pains me to 
 see you so deeply afflicted. Comfort yourself, 1 
 pray you. If you come here to my aid you are 
 truly welcome ; but let not this little hurt trouble 
 you ; I shall soon be well of it." 
 
 Then they fell into discourse, and Elaine told 
 Lancelot how Gawaine had seen and known his 
 shield. This gave him no small trouble, for he 
 knew well that the story of the red scarf would 
 get to Queen Gruenever's ears, and he feared its 
 effect on her hasty and jealous temper. But 
 Elaine never left Lancelot, but watched him day 
 and night, nursing him back to health. 
 II*
 
 150 THX LOVE OF LANCELOT AND IHJENEVKB. 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 HOW ELAINE DIED FOB LOVE. 
 
 WHEN Sir Bora learned that his unlucky blow 
 had brought Lancelot nearly to death's door, he 
 became sore indeed at heart, and hastened to 
 Camelot in search of his noble kinsman. Here 
 he met Lavaine, who knew him and conducted 
 him to the bedside of the wounded knight. 
 
 When he saw the pale and haggard counte- 
 nance of Lancelot, he fell into a passion of tears, 
 and accused himself bitterly. But Lancelot con- 
 soled him as well as he could, declaring that the 
 fault was his own, and that he would bear the 
 blame. Then Bors told him of the anger of the 
 queen, and of his earnest but vain endeavor to 
 overcome it. 
 
 " I deserve it not," said Lancelot. " I wore the 
 sleeve only by way of disguise. As for Gawaine, 
 he would have shown more wisdom and friendship 
 had he been less free of speech." 
 
 " I told her all this," said Bors, " but she wap 
 past listening to reason. Is this maiden, who is 
 so busy about you, she whom they call the lily 
 of Astolat?" 
 
 " She it is," said Lancelot. " I cannot by any 
 means put her from me." 
 
 Why should you ?" asked Bore. " She is a
 
 HOW ELAINE DIED FOR LOVE. 151 
 
 beautiful and tender-hearted damsel. Would to 
 God, fair cousin, you could love her, for I see well, 
 by her gentle and close care of you, that she loves 
 you devotedly." 
 
 " That I am sorry for," said Lancelot. 
 
 " She will not be the first that has loved you in 
 vain," said Bors ; " the more the pity." 
 
 Many other things they talked of, and Lancelot 
 found such comfort in the presence of Sir Bors 
 that in a few days he showed great signs of im- 
 provement. Then Bors told him of another tour- 
 nament that King Arthur had ordered, to be held 
 at Camelot on All-hallowmas day, between his 
 party and that of the king of North Wales. 
 
 This filled Lancelot with an earnest desire to 
 grow strong, and during the following month, 
 under the kind care of his cousin, and the gentle 
 ministrations of Elaine, he improved greatly in 
 health. For Elaine waited upon him with loving 
 diligence night and day, and never was child or 
 wife more gentle and heedful to father or husband 
 than this fair maid of Astolat to the wounded 
 knight. 
 
 At length came a day when Lancelot felt so 
 much stronger, through the healing influence of 
 a bath of herbs which the hermit had gathered 
 in the woods, that he determined to try if he 
 could wear his armor and sit in his saddle. He 
 thereupon armed and had his horse brought out. 
 Mounting the mettled charger, in the high spirit 
 of new health he spurred it to full speed.
 
 152 THE LOV* OP LANCELOT AND QUBNEVKK. 
 
 But the courser's long rest in the stable had 
 made it fresh and fierce, and on feeling the spurs it 
 leaped forward so violently that Lancelot's wound 
 burst open in the strain, and the blood gushed out 
 again. 
 
 "Bore! Lavaine! help!" he feebly cried. "I 
 am come to my end." 
 
 As he spoke he fell from his horse to the earth, 
 and lay there like a corpse. 
 
 The two knights hurried up, full of fearful con- 
 cern, and when Elaine, who had heard the pitiful 
 call, came flying to the spot, she threw herself on 
 the prostrate form, weeping like one beside her- 
 self with grief, and kissing the insensible knight 
 as if she hoped thus to recall him to life. 
 
 "Traitors you are!" she cried wildly to her 
 brother and Sir Bors. "Why did you let him 
 leave his bed? I hold you guilty of his 
 death." 
 
 At this moment the hermit Baldwin appeared. 
 When he saw Lancelot in that plight he grew 
 angry at heart, though he checked the reproach- 
 ful words that rose to his lips. 
 
 " Let us have him in," he said, briefly. 
 
 Lancelot was thereupon carried to the hermit- 
 age, his armor removed, and the bleeding stanched, 
 but it was long before he could be brought out of 
 his death-like swoon. 
 
 " Why did you put your life thus in jeopardy ?" 
 asked the hermit, reproachfully, when the knight 
 was again in his senses.
 
 HOW KLAINE DIED FOB LOVX. 153 
 
 " I was too eager to attend the tournament, now 
 near at hand," he said. 
 
 " Ah, Sir Lancelot, you have more courage than 
 wisdom, I fear. As for the tournament, let Sir 
 Bors attend it and do what he may. By the time 
 it is over and he retimed, I hope that you may 
 be well once more, if you will but be governed 
 by my advice." 
 
 This advice was taken and Bors went to the 
 tournament, where he bore himself so valorously 
 that the prize was divided between him and Ga- 
 waine. Gareth and Palamides also did noble 
 deeds, but they departed suddenly before the prize 
 was declared, as if called away by some adven- 
 ture. 
 
 All this Lancelot heard with great pleasure 
 from Bors on his return, his only regret being 
 that he had not been able to take part in that 
 knightly sport. But the remedies of the hermit 
 and the care of Elaine had meanwhile done him 
 wonderful service, and he was soon able again to 
 mount his horse and wear his armor in safety. 
 
 A day, therefore, quickly came when the knight 
 felt himself in condition for a journey, and when 
 he and his companions took the road to Astolat, 
 escorting the fair Elaine back to her fathers 
 home. Here they were gladly received by the 
 old baron Bernard, and his son Tirre, who had now 
 recovered. 
 
 But when the time approached which Lancelot 
 had set for his departure, Elaine grew pale and
 
 154 THl LOVE OP LANCELOT AND aUENEVMU 
 
 drooping. At length, with the boldness of speech 
 of that period, she came to him and said, 
 
 " My lord Sir Lancelot, dear and courteous sir, 
 will you then depart, and leave me alone with my 
 love and sorrow ? Have mercy on me, I pray you, 
 and suffer me not to die of grief." 
 
 " What would you have me do ?" asked Lancelot. 
 
 " I brought you back to life ; give me your love 
 in return ; make me your wedded wife, and I will 
 love you as never woman loved." 
 
 " That can I never do," said Lancelot, gravely. 
 " I shall never wed." 
 
 " Then shall I die for your love." 
 
 " Think not of death, Elaine. If I could many 
 woman it would be you, for I could love you 
 dearly were my heart free. For your gentleness 
 and kindness thus only can I repay you. If you 
 can set your heart upon some worthy knight who 
 is free to wed you, I shall give to you and your 
 heirs a thousand pounds yearly, as some small 
 payment of the debt I owe you." 
 
 " You speak idly and coldly, Sir Lancelot. Your 
 money I will have none of ; and as for wedding, I 
 have but the choice to wed you or wed my death." 
 
 " You rend my heart, fair Elaine. Would that 
 it could be as you wish. Alas I that can never 
 be." 
 
 At this, with a cry of heart-pain, the distressed 
 maiden fell swooning at his feet. Thence she was 
 borne by women to her chamber, where she lay, 
 lamenting like one whose heart is broken.
 
 HOW ELAINE DIED FOB LOVE. 155 
 
 Sir Bernard now came to Lancelot, who was 
 preparing to depart, and said, 
 
 " Dear sir, it grieves me to find my daughter 
 Elaine in such a distressful state. I fear she may 
 die for your sake." 
 
 " It grieves me as deeply," said Lancelot. " But 
 what can I do ? That she loves me so deeply I 
 am sorry to learn, for I have done nothing to en- 
 courage it, as your son can testify. I know that 
 she is a true and noble maiden, and will do all that 
 I can for her as an honest knight ; but love her as 
 she loves me I cannot, and to wed I am forbidden. 
 Yet her distress wounds me sorely." 
 
 " Father," said Lavaine, " I dare avow that she 
 is as pure and good as my lord Sir Lancelot has 
 said. In loving him she does but what I do, for 
 since I first saw him I could never depart from 
 him ; nor shall I leave him so long as he will bear 
 my company." 
 
 Then Lancelot took his leave, and he and La- 
 vaine rode together to Camelot, where Arthur and 
 the whole court received the errant knight with 
 the utmost joy and warmest welcome. Queen 
 Guenever alone failed to greet him kindly, her 
 jealous anger continuing so bitter that she would 
 not give him a word or a look, seek as he would. 
 
 But the joy and brightness at Camelot were re- 
 placed by darkness at Astolat, for the fair Elaine 
 was in such sorrow day and night that she neither 
 ate, drank, nor slept ; and ever she sadly moaned 
 and bewailed the cruelty of Sir Lancelot.
 
 156 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND OUENEVEB. 
 
 Ten days of this brought her so near her end, 
 that her old father, with sad heart, sent for the 
 priest to give her the last sacraments. But even 
 then she made her plaints of Lancelot's coldness 
 so mournfully, that the ghostly father bade her 
 cease such thoughts. 
 
 "Why should I?" she cried. "Am I not a 
 woman, with a woman's heart and feelings? 
 While the breath is in my body I must lament 
 my fate ; for I hold it no offence to love, and take 
 God to witness that I never have and never can 
 love other than Lancelot du Lake. Since it is 
 God's will that I must die from unrequited love 
 of so noble a knight, I pray for his mercy and 
 forgiveness of all my sins. Never did I offend 
 deeply against God's laws ; but it was not in my 
 nature to withstand the fervent love that is bring- 
 ing me to my death." 
 
 Then she sent for her father and brother, and 
 prayed them to write a letter as she might dic- 
 tate. This they did, writing down the mournful 
 words which she spoke. 
 
 " Now," she said, " this more I command you to 
 do. When I am dead, put this letter in my right 
 hand before my body grows cold. Then see that 
 I be richly dressed and laid in a fair bed, and take 
 me in a chariot to the river Thames. There lay 
 my body in a barge, covered with black samite, 
 and with but one man to steer the barge down 
 the river to Camelot." 
 
 All this they, weeping sadly, agreed to do, and
 
 ELAINE AND THE DUMB ROWER.
 
 HOW ELAINE DIED FOR LOVK. 157 
 
 soon afterwards the maiden died, slain by her love. 
 Her sad old father then had all done as she had 
 requested. 
 
 Meanwhile, in Camelot the world moved mer- 
 rily. But one morning, by fortune, as King 
 Arthur and Queen Guenever stood talking at a 
 window, they espied a black barge drifting slowly 
 down the river. Wondering much what it meant, 
 the king called Sir Kay and two other knights, 
 and sent them to the river, bidding them to bring 
 him speedy word of what the barge contained. 
 
 This they did. On reaching the river-side they 
 found that the barge had been turned inward, and 
 lay beside the bank, and to their surprise they saw 
 in it a rich bed, on which lay the corpse of as fair 
 a woman as they had ever beheld. In the stern 
 of the barge sat, with oar in hand, a poor man 
 who seemed dumb, for no word would he 
 
 " That corpse m ust I see," said the king, when 
 word of this evont was brought him. "Surely 
 this betokens something strange." 
 
 He took the queen by the hand and went to the 
 river-side with her. Here the barge had been 
 made fast, and they stepped from the shore to its 
 deck. There they saw the corpse of a beautiful 
 maiden, dressed in costly attire, and lying in a bod 
 which was richly covered with cloth of gold. 
 And as she lay she seemed to smile. 
 
 The queen now espied a letter clasped closely 
 in her right hand, and showed it to the king. 
 14
 
 158 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT ANT GUENEVEK. 
 
 " That will surely tell us who she is, and why 
 she has come hither," he said. 
 
 He thereupon took the letter and returned with 
 the queen to the palace. Here, surrounded by 
 many knights, he broke the seal, and gave the 
 epistle to a clerk to read. This was its purport, 
 
 "Most noble knight, Sir Lancelot, now hath 
 death made us two at debate for your love. I was 
 your lover, she whom men called the Fair Maid 
 of Astolat ; therefore unto all ladies I make my 
 moan, and I beg you to pray for my soul, and at 
 the least to bury me, and offer my mass-penny. 
 This is my last request. God is my witness that 
 I die a pure maiden. Pray for my soul, Sir 
 Lancelot, as thou art peerless." 
 
 When this pitiful letter had been read, all who 
 heard it shed tears, for never had they heard 
 aught so moving. Then Lancelot was sent for 
 and the letter read to him. 
 
 " A sorrowful thing is this," he said, in grievous 
 tones. " Then she is dead, the fair Elaine, and 
 thus, with silent lips, makes her last prayer. 
 Truly it wounds me to the heart. Yet, my lord 
 Arthur, God knows I had no just share in the 
 death of this maiden, as her brother here, Sir 
 Lavaine, can testify. She was fair and good, and 
 I owed her much, but she loved me beyond meas- 
 ure, and her love I could not return." 
 
 " You might have shown her," said the queen, 
 reprovingly, " some bounty and gentleness, and 
 thus have preserved her life."
 
 flOW KLAINB DIKD FOE LOVE. 159 
 
 "Madam," said Lancelot, "naught would she 
 have but my love, and my hand in marriage. I 
 offered to endow her with a thousand pounds 
 yearly, if she should love and wed any other, but 
 to this she would not listen. As for me, I had no 
 other comfort to give her, for love cannot be con- 
 strained, but must rise of itself from the heart." 
 
 " Truly must it," said the king. " Love is free 
 in itself, and will not be bound, for if bonds be 
 placed upon it, it looseth itself perforce. As for 
 this unhappy maiden, nothing is left for you but 
 to obey her last pitiful request." 
 
 " That shall I to the utmost of my power," said 
 Lancelot. 
 
 Then many knights and ladies went to behold 
 the fair maiden, who had come thither in such 
 moving wise. And in the morning she was richly 
 interred, and with all due honor, at Lancelot's 
 command ; and he offered her mass-penny, as did 
 all the knights who were there present. 
 
 Then the poor dumb servitor returned again 
 with the barge, rowing it slowly and sadly back 
 to Astolat. 
 
 Afterwards the queen sent for Lancelot, and 
 begged his pardon humbly for her causeless 
 anger. 
 
 "This is not the first time," said Lancelot, 
 " that you have been displeased with me without 
 cause. What you will, I must bear, and keep my 
 sorrow within my heart j yet I would that your 
 love were less tainted by hasty jealousy. As for
 
 160 THB LOVE OF LANCELOT AND QUENEVXH 
 
 forgiving you, what else can I do, my queen? 
 Love cannot live without forgiveness." 
 
 After these events the winter and spring passed 
 on, with hunting and hawking, and jousts and 
 tournaments, and the fate of the fair Elaine was 
 wellnigh forgotten in the joy of the court. But 
 her brother Lavaine gained great honor, and at a 
 tournament that was given on Candlemas day did 
 so nobly that the king promised he should be 
 made a Knight of the Bound Table at the next 
 feast of Pentecost. 
 
 And at this tournament Lancelot again fought 
 in disguise, wearing a sleeve of gold of the queen's, 
 and did such deeds that the prize was adjudged 
 to him. Thus a second time did he wear a woman' e 
 token in the Mats. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE CHEVALIER OF THE CART. 
 
 THE year passed on from Candlemas till aftei 
 Easter, and then came the month of May, when 
 every lusty heart begins to blossom and to bear 
 fruit ; for as herbs and trees nourish in May, so 
 does the heart of a lover, since in this lusty month 
 all lovers gain courage, calling to their minds old 
 vows and deeds of gentleness, and much that was 
 forgotten in the winter's chill.
 
 THJB OHJBVALIEK OF THE CAST. 161 
 
 As winter always defaces and erases green 
 summer, so fares it with unstable love in man 
 and woman. But as May flowers and flourishes 
 in many gardens, so flowers the lover's heart in 
 the joy of her to whom he has promised his faith. 
 Yet nowadays men cannot love seven days with- 
 out their love cooling ; for where love warms in 
 haste it cools as hastily; thus fareth it in our 
 days, soon hot, soon cold. The old love was not 
 so. Men and women could love together seven 
 years in truth and faithfulness. Such was the 
 way of love in King Arthur's days; but love 
 nowadays I liken unto summer and winter ; now 
 hot, now cold, like the changing seasons. There- 
 fore all ye who are lovers call to your remembrance 
 the month of May, like as did Queen Guenever, 
 who while she lived was a true lover, and there- 
 fore she had a good end. 
 
 So it befell in the month of May that Queen 
 Guenever called unto her certain knights of the 
 Bound Table, inviting them to ride with her in 
 the early morn a-maying in the woods and fields 
 beside Camelot. 
 
 " And see that you all be well horsed," she said, 
 "and clad in green, either in silk or cloth. I 
 shall bring with me ten ladies, and every knight 
 shall have a lady behind him, and bring with him 
 a squire and two yeomen." 
 
 And so, when morning came, the ten knights 
 invited put on their gayest robes of green, and 
 rode with the queen and her ladies, a-maying in 
 VOL. III. I 14*
 
 162 Tfflt LOVS OF LANCILOT AND GUENBVKK. 
 
 the woods and fields, to their great joy and 
 delight. 
 
 Yet this pleasure party led to sad results, as we 
 have now to tell. For there was a knight named 
 Meliagrance, son of King Bagdemagus, who had 
 a castle, the gift of King Arthur, within seven 
 miles of Camelot. This knight loved the queen, 
 and had done so for many years, and it had long 
 been in his heart to steal her away ; but he had 
 never been able to find her without many knights 
 about her, and, chief of all, Sir Lancelot. 
 
 When he heard of this Maying party, and that 
 the queen would be attended by only ten knights, 
 and these in green robes, he resolved to carry out 
 his base design, and therefore placed in ambush 
 twenty men-at-arms and a hundred archers. 
 
 So it happened that while the queen and her 
 knights were merrily arraying one another in 
 flowers and mosses, and with wreaths made of 
 sprays of fresh green, this false knight rode sud- 
 denly from a wood near by, followed by a throng 
 of armed men, and bade them stand, and yield up 
 the queen on peril of their lives. 
 
 " Traitor knight," cried Guenever, " what seek 
 you to do? Wouldst thou, a king's son, and a 
 knight of the Round Table, seek to dishonor the 
 noble king who made you what you are ? You 
 shame yourself and all knighthood ; but me you 
 shall cover shame, for I had rather cut my throat 
 than be dishonored by you." 
 
 " Madam, this language will avail you nothing,"
 
 TH1 CHEVALIER OF THE CART. 163 
 
 said Meliagrance. " I have loved you many a year, 
 and now that I have you at advantage will take 
 you as I find you." 
 
 " You must kill us first, unarmed as we are," 
 cried the queen's knights. " You have taken us 
 at a foul disadvantage ; but you shall not have the 
 queen so lightly as you deem." 
 
 " Fight, will you ? Then fight be it, if you will 
 have it so," said Meliagrance. 
 
 Then the ten knights drew their swords, and the 
 others spurred upon them with couched spears. 
 But so skilfully did the queen's defenders use their 
 blades that the spears did them no harm. 
 
 The battle then went on with swords, and the 
 ten knights did noble deeds, slaying many of their 
 assailants ; yet they were so overmatched that 
 they soon were all stretched upon the earth with 
 bleeding wounds. 
 
 " Sir Meliagrance," cried the queen, in deep dis- 
 tress, " kill not my noble knights, I pray you. If 
 you do them no more harm I will go with you, if 
 you will take them with me. Otherwise I will 
 slay myself before you shall take me." 
 
 " Madam, since you wish it, they shall be taken 
 to my castle, whither you must come with me." 
 
 Then at the queen's command the battle ceased, 
 and the knights had their wounds dressed. But 
 Meliagrance watched keenly that none of the com- 
 pany should escape, for greatly he feared that 
 news of this outrage might be borne to Lancelot 
 du Lake
 
 164 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND GUENEVBB, 
 
 But there was with the queen a little page who 
 rode a swift horse, and to him she privily spoke. 
 
 "Slip away, when you see the chance," she 
 said, "and bear this ring to Lancelot du Lake. 
 Tell him what has happened, and pray him as he 
 loves me to come in haste to my rescue. Spare 
 not your horse, and stay not for land or water." 
 
 The page took the ring, and rode carelessly to 
 the edge of the circle. Then, seeing his oppor- 
 tunity, he put spurs to his horse and rode away 
 at full speed. When Meliagrance saw this he 
 ordered instant pursuit, and the boy was hotly 
 chased and fired at with arrows and javelins ; yet 
 the speed of his horse soon carried him beyond 
 danger. 
 
 " Madam," cried Meliagrance, fiercely, to the 
 queen, " you are plotting to betray me. But if 
 you have sent for Lancelot du Lake, he shall find 
 the road to you a perilous one, I warrant him." 
 
 And as they rode to the castle he placed an 
 ambush of thirty archers by the road-side, charg- 
 ing them if they saw a knight come that way on 
 a white horse to slay the horse. But he warned 
 them not to assail him in person, as they would 
 find him hard to overcome. 
 
 This done, the party proceeded to the castle ; 
 but here the queen would not let her ladies and 
 knights out of her presence, and Meliagrance 
 stood in such dread of Lancelot that he dared not 
 use force. 
 
 In the mean time the page found Lancelot, and
 
 THE CHEVAHEK OF THB PART. 166 
 
 gave him the queen's ring and message, telling 
 him the whole story of the treacherous assault. 
 
 " I would give all France to have been there 
 well armed," cried Lancelot. " The queen shall be 
 saved, or I will die in the effort. Haste you to 
 Sir Lavaine and tell him where I have gone, and 
 bid him follow me to Meliagrance's castle. Tell 
 him to come quickly, if he wishes to have a hand 
 in the rescue of the queen and her knights." 
 
 Lancelot was hastily arming as he spoke, and 
 mounting, he rode with all speed, forcing his horse 
 to swim the Thames in his haste. In no great 
 time he reached the spot where the fight had 
 taken place, and where he found the garlands the 
 knights had worn rent with sword-strokes and 
 reddened with their blood. Then he followed the 
 tracks of the party till he entered a narrow pas- 
 sage, bordered by a wood. Here were the archers 
 stationed, and when Lancelot came by they bade 
 him return, for that way was closed. 
 
 " Why should I turn ?" he demanded. " "Whence 
 get you the right to close the way?" 
 
 " If you go forward it will be on foot, for we 
 shall kill your horse." 
 
 " Go forward I shall, if there were five hundred 
 more of you," said Lancelot. 
 
 Then a cloud of arrows whistled through the 
 air, and the noble horse, struck by a dozen shafts, 
 fell to the earth. Lancelot leaped lightly from 
 the falling animal, and rushed in a rage into the 
 wood ; but there were so many hedges and ditches
 
 166 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND QUENEVEB. 
 
 that he found it impossible to reach his light* 
 armed assailants. 
 
 " Shame on this Meliagrance for a dastard 1" he 
 cried in anger. " It is a true old saw that a good 
 man is never in danger but from a coward." 
 
 The angry knight, finding that his assailants 
 were beyond his reach, set out on foot for Melia- 
 granee's castle, but found himself so encumbered 
 with bis armor, shield, and spear, that his progress 
 was but slow. Yet he dared not leave any of his 
 arms, for fear of giving his foe an advantage. 
 
 At length, by good fortune, there appeared 
 on the road a cart, that was used for hauling 
 wood. 
 
 " Tell me, friend carter," said Lancelot, when 
 the vehicle came near, " what shall I give you for 
 a ride in your cart to a castle that lies a few miles 
 away ?" 
 
 "You can give me nothing," said the carter. 
 " I am sent to bring wood for my lord, Sir Melia- 
 grance, and it is not my fashion to work for two 
 at once.'' 
 
 " It is Sir Meliagrance I seek." 
 
 "Then go on foot," said the carter, surlily. 
 " My cart is for other work." 
 
 Incensed at this, Lancelot dealt the fellow a 
 blow with his mailed fist that stretched him 
 senseless on the ground. Then he turned to the 
 carter's comrade. 
 
 "Strike me not, fair sir," pleaded this fellow 
 " I will bring you where you wish."
 
 THE CHEVALIER OF THE CART. 167 
 
 "Then drive me and this cart to the gtte of 
 Meliagrance's castle." 
 
 "Leap into the cart, and you shall bo there 
 before the day grows old." 
 
 This Lancelot did, and the carter lashed his 
 horse forward with all speed, for he was in mortal 
 fear of the knight's hard fist. 
 
 An hour and a half afterwards, as Guenever 
 and her ladies stood in a window of the castle, 
 they saw a cart approaching, in which stood up- 
 right an armed knight, resting on his spear. Even 
 at that distance they knew him by his shield to 
 be Lancelot du Lake. 
 
 "A noble and trusty friend he is, indeed, to 
 come in such a fashion," said the queen. " Hard 
 bested he must have been, to be forced to ride 
 hither in a woodman's cart." 
 
 As they looked, the cart came to the castle 
 gates, and Lancelot sprang from it to the ground, 
 his heart full of rage and passion. 
 
 " Where art thou, traitor ?" he cried, in a voice 
 that rang throughout the castle. " Come forth, 
 thou disgrace to the Bound Table fellowship! 
 Come, with all your men ; for here am I, Lancelot 
 du Lake, who will fight you all single-handed on 
 this question." 
 
 As he spoke he thrust the gates open with such 
 force that the porter, who sought to hold them 
 shut, was hurled like a dead man to the earth. 
 
 When Meliagrance in the castle heard this loud 
 defiance his cowardly soul sank within him, for
 
 168 THE LOVE OP LANCELOT AND GUENEVE*. 
 
 weU he knew from whom it came, and he ran in 
 haste to the queen and fell on his knees before 
 her, begging her to forgive him and to cool the 
 wrath of Lancelot. So pitifully did he implore, 
 that in the end Guenever was moved to compas- 
 sion, and went with her ladies to the castle court, 
 where Lancelot stood furiously bidding the traitor 
 knight to come down and do battle. 
 
 " Why are you so moved, Lancelot?" asked the 
 queen. 
 
 " "Why should I not be ?" he cried, in a rage. 
 " The hound has killed my horse and stolen my 
 queen. Is this the thing to bear like a lamb ?" 
 
 " He sorely repents his fault, and has moved me 
 to forgive him," said the queen. " Come in, then, 
 peaceably, I beg you, for I have passed my word." 
 
 " You accord easily with this dog of a kidnap- 
 per," said Lancelot, sourly. " Had I looked for 
 this I might have spared my haste and saved my 
 horse." 
 
 " It is not through love or favor I have forgiven 
 him," said the queen, " but to check the voice of 
 scandal." 
 
 " I am no fonder of scandal than yourself," said 
 Lancelot. " Yet if I had my will I would make 
 this fellow's heart full cold before I left this castle." 
 
 "I know that well, but beg that you will be 
 ruled by me in this affair." 
 
 " Let it be so, if you have passed your word, 
 But you are too soft of heart, Queen Guenever." 
 
 Then she took his hand, for he had taken off
 
 THE CHEVALIER OP THE OAKT. 169 
 
 his gauntlet, and led him into the castle, and 
 to the chamber in which lay the ten wounded 
 knights, whoso hearts warmed at his coming. 
 From them he learned in full what had occurred, 
 a story which stirred his blood again into such a 
 flame, that only the soft hand of the queen hin- 
 dered him from seeking Meliagrance through the 
 castle to slay him. 
 
 As they stood talking, Sir Lavaine rode furi- 
 ously in at the gate, crying, 
 
 " Where is my lord, Sir Lancelot du Lake ?" 
 
 "Here I am," cried Lancelot from a window. 
 " All is well, Lavaine." 
 
 "I found your horse slain with arrows, and 
 judged you were hard pushed." 
 
 " As for that, Lavaine, soft words have turned 
 hard blows. Come in. We shall right this matter 
 at another time, when we best may." 
 
 For many a day thereafter, as the French book 
 says, Lancelot was called the Chevalier of the 
 Cart, and many an adventure he had under that 
 homely name. 
 
 All went peacefully that night at the castle, 
 but the next morning there was new trouble. Foi 
 one of the castle maidens brought word to Melia- 
 grance that she had found what seemed to be the 
 print of a bloody hand on the coverings of the 
 queen's bed. Thither he hurried, full of jealous 
 anger, and found what appeared, indeed, to be the 
 crimson print of a man's hand. On seeing this 
 he made a loud outcry, declaring that it was the 
 H 15
 
 170 THE LOVS OF LANCELOT AND OUENBVML 
 
 blood of one of the wounded knights, and fiercely 
 accusing Guenever of having been false to her 
 lord King Arthur. 
 
 When word of this accusation came to the 
 wounded knights they were filled with indigna- 
 tion, and cried that they would meet Meliagrance 
 or any man in the lists in defence of the queen's 
 honor. 
 
 " Ye speak proudly," said Meliagrance. " Yet 
 look here, and see if I have not warrant for what 
 I say." 
 
 When he showed them the red witness of his 
 words they were abashed, and knew not what to 
 answer. 
 
 All this was told to Lancelot, and he came in 
 haste and anger to the queen's chamber. 
 
 " What is this ? ' he demanded. 
 
 " It is that the queen has proved false to her 
 lord and husband, and this I stand ready to prove 
 with my body," said Meliagrance. 
 
 " Beware what you say, sir knight," cried Lan- 
 celot," or you will find your challenge taken." 
 
 "My lord Lancelot," answered Meliagrance, 
 "good knight as you are, take heed how you do 
 battle in a wrong quarrel, for God will have a hand 
 in such a cause." 
 
 " This I say," answered Lancelot, hotly, " that 
 you accuse the queen wrongly, and these noble 
 knights as falsely. This is the work of treason 
 or magic." 
 
 " Hold," said Meliagrance ; " here is my glove,
 
 THE CHEVALIER OF THE OART. 171 
 
 in proof that she is traitress to the king, and that 
 one of these wounded knights is her leman." 
 
 ;< I accept your challenge," said Lancelot, " and 
 will fight you to the death in this cause. When 
 shall we do battle ?" 
 
 "Let it be in eight days from this," said Melia- 
 grance, " in the field beside Camelot." 
 
 " I am agreed," said Lancelot. 
 
 " Then let us go to dinner," said Meliagrance, 
 " and afterwards you and the queen and her 
 knights may ride to Camelot." 
 
 Yet fairly as he spoke his heart was full of 
 treachery, and before going to the table he asked 
 Lancelot if he would care to see the rooms and 
 passages of the castle. 
 
 " If you wish to show them," said Lancelot. 
 
 Then they went from chamber to chamber, Lan 
 celot having no fear of peril or thought of treason. 
 But as they traversed a long and dark passage the 
 false-hearted host trod on a spring, and down fell 
 a trap-door, giving Lancelot a fall of more than 
 ten fathoms into a dark cell, whose floor was cov- 
 ered deeply with straw. This done, Meliagranoe 
 hastened away, after replacing the trap, and or- 
 dered one of his men to remove Lavaine's horse 
 from the stable. 
 
 When the knights came to dinner all were sur- 
 prised that Lancelot was not present. 
 
 " Is this one of his old tricks ?" asked the queen. 
 "He has a fashion of thus departing suddenly, 
 without warning."
 
 172 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND GmBNEVER. 
 
 " But not on foot," said Lavaine, and left the 
 room. 
 
 When he returned, it was to say that his horse 
 had vanished from the stable, and that doubtless 
 Lancelot had taken it and ridden off. So they sat 
 quietly at dinner, and afterwards set out for the 
 court, the wounded knights being carried under 
 Dare of Lavaine, in easy litters. 
 
 When the court was reached, and Arthur was 
 told of what had occurred, he was full of wrath. 
 
 " So this traitor Meliagrance chooses first tc 
 kidnap my queen, and then to accuse her of 
 treason?" he cried. " By my crown, I would deal 
 with him in another fashion only that Lancelot 
 has taken the challenge. I fancy the fellow will 
 have his hands full, without my care. But where 
 is Lancelot?" 
 
 " That we know not," said the knights. " It is 
 like him to go off in this hasty way. He took 
 Sir Lavaine's horse, and left us without a word 
 of parting." 
 
 " Let him be," said the king. " He will come 
 in good time, unless he be trapped by some 
 treachery." 
 
 Little dreamed they of Lancelot's true situation 
 at that moment. He had been sorely bruised by 
 his fall, and lay in great pain in the cave, visited 
 only by a lady, who came to him daily with food. 
 Yet it happened, as had occurred so often to 
 Lancelot, that the lady fell in love with his hand- 
 some face. Meliagrance had made a foolish choice
 
 THE CHEVALIER OF THE CAKI. 173 
 
 in sending a woman with a soft heart to his pris- 
 oner, and was likely to pay dearly for his folly. 
 Yet days passed on, and Lancelot continued deaf 
 to her sighs and blind to her languishing looks. 
 
 " Sir Lancelot," she at length said, " do you not 
 know that your lady, Queen Guenover, will be 
 burnt at the stake unless you be there at the day 
 of battle ?" 
 
 " God forbid that such a disaster should come 
 to pass !" cried Lancelot. " Yet if I should not 
 be there, all men of worship will know that I am 
 dead, sick, r in prison, for men know me well 
 enough to know that nothing less would keep me 
 away. Therefore, some knight of my blood or of 
 Tay fellowship will take up this battle, and fight 
 Dravely in the queen's cause." 
 
 " I shall set you free, Sir Lancelot, to fight your 
 own battle, if you will but give me your love ; for 
 truly I love you with my whole heart." 
 
 "I am sorry that I cannot return it," said 
 Lancelot. " But I cannot lie to you in such a 
 cause, even for life or honor." 
 
 " Take heed what you say, Sir Lancelot. Shame 
 will be your lot if any but you fight this battle." 
 
 " As for the world's shame, may Christ defend 
 me. As for my distress of heart, it is welcome, 
 if God sends it." 
 
 The lady went away full of sorrowful thoughts. 
 But on the morning of the day fixed for the battle 
 she came to him again, and said, gently, 
 
 " Sir Lancelot, I deem you hard-hearted and 
 16*
 
 174 THX LOVE OF LANCELOT AND GUENIVER. 
 
 cruel ; yet I love you too truly to see you dis- 
 graced. If you will solace my heart-pain with 
 but one kiss, I will set you free, and deliver to 
 you your armor, and the best horse in the castle 
 stables." 
 
 " Surely there is no dishonor in a kiss ; and well 
 will you earn it by such service," said Lancelot. 
 " You offer me new life, fair lady." 
 
 Then he kissed her ; and with a face half glad, 
 half gloomy, she led him from the prison by a 
 secret passage to the chamber where his armor 
 had been left. And when he was armed she con- 
 ducted him privily to a stable where stood twelve 
 good horses, and bade him make his choice. 
 
 Lancelot chose a white courser, whose size and 
 spirit pleased him most, and this he deftly saddled 
 and bridled. Then, with spear in hand and sword 
 by side, he commended the lady to God, saying, 
 
 " Lady, for this good deed I shall do you ample 
 service if ever it be in my power. If not, may 
 God reward you." 
 
 This said, he rode with proud mien from the 
 castle, and galloped at headlong speed away, while 
 she, with sad eyes and sighing lips, stood looking 
 with loving regard on his departing form. 
 
 Sadly was his coming needed, for imminent was 
 the peril of the queen. At the place fixed for 
 the combat knights and lords had early gathered, 
 and Meliagrance, feeling sure that Lancelot could 
 not appear to do battle, put on a haughty mien, 
 and loudly demanded justice, or the combat, Yet
 
 THE CHEVALIER OF THE CART. 175 
 
 the hour appointed came and passed, and the 
 queen's champion had not appeared; while the 
 king and all the court grew full of pain and dread 
 as the fatal moments went by. The laws were 
 strict, and could not be set aside for queen or com- 
 moner. Guenever must perish at the stake, or be 
 saved by a champion's sword and spear. There- 
 fore, as the minutes slowly grew into hours, and 
 nothing of Lancelot was seen, while Meliagranco 
 more loudly demanded justice or a champion, all 
 hearts sank deep in despair. 
 
 " My lord the king," cried Lavaine, at length, 
 " some sad misfortune has happened to Sir Lance- 
 lot. Never did he fail to appear to do battle 
 unless he were sick or in prison. I beseech you, 
 therefore, give me leave this day to do battle for 
 him, and to strike a knightly blow for my lady the 
 queen." 
 
 " Thanks, gentle knight," said the king. " T 
 dare avow that the charge which Meliagrance 
 lays upon the queen is a false one, for of these tea 
 wounded knights who were present, there is not 
 one but would gladly do battle to prove its falsity 
 were he able to wear armor." 
 
 "That shall I do in the service of my lord 
 Lancelot," said Lavaine; " if you will give me 
 leave." 
 
 " Full leave you have," answered the king. " I 
 pray you do your best ; for it seems sure that 
 some treachery has been done to the noble Lan- 
 celot"
 
 176 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND QUBNIVKK. 
 
 L avail} e now armed in all haste, and, mounting 
 his war-courser, rode into the lists, where he faced 
 Meliagrance, challenging him to do battle to the 
 death. 
 
 " Losses les aller I" cried the heralds. 
 
 The two champions couched their spears, 
 clutched their bridles, and were about to plunge 
 the spurs into their horses' flanks, when the sound 
 of hoofs was beard witbout, and an armed knight 
 came galloping at furious speed into the lists. 
 
 " Ho ! and abide !" cried King Arthur. 
 
 " Raise your spears, sir knights, this quarrel is 
 mine," said the new-comer. " You have my thanks, 
 Lavaine, but only I must fight in this cause." 
 
 Then he rode to the king, lifted his visor, and 
 showed the noble face of Lancelot, now hot with 
 indignation. 
 
 " I am here to fight this villain and traitor," he 
 called, loudly. " My lord the king, I have lain 
 these eight days in a prison cell, into which the 
 base bound entrapped me. By fortune I escaped, 
 and here I am, ready to pay him in fitting coin for 
 his foul treachery." 
 
 " The dog I has he done this thing ?" cried the 
 king, in anger. " Then, by my crown, whether he 
 win or not, Guenever shall not suffer from the 
 charge which he has dared bring. But God's 
 justice will not let him win." 
 
 That Meliagrance quaked at heart on seeing this 
 seeming apparition from the grave need not be 
 said, But he had dared the hazard of the die,
 
 THE CHEVALIER OF THE OAET. 177 
 
 and sat his horse in grim silence while his foul 
 treachery was thus made known to the court. 
 Lancelot now rode to his place in the lists, and 
 faced his adversary. 
 
 " Losses les aller !" cried the heralds again. 
 
 Then, spear in rest, the warriors spurred their 
 horses, and met with a shock like thunder in the 
 centre of the field. Lancelot kept his saddle, but 
 Meliagrance was hurled over his horse's croup. 
 Seeing this, Lancelot lightly sprang from his 
 saddle, drew his sword, and advanced upon his 
 foe, who was on his feet ready to meet him. 
 
 Hot and fierce was the combat that succeeded, 
 many great strokes being given and returned ; but 
 at length Lancelot struck so fierce a blow that 
 Meliagrance was felled to the ground. Then the 
 dastard cried aloud in an agony of fear, 
 
 "Noble knight, noble Sir Lancelot, spare my 
 life, I humbly pray you ! I yield me as overcome 
 and recreant, and beseech you, as a Knight and 
 Fellow of the Bound Table, not to slay me help- 
 less. Alive or dead, I put myself in your hands 
 and the king's." 
 
 Lancelot stood looking grimly down upon him, 
 at a loss what to do. To slay him was the wish 
 of his heart ; yet it looked like murder to kill a 
 praying wretch. In his doubt he turned towards 
 the queen, and she nodded her head as if to bid 
 him kill the villain. 
 
 " Eise, sir hound," cried Lancelot. " You shall 
 fight this battle to the utterance." 
 VOL. III. m
 
 178 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND OUENBVER. 
 
 " I will never rise," said Meliagrance, " till 
 you grant me mercy as a yielding and recreant 
 knight." 
 
 " Coward !" cried Lancelot. " If you fear to 
 fight me as I am, I will give you odds in the com- 
 bat. I will take off my armor from my head and 
 the left side of my body, and let them bind my 
 left hand behind me, and fight you with my right 
 hand alone." 
 
 At this perilous offer Meliagrance started hastily 
 to his feet, and loudly cried, 
 
 " My lord Arthur, you have heard this offer ! 
 I accept it. Let him be disarmed and bound as 
 he says." 
 
 " You do not mean to keep this foolish promise, 
 Lancelot ?" demanded the king. 
 
 " That do I," said Lancelot. " I shall not go 
 back on my word, be it wise or foolish." 
 
 " Then so let it be ; but you invite death by such 
 a reckless compact." 
 
 The attendant knights thereupon removed Lan- 
 celot's helmet, and took from him his shield and 
 the armor from his left side. They then bound 
 his left arm behind him, and thus arrayed he was 
 placed before his antagonist, whose heart burned 
 with hope and with murderous designs. 
 
 All those who looked on were full of fear for 
 Lancelot, deeming it the height of folly that he 
 should take such a frightful risk, while many 
 ladies closed their eyes, in dread to see him slain. 
 
 With the inspiration of hope, Meliagrance came
 
 THE CHEVALIER OF THE CART. 179 
 
 up, bearing his sword uplifted, while Lancelot stood 
 with his head and side fully open to his stroke. 
 Down came the blade with a deadly sweep that 
 caused many men to close their eyes, sure that the 
 knight's head would be cleft in twain. 
 
 But Lancelot had no such thought. With a 
 light swing to the right he avoided the stroke, 
 which cut idly through the air ; then, stepping 
 forward to give effect to the blow, he swung his 
 own blade upward with giant strength, and 
 brought it down on Meliagrance's helmet with 
 such mighty force that the hard steel and the head 
 it covered were shorn in twain, and the traitor 
 knight fell dead upon the field. 
 
 Wild were the shouts of joy and triumph at thif 
 unlooked-for end to the combat. The king sprang 
 from his seat and rushed into the lists, where he 
 warmly clasped Lancelot in his arms; while 
 Guenever, in joy at her deliverance, kissed him 
 on both cheeks; and all the knights crowded 
 around them with glad cries and warm congratu- 
 lations. 
 
 As for Meliagrance, he was given the burial of 
 a recreant and traitor, the cause of his death 
 being inscribed on his tomb, that all might read 
 his dishonor. 
 
 But for Sir Lancelot, the king and queen made 
 more of him, and felt more love for him in their 
 hearts, than ever before. 
 
 After this time many events of interest took 
 place, of which we have little space to speak
 
 180 THE LOVE OF LANCELOT AND GUENEVIE. 
 
 Among them, Lancelot healed the wounds of a 
 knight of Hungary, named Sir Urre, who had 
 been held in pain, through sorcery, for seven 
 years, till his wounds should be touched by the 
 best knight in the world. This knight had a 
 lovely sister, named Felelolie, whom Lavaine 
 married, whereupon King Arthur made him a 
 Knight of the Bound Table, and gave him a 
 barony of land. 
 
 As for Lancelot, he gained great fame as the 
 Chevalier of the Cart. For as many lords and 
 ladies made sport of him as the knight who had 
 ridden in a cart, like one sentenced to the gal- 
 lows, for a whole twelvemonth he never mounted 
 horse, but rode only in a cart, during which time 
 he had many adventures and fought forty battles, 
 in all of which he came off victor. 
 
 And so the days grew into years, and all went 
 happily at Arthur's court, though each passing 
 day brought the coming time of woe and disaster 
 nearer to hand.
 
 BOOK XI. 
 
 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 THE TRAPPING OF THE LION. 
 
 IN May, when every lusty heart flourisheth ana 
 bourgeoneth, for as winter, with its rough winds 
 and blasts, causes man and woman to cower and 
 sit fast by the fire, this fresh and joyous season 
 brings them forth to gladden in the coming of the 
 flowery summer, in this rare month of May, when 
 only merry thoughts and gentle deeds should be 
 known, there began a great and unhappy season 
 of wrath, which ended not till the flower of 
 chivalry of all the world was destroyed. And 
 this all came about through the hate and jealousy 
 of two unhappy knights, Sir Agravaine and Sir 
 Mordred, brothers unto Sir Gawaine. 
 
 For much in their secret souls they hated the 
 queen and Lancelot, and they fell to watching 
 this good knight daily and nightly, with the hope 
 of bringing him in some way to shame. 
 
 Failing in this base endeavor, they no longer 
 concealed their enmity, but began to talk openly 
 16 181
 
 182 THE HAND OP DESTINY. 
 
 of the love of Lancelot for the queen, and to hint 
 that shameful relations existed between them. 
 The report of this slanderous talk coming to 
 Gawaine's ears, he reproved them sharply for 
 indulging in such base and unworthy scandal, in 
 which he was joined by his brothers Gareth and 
 Gaheris. 
 
 " You forget what Lancelot has done for you," 
 said Gawaine. " Who but he rescued you both 
 when held in prison by Sir Turquin ? And 
 many other things he has done in your favor. 
 Methinks such kind deeds merit better return 
 than this." 
 
 " Think as you will," said Agravaine, " I have 
 my opinions and shall hide them no longer." 
 
 As they thus debated King Arthur approached. 
 
 " Now, brothers, stint your noise," said Gawaine. 
 
 " That will we not," they replied. 
 
 " Then the devil speed the pair of you, if you 
 are bent on mischief ! I will listen to no more of 
 your slanderous talk." 
 
 " Nor will we," said Gareth and Gaheris. " We 
 owe too much to Lancelot to listen to the false 
 tales of evil tongues." 
 
 With this they turned and walked away in 
 anger and grief, as Arthur came up. 
 
 " What is this ?" asked the king. " Is there bad 
 blood between you brethren ?" 
 
 "They do not care to hear the truth," said 
 Agravaine," but to my fancy it has been kept too 
 long from your knowledge. We are your sister's
 
 THE TRAPPING OP THK LION. 183 
 
 sons, King Arthur, and it is our duty to be honest 
 and open with you." 
 
 " What would you say ?" asked the king. 
 
 " Simply what we and all your court know wull, 
 that there are such doings between Lancelot and 
 your queen as are a disgrace to this realm of 
 England. He is a traitor to your person and your 
 honor, and this we stand ready to prove." 
 
 " This is a perilous charge you make," said 
 Arthur, deeply moved. " Nor am I ready to be- 
 lieve such a tale on your mere word. You have 
 gone far, gentlemen ; too far, I deem, without, 
 abundant proof." 
 
 " My lord," said Mordred, " we speak not with- 
 out due warrant, and proof you shall have. What 
 we advise is, that you ride out to the hunt to- 
 morrow. Lancelot, you will find, will have some 
 excuse to hold back. Then, when night draws 
 near, send word to the queen that you will lie out 
 all that night. Let this be done, and we promise 
 you we shall take him with the queen. If we do 
 it will go hard with Lancelot ; for we shall not 
 lightly see our king brought to shame." 
 
 " Be it so," said the king, after deep thought, 
 for he was little inclined to believe ill of Lance- 
 lot. " I will do as you say. Understand, sir 
 knights, I have heard all this before ; yet I believe 
 it not, and I consent to your scheme only to put 
 an end to the vile voice of scandal." 
 
 On the next morning, as agreed upon, Arthur 
 rode to the hunt ; but Lancelot excused himself,
 
 184 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 as his enemies had predicted, on the plea that he 
 was in no mood for the chase. When night came 
 near a messenger from the king brought word to 
 Gnenever that the hunting party had been drawn 
 far away, and would not return that night. 
 
 Meanwhile Mordred and Agravaine selected 
 twelve knights, all of them enemies of Lancelot, 
 to whom they told their purpose, and set them on 
 guard in the castle of Carlisle, where the court 
 then was. Of Lancelot's friends few were in the 
 court, for nearly all had gone with the king to 
 the hunt. 
 
 When night came, Lancelot told Bors, who 
 dwelt with him, that he had a fancy to go and 
 speak with the queen. 
 
 " Do not go to-night, I pray you," said Bors. 
 
 "Why not to-night?" 
 
 " I fear some plot of that rogue, Agravaine, who 
 has it in his heart to work you ill. I have heard 
 a whisper, and fear that the king's absence to-night 
 is part of a plot, and that an ambush is laid to do 
 you harm." 
 
 " Have no dread of that," said Lancelot. " 1 
 wish only some minutes' conversation with the 
 queen, and will quickly return again." 
 
 " I should rather you would not go. I am in 
 doubt that some evil may come of it." 
 
 " Why say you this, nephew ? Do yr" deem 
 that I am a coward, or that the queen is my mis- 
 tress, as the evil-tongued say ? 1 go because she 
 has sent for me, desiring to see me. Am I the
 
 THE TRAPPING OF TIIE LION. 185 
 
 man to deny her request because there are foul- 
 mouthed slanderers abroad ?" 
 
 " Go, then, since I see you will. God speed 
 you, and send you back safe and sound." 
 
 Lancelot thereupon wrapped himself in his 
 mantle, and taking his sword under his arm made 
 his way to the castle, which was some distance 
 from his residence. Here he sought and entered 
 the queen's chamber, where she awaited him with 
 her ladies. 
 
 But no sooner had he done so, and scarcely had 
 he spoken a word to his royal lady, than Mordred, 
 Agravaine, and their followers burst in tumuli 
 from the chamber in which they had been con- 
 cealed, and loudly exclaimed, 
 
 " Traitor knight I Lancelot du Lake, false and 
 caitiff wretch, now art thou taken in thy treason I" 
 
 So loud they cried that their voices rang 
 throughout the court, and they crowded round 
 the door of the queen's chamber, bent on taking 
 Lancelot unarmed, and slaying him at the feet of 
 Guenever. Fortunately the door was of solid oak, 
 and a damsel of the queen had hastily shot the 
 bolts. 
 
 " Alas 1" cried the queen, >l wnat vile plot is 
 this? Mischief is around us, Lancelot 1" 
 
 " Is there any armor in your chamber ?" asked 
 Lancelot. " If so, give it to me, and I will face 
 f his malicious crew." 
 
 " There is none," said the queen. " I see no 
 hope, and fear our love has come to a fatal end.
 
 186 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 There seems to be a host of armed knights with 
 oat. They will kill you, Lancelot, and death will 
 come to me through their vile charge of unchas- 
 tity." 
 
 "Why did [ not even wear as much of my 
 armor as I fought Meliagrance with!" cried 
 Lancelot, in distress. " If I had but listened to 
 Sir Bors! Never was I caught in such a trap 
 before." 
 
 As they spoke the tumult without increased, 
 and Mordred and Agravaine cried together, 
 
 " Come out, thou traitor knight 1 Think not 
 to escape, for we have you like a rat in a trap. 
 Come out and meet your just deserts." 
 
 " Shall I bear this ?" cried Lancelot, flaming 
 into anger. " The dogs I a dozen of them in 
 armor against one man in his mantle ! I would 
 rather meet death at once than stand and hear 
 their reviling tongues." 
 
 Then he took the queen in his arms and kissed 
 her, saying, 
 
 " Most noble Christian queen, I beseech you, as 
 you have ever been my special good lady, and I 
 your poor knight, and as I never failed you in 
 right or wrong since the day that King Arthur 
 made me knight, that you will pray for my soul 
 if I be here slain. For you may be sure that Sir 
 Bors and my other kindred, with Lavaine and 
 others of my friends, will rescue you from harm, 
 and I beg you to go with them and Irv e like a queen 
 on my lands."
 
 THE TRAPPING OF THE LION. 187 
 
 " That will I not, Lancelot," said the queen. " If 
 you are slain for me, then death may come when 
 it will, for I shall not live long to mourn you." 
 
 " Then, since my last hour seems to have come, 
 and our love and life must cease together, so let 
 it be; but some of those barking curs shall go 
 with me to the shades. I am heavier at heart for 
 you than for myself. Ahl that I had but a 
 knight's armor!" 
 
 " I would that God would be content with my 
 death, and suffer you to escape," said the queen. 
 
 "That shall never be," said Lancelot. "God 
 defend me from such a shame. And now may 
 the Lord Jesus be my shield and my armor." 
 
 This said, he wrapped his mantle around his 
 arm, and approached the door. As he did so tho 
 strong oaken portal trembled under their blows, 
 for they had got a great form out of the hall, and 
 were using it as a battering-ram. 
 
 " Save your trouble, you crew of mischief," said 
 Lancelot. " Think you that Lancelot du Lake 
 needs to be come at like a rabbit in its hutch? 
 I fear you not, and dread not to face an army of 
 such hounds." 
 
 " Come out, then, or let us into that chamber. 
 It avails you nothing to strive against us all ; but 
 we will promise to spare your life till we have 
 brought you to King Arthur." 
 
 " Will you ?" said Lancelot, " or do you think to 
 slay me where I stand ? I trust you not, liars." 
 
 Then he unbarred the door and with his left
 
 188 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 hand held it open a little, so that but one man 
 could enter at a time. As he did so, Colgre- 
 vance of Gore, who stood nearest, pressed forcibly 
 through the opening, and struck a spiteful blow 
 at Lancelot with his sword. This Lancelot par- 
 ried, and returned so fierce a stroke with his own 
 good blade, that he cut through the helmet and 
 skull of the knight, and stretched him dead upon 
 the floor. 
 
 Then, with all his great strength, he dragged 
 the bleeding corpse within the chamber, closed 
 the door against the pressure of all who bore 
 upon it, and replaced the bars. "So much for 
 this daring fool," he cried. " Thank heaven, L 
 have an armor now ! I shall not be quite a sheep 
 at the shambles." 
 
 As he spoke he was hastily stripping the armor 
 from the body of the dead knight. This done, he 
 quickly arrayed himself in it, with the aid of the 
 queen and her ladies. 
 
 Meanwhile the assault on the door continued, 
 and Mordred and Agravaine kept up their cry, 
 
 " Traitor knight I come out of the queen's cham- 
 ber!" 
 
 " Hold your peace," cried Lancelot. " You shall 
 not prison me here, I promise you that, and if 
 you take my counsel, you will depart. I am ready 
 to agree on my knighthood to appear to-morrow 
 before the king, and answer there that I came not 
 to the queen with any evil purpose; and this I 
 stand ready to prove by word or deed."
 
 THE TRAPPING 07 THE LION. 189 
 
 " Out on you, traitor !" cried Mordred. " Have 
 you, we will, and slay you if we wish, for the 
 king has given us the choice to save you or slay 
 you." 
 
 " Is that your last word, sirrahs ? Then keep 
 yourselves, for I am not of the breed that die 
 easily." 
 
 As he spoke, he flung down the bars and threw 
 the door wide open. Then he strode proudly and 
 mightily among them, sword in hand and clad in 
 full armor, and at the first blow from his mighty 
 hand stretched Agravaine dead upon the floor. 
 Like a maddened lion that charges upon a herd 
 of sheep, he now rushed upon them, striking 
 fiercely to right and left, and felling men with 
 every blow, till in a little while twelve more of his 
 assailants lay cold in death, for there was not a 
 man of them all could stand one blow from his 
 powerful arm. 
 
 Of the whole party only Mordred remained 
 alive, and he fled wounded with craven haste. 
 Then Lancelot, leaning on his blood-dripping 
 sword, turned to the queen, who stood looking at 
 his deeds of might, with white lips and starting 
 eyes. 
 
 " All is at an end now," he said. " Henceforth 
 King Arthur is my foe, and I am like a wolf at 
 bay. Yet I fear your enemies will work you 
 fatal harm, and would have you go with me, and 
 let me be your knight-protector." 
 
 " That I dread to do," said the queen, " for vile
 
 190 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 slander would follow my footsteps. I had bettei 
 face my foes. If they devise to put me to death, 
 then you may come to my rescue, and no one then 
 can blame me for going with you." 
 
 "That shall I do," said Lancelot. "And I 
 promise to make such havoc among all men who 
 mean you harm as I have done among those who 
 lie here." 
 
 Then he kissed her, and each gave the other a 
 ring ; and so he left the queen and went to his 
 lodgings. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE RESCUE OF THE QUEEN. 
 
 LITTLE sleep came that night to Lancelot and 
 his friends. For when he came again to Bors, ho 
 had found him, with others of his kindred, armed 
 and ready to come to his rescue. They listened 
 with concern and indignation to Lancelot's story 
 of how he had been entrapped, and heard with 
 knightly joy the story of his bold discomfiture of 
 his foes. 
 
 But it was evident to them all that the event 
 was one of the greatest moment; that enmity 
 would exist between Lancelot and the king, and 
 that Guenever might be adjudged to the stake on 
 the charge of infidelity to her lord. 
 
 Therefore Bors took it upon himself to gather
 
 THE RESCTTE OF THE QUEEN. 191 
 
 in Lancelot's defence all his kindred and friends ; 
 and by seven o'clock of the next morning he had 
 gained the word of twenty-two Knights of the 
 Bound Table. To these were added knights of 
 North Wales and Cornwall, who joined Lancelot 
 for Lamorak's and Tristram's sake, to the number 
 of fourscore. 
 
 To these Lancelot told all that had occurred, 
 and expressed his fear of Arthur's hostility. 
 
 " I am sure of mortal war," he said, " for these 
 knights claimed to have been sent and ordained 
 by King Arthur to betray me, and I fear the king 
 may, in his heat and malice, condemn the queen 
 to the fire. Trust me, that I will not suffer her 
 to be burnt for my sake. She is and has been 
 ever a true lady to her lord, and while I live she 
 shall not become a victim to the malice of her 
 enemies." 
 
 The assembled knights agreed with him in this 
 decision, and promised their utmost aid in his 
 purpose of rescue. 
 
 " Eescue her I shall, whoever may be hurt ; and 
 I trust to heaven that no friend of mine will aid 
 the king to her injury. But rf I rescue her, where 
 shall I keep her?" 
 
 "Did not the noble Sir Tristram, with your 
 good will, keep La Belle Isolde three years in 
 Joyous Gard, against the malice of King Mark ?" 
 said Bors. " That place is your own ; and there, if 
 the king adjudge the queen to the stake, you may 
 keep her till his heat shall cool. Then you may
 
 192 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 bring her home with worship, and gain Arthur's 
 thanks." 
 
 " That may not work so well as you fancy,' 
 said Lancelot. "You remember what a return 
 Tristram got from King Mark." 
 
 " That is another story," replied Bora. " You 
 know well that Arthur and Mark are men of 
 different mould. Mark could smile and play the 
 traitor ; but no man living can say that King 
 Arthur was ever untrue to his word." 
 
 Their conference over, by the advice of Lancelot 
 the knights put themselves in ambush in a wood 
 as near Carlisle as they could secretly approach. 
 And there they remained on guard, waiting to 
 learn what the king might do. 
 
 Meantime Mordred, though wounded by Lance- 
 lot's sword, had managed to mount his horse, and 
 rode in all haste to tell the king of the bloody 
 end of the ambush. On hearing the story, 
 Arthur's mind was divided between anger and 
 pain. 
 
 " It grieves me sorely that Lancelot should be 
 against me," he said ; " and much I fear that the 
 glorious fellowship of the Eound Table is broken, 
 for many of our noblest knights will hold with 
 him. But dishonor must not rest upon England's 
 crown. The queen has played me false, and shall 
 suffer death for her treason to her wifely duty." 
 
 For the law was such in those days, that all, of 
 whatever estate or degree, found guilty of treason, 
 should suffer death. And so it was ordained in
 
 THE RESCUE OF THE QUEEN. 193 
 
 Quoen Guenever's case since thirteen knights 
 had been slain, and one escaped sore wounded, in 
 defending the king's honor that she should be 
 taken to the stake, and there be burnt to death as 
 a traitress. 
 
 " My lord Arthur," said Gawaine, " let me coun- 
 sel you not to be over hasty in this severe judg- 
 ment, for as I take it the guilt of the queen is not 
 proved. That Lancelot was found in the queen's 
 chamber I admit ; but he might have come there 
 with no evil purpose. You know how he has 
 been for years her chosen knight, and how much 
 he has done for her. She may have sent for him 
 privily, to avoid scandal, for conference on some 
 innocent subject. What we do for the best often 
 turns to the worst, and I dare affirm that my lady 
 the queen is, and has always been, faithful and 
 true to her lord. As for Lancelot, I doubt me not 
 he will make good what I have said with word and 
 body, against any and all that question or oppose." 
 
 "That I believe," said the king. "I know 
 Lancelot's way. But his boldness does not prove 
 the queen's innocence. For her he shall never 
 fight again, for she shall suffer the penalty of the 
 law. And if I can lay my hands on him, he shall 
 die the shameful death he richly merits." 
 
 " Then may Christ save me from ever seeing 
 it," said Gawaine. 
 
 "Why say you this?" demanded the king, 
 angrily. " You have no cause to love him. Last 
 night he killed your brother Agravaine, and here 
 VOL. III. i n 17
 
 194 TENS HAND OP DESTINY. 
 
 is Mordred sorely wounded. He also slew two of 
 your sons, Sir Florence and Sir Lovel." 
 
 " I know all that. But I gave them warning 
 beforehand of what would happen if they med- 
 dled in this affair. They brought this fate on 
 themselves. As for Agravaine, he stirred up this 
 scandalous business, and has got his deserts." 
 
 "Say no more," cried the king, in hot indig- 
 nation. " I am resolved. The honor of Arthur's 
 wife must be above suspicion. She has fallen 
 from chastity and shall die the death. As for 
 you, Gawaine, I bid you arm in your best armor, 
 with your brethren Gareth and Gaheris, and bring 
 her to the fire, that she may there hear her judg- 
 ment, and receive the death she merits." 
 
 " No, my most noble lord, that shall I nevei 
 do," said Gawaine. " No man shall say that I had 
 aught to do with the death of this worthy lady, 
 or gave my word in favor of her death." 
 
 " Then bid your brothers, Gareth and Gaheris, 
 attend." 
 
 " They are young, and may not withstand your 
 will ; but they shall not be there by my counsel," 
 said Gawaine, stoutly. 
 
 " We must attend, if you command us," said 
 Gareth and Gaheris to the king. " But it will be 
 sorely against our wills. If come we must, it shall 
 be in peaceful guise, and without warlike array." 
 
 "Come as you will," said the king. "This I 
 say, she shall have judgment this day." 
 
 " Alas ! that I have ever lived to see this woful
 
 THB RESCUE OF THE QUEEN. 195 
 
 day 1" said Gawaine, sadly, and as he turned away 
 the tears ran hotly from his eyes. 
 
 But the king was bitterly set in his deadly pur- 
 pose, and no sooner had he reached Cai lisle than 
 he gave command that the queen should at once 
 be led to the place of execution, there to be burned 
 as a traitress. 
 
 When this fatal decision was known in the 
 castle there was weeping and wailing and wring- 
 ing of hands from many lords and ladies, while 
 of the knights there present, few would consent 
 to wear armor to compass the queen's death. 
 
 But Arthur's commands none dared question, 
 and the unhappy lady was shriven by her ghostly 
 father, and bound to the fatal stake. In a circle 
 around her stood a guard of armed knights, while 
 others were present without armor. But the king 
 was not there ; nor would Gawaine show himself 
 at that shameful scene. 
 
 Then fire was set to the fagots that surrounded 
 the stake. But as the flames began to curl up- 
 wards there came a shrill bugle-blast from a 
 neighboring wood, and of a sudden Lancelot and 
 his knights broke from their ambush, and rode 
 upon those about the fire, striking right and left 
 at all who bore arms and withstood them. 
 
 Down went the guard of knights before this 
 fierce onset, till full twenty of them lay dead on 
 the field. But by sad fortune, as Lancelot in hie 
 warlike fury pressed hither and thither, cutting 
 and slashing with the hot rage of the berserker,
 
 196 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 he by mishap struck the two unarmed knights. 
 Gareth and Gaheris, and stretched them dead upon 
 the field. 
 
 This was in the thick of the fray, and he knew 
 not what he had done, for rather would he have 
 slain himself than harmed these, his faithful 
 friends. A few minutes sufficed to kill or disperse 
 all the guard. Then Lancelot sprang from his 
 horse, scattered the blazing fagots with his foot, 
 and with a blow of his sword severed the bonds 
 that fastened Guenever to the stake. 
 
 The unhappy lady fell, weeping, into his arms, 
 thanking him in broken accents. With all due 
 haste he mounted her on a horse that had been 
 provided, and rode off with her and his following 
 of gallant knights to Joyous Gard, strong of heart 
 and stout of frame, and resolved to fight for her 
 to the death, for more than ever he felt himself 
 her chosen knight. 
 
 And when word went through the country 
 round that Arthur and Lancelot were at odds, 
 many a good knight rode in all haste to his castle, 
 bent on taking his side in the coming war. 
 
 But when the news was brought to Arthur of 
 how Lancelot had rescued the queen, and slain 
 many of his knights, and in particular Gareth 
 and Gaheris, his anger turned to such bitter sor- 
 row and regret that he swooned from pure grief. 
 And when he came to his senses again he deeply 
 moaned, and reproached himself for the evil that 
 had befallen.
 
 THE RESCUE OF THE QUEEN. 197 
 
 "Alas I that I over wore the crown!" he be- 
 wailed. " Within these two days I have lost forty 
 knights, and, above all, the noble fellowship of 
 Lancelot and his kindred, and all because I 
 listened to the tongue of foul detraction. Alas 1 
 that over this fatal thing began ! Fair friends, see 
 that none of you tell Gawaino of what has hap- 
 pened, for he loves Gareth so deeply that I fear, 
 when he hears of his death, he will go out of his 
 mind. How came Lancelot to slay these knights, 
 who both loved him devotedly?" 
 
 " He would never have harmed them had he 
 known them," said a knight. " It was in the midst 
 of the hurtling and fierce struggling, when swords 
 strike they know not where. Sad he will be when 
 he learns what he has done." 
 
 " I am heavier for the loss of my knights than 
 of my queen," said Arthur, sadly. " Other queens 
 may be bad,. but such a fellowship of knights can 
 never be brought together again. And this I 
 know, that when Gawaine learns of Gareth's death, 
 he will never rest, nor suffer me to rest, till I have 
 destroyed Lancelot and his kindred, or they have 
 destroyed me. Ah, Agravaine, Agravaine, Jesus 
 forgive thy soul for thy evil will, for thou and 
 thy brother Mordred have caused all this bitter 
 sorrow." 
 
 While the king thus complained, a tale-bearer, 
 unheeding his injunctions, came to Gawaine big 
 with his story, and told him of the rescue of the 
 queen, and the death of a knightly host. 
 17*
 
 198 THE BAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 ""What else could Lancelot do?" said Gawaine. 
 " I should have done as much myself had I stood 
 in his place. But where are my brothers ? Why 
 hear I not of them ?" 
 
 " Truly," said the man ; " they are both killed." 
 
 " Now, Jesu forbid ! What ! both ? Is Gareth 
 slain ? Dare you toll me so ?" 
 
 " Alas ! the pity of it !" 
 
 " Killed ! Who killed him ?" 
 
 " Sir Lancelot slew them both." 
 
 " That is false. Gareth loved him better than 
 hs did me or the king. He would have joined 
 him against us all, had Lancelot desired. And he 
 was unarmed. Dare you repeat this story?" and 
 he caught the man fiercely by the shoulders and 
 glared wildly in his face. 
 
 " Sir, it is so noised abroad," said the man. 
 
 " Then is all joy gone from my life," moaned 
 Gawaine, and he fell to the floor in a deep swoon, 
 in which he lay long like one dead. 
 
 But when Gawaine recovered, and had sought 
 the king, and learned that his two brothers had 
 been killed, unarmed and defenceless, his sorrow 
 changed to bitter and revengeful anger. 
 
 " My king, my lord, and my uncle," he sternly 
 said, " I vow by my knighthood that I shall never 
 forgive Lancelot for this murderous deed, but 
 from this day forth shall remain his deadly foe, 
 till one of us has slain the other. War to the 
 death it shall be, and if you aid me not I shall 
 seek Sir Lancelot alone, if it be through seven
 
 THE RESCUE OF THE QUEEN. 199 
 
 kings' realms, till I hold him to answer for this 
 deed of blood." 
 
 " You shall not need to seek him so far," said 
 the king. " They eay that Lancelot awaits us 
 in Joyous Gard, and that many kn'ghts have 
 joined him." 
 
 " Well is it so," said Gawaine, fiercely. " Then, 
 my lord Arthur, gather your friends, and I will 
 gather mine. Say not that deeds like this shall 
 go unpunished in England's realm. Your justice 
 defied ! My unarmed brothers murdered ! Shall 
 this bo done, and we basely submit ?" 
 
 " You speak to the point," said the king. " We 
 must strike for honor and revenge. Strong as 
 Lancelot's castle is, and bold as are his friends, I 
 fancy I can gain strength enough to draw him out 
 of the strongest tower in it." 
 
 Then King Arthur sent orders far and wide 
 through the land, and in brief time there came to 
 Carlisle many knights, dukes, and earls, so that 
 he had a great host. These the king informed of 
 what had happened, and of his purpose to force 
 Lancelot to yield up his queen, and to punish him 
 for his trespass. 
 
 Lancelot, meanwhile, was not idle, but drew to 
 himself many more knights, and provisioned his 
 castle fully, for he well knew that he must abide 
 behind walls, as he was far too weak to meet the 
 king's host in the field 
 
 Not many days had elapsed when King Arthur 
 and Gawaine with a great host of men, laid siege
 
 200 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 about Joyous Gard, both the town and the castle, 
 and war replaced the peace that had reigned BO 
 long in the land. 
 
 But Lancelot lay secure in his castle, and foi 
 a long time would not go out himself, nor suffer 
 any of his knights to pass the gates of town or 
 castle. And so fifteen weeks of the siege passed 
 away. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE RETURN OF GUENEVEB. 
 
 IT befell upon a day in harvest-time that Lan- 
 celot looked over the walls of Joyous Gard, and 
 seeing below him the king and Gawaine, thus 
 spoke to them, 
 
 " My lords hoth, you besiege this castle in vain. 
 You will gain more dishonor than worship here. 
 If I chose to come out, with my knights, I should 
 soon bring this war to an end." 
 
 " Come forth, if thou darest !" cried the king, 
 in anger. " I promise to meet thee in the midst 
 of the field." 
 
 "God defend that I should face on the field of 
 battle the noble king who made me knight." 
 
 " A truce to your fair language," answered the 
 king. " Trust me, that I am your mortal foe, and 
 will be so till the day of my death. You have slain
 
 THB RETUBN OF OUBNIVKl. 201 
 
 my knights and dishonored my queen, and hold 
 her from me by force, like a traitor. Think you 
 I shall lightly forgive this ?" 
 
 "You may say what you will, my lord and 
 king," answered Lancelot. " "With you I will not 
 fight ; but as for your lady Guenever, I am ready 
 to stand for her innocence against any knight 
 under heaven. Those who have slandered me and 
 her lie in their teeth, and I hold myself ready to 
 prove to the death that she is as true and chaste 
 a lady as ever lived. More than once, my lord, 
 you have consented that she should be burnt, 
 from the voice of slander, and more than once 
 have I rescued her, and forced the lie down the 
 throats of her slanderers. Then you thanked me 
 for saving her from the fire. Now, for doing you 
 the same high service again, you bring war upon 
 me. Your queen is honest and true, and if you 
 will receive her to your good grace again I stand 
 ready to deliver her." 
 
 "Kecreant knight!" cried Gawaine, in wrath, 
 " I warrant you my lord the king shall have his 
 queen and you too, despite your fair words and 
 proud defiance, and shall slay you both if it please 
 him." 
 
 " That may be, Gawaine," said Lancelot. " Yet 
 if I chose to come out of the castle you would not 
 find it quite child's play to win me and the queen." 
 
 " Save your boastful words," said Gawaine. 
 " As for my lady, the queen, I shall say naught to 
 ber dishonor. But, recreant knight, what cause
 
 202 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 had you to slay my brother G-areth, who loved 
 you with his whole soul ?" 
 
 " I shall not seek an excuse for that sad deed," 
 said Lancelot. " I would with as good will have 
 slain my nephew Sir Bors. All I may say is 
 that it was done in the heat of battle, and I knew 
 not they were slain till word was brought me 
 here." 
 
 " You lie in your teeth I" cried G-awaine. " You 
 killed them in despite of me ; and for this foul 
 deed I shall make war on you while I live." 
 
 " If you are so hotly set, there is no use for me 
 to seek accord; yet I am truly sorry for their 
 deaths and your enmity. Only for this I would 
 soon have the good grace of my lord Arthur." 
 
 " That may be, traitor, but you will wait long 
 for peace. You have lorded it over me, and the 
 whole of us, too long, and slain knights at your 
 will. Now our turn has come." 
 
 " No one dare say that I ever killed a knight 
 through treachery, as you, Gawaine, have done." 
 
 " You mean Sir Lamorak. Him I slew, man to 
 man." 
 
 " Who lies now ? You know well that you and 
 the crew that set upon him dared not meet him 
 face to face. You struck him treacherously from 
 behind." 
 
 " A truce to Lamorak. This you may know, 
 that I will never leave you till I deal with you as 
 I did with him." 
 
 " Murder me, you mean ! I fancy you might
 
 THX RETURN OF QUZNSVIR. 203 
 
 if you caught me in such a strait, which you will 
 not easily do." 
 
 Then others took the cue from Gawaine, and 
 the cry went up from many voices : " False and 
 recreant knight ! how long will you hide behind 
 your castle walls, like a rat in his hole ?" 
 
 "How long is this to last?" said Bors and 
 others to Lancelot. " We pray you to keep us 
 no longer within these walls, but let us out to do 
 battle with them. Men will say next that you 
 are afraid. As for fair speech, it is thrown away. 
 Gawaine will never forgive you, nor suffer you to 
 make accord with the king. Therefore fight for 
 your right, for to that it must come." 
 
 " I am loath to do so," said Lancelot. 
 
 Then he called from the wall to the king, 
 
 " My knights demand that I let them sally from 
 the castle. I therefore pray that neither you nor 
 Sir Gawaine come into the field, for to you two I 
 wish no harm." 
 
 " What then ? Shall we cower in our tents 
 while others fight our battles?" cried Gawaine. 
 " This quarrel is mine and the king's. Shall we 
 not fight in it ?" 
 
 " If you will, you will ; but I seek not battle 
 with either of you." 
 
 Then they drew back, and both sides made 
 ready for battle. And Gawaine, with deadly in- 
 tent, set aside a strong body of knights, bidding 
 them to attack Lancelot in force, and slay him if 
 they could.
 
 204 THE HAND OF DESTINT. 
 
 When the next morning came, King Arthur 
 drew up his host against the castle in three great 
 bands. And Lancelot's fellowship issued from 
 the castle at three gates, the three bands being led 
 by Lancelot, Bors, and Lionel. But Lancelot had 
 given strict charge to his knights to avoid harm- 
 ing King Arthur and Sir Gawaine. 
 
 Fierce was the battle that followed, and many 
 good knights were slain. It began with a chal- 
 lenge from Gawaine, who came out before the 
 king's host and dared any knight of Lancelot's to 
 joust with him. This challenge Lionel accepted, 
 but Gawaine thrust him through the body, and 
 dashed him to the earth like a dead man. Then 
 his friends rushed to his rescue and drove back 
 his foes, bearing him from the field into the castle. 
 This affray brought on a hot and fiery battle, and 
 soon the air was filled with shouts, and the earth 
 strewn with dead and wounded men. 
 
 In the midst of this fi*ay the king hotly attacked 
 Lancelot ; but that faithful knight patiently en- 
 dured his assault, and lifted not a hand in defence. 
 But Bors, seeing his danger, rushed in, and, with 
 a spear-thrust, hurled King Arthur to the ground. 
 Quickly leaping from his horse, he drew his sword, 
 and said, 
 
 " Shall I make an end of this war ?" 
 
 " On pain of your head, no ! Harm not the 
 king ! I shall not stand by and see him slain." 
 
 Then Lancelot sprang to the ground and helped 
 the king to his horse again, saying,
 
 THE RETURN OF OUENEVER. 205 
 
 "My lord Arthur, for God's sake, end this 
 strife I I will not fight you, though you kill me, 
 nor have I the heart to fight your men. My lord, 
 remember what I have done for you. Is not this 
 an evil reward ?" 
 
 When Arthur heard these words tears flowed 
 from his eyes, for Lancelot's courtesy had over- 
 come his anger. He turned and rode away, saying 
 sadly, 
 
 " Alas I that this war ever began." 
 
 Then both sides drew off, and parties of each 
 began the sad duty of burying the dead, while the 
 wounded were borne away, and healing salves 
 applied to their wounds. 
 
 The next day the battle was renewed, and 
 fought with the same deadly energy as before. 
 On this day Bors led the foremost party, and met 
 Gawaine as Lionel had done the day before. 
 Fiercely together they rode, and both were hurled 
 to the ground with deep and dangerous wounds. 
 Around them the battle raged with double fierce- 
 ness, but Lancelot broke in and rescued Bors, and 
 had him borne to the castle, while the other party 
 bore off Gawaine. 
 
 Then, as the battle continued, Lavaine and 
 others begged Lancelot to put forth his strength 
 and fight with his full might, for he imperilled 
 them all by his forbearance. 
 
 " Why should you spare your foes?" they said. 
 " You do but harm thereby. Your enemies spare 
 not vou."
 
 206 THI HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 " I have no heart to fight against the king," said 
 Lancelot. 
 
 " If you spare them all this day they will never 
 thank you," said Palamides. " And if they get 
 the better of you they will slay you without 
 mercy." 
 
 Lancelot saw that this was but the truth, and, 
 stirred by this and the wound of Sir Bors, he 
 rushed into the fray with his old might and fury, 
 forcing back all before him. Glad to see the old 
 Lancelot, his followers pressed forward, driving 
 back the foe, so that by eventide they had the 
 best of the fray, and their horses went fetlock 
 deep in the blood of the slain. 
 
 Then, in pity for Arthur, Lancelot blew the 
 recall, and suffered the king's party to withdraw 
 without further slaughter. 
 
 After this there was peace between the parties 
 for many days, for Gawaine had been so sorel> 
 hurt that he could not stir the king to active war, 
 and Arthur after awhile returned to Carlisle, leav- 
 ing the castle closely besieged. 
 
 But the story of this war had now passed 
 through Christendom, and ha' reached the pope, 
 who, feeling that war between King Arthur and 
 Lancelot was like battle between brothers, sent 
 a letter to the king, commanding him, under 
 pain of an interdict upon all England, to take his 
 Queen Guenever into favor again, and to make 
 peace and accord with Sir Lancelot. 
 
 This Papal bull was brought to Arthur by the
 
 THE RETURN OF GTTENXYER. 207 
 
 biehop of Rochester, who was then at Rome. 
 "When the king had heard it read he knew not 
 what to do. He agreed to take back the queen, 
 and in his heart desired to make friends with 
 Lancelot ; but to this Gawaine, who had then the 
 greatest influence over him, would not consent. 
 
 In the end it was agreed that if Lancelot would 
 bring back the queen be should come and go in 
 safety, and that no word should be spoken to 
 Guenever, by the king or other person, of aught 
 that hud happened in the past. 
 
 Then the bishop had from the king his assur- 
 ance, under the great seal of the realm, as he was 
 a true anointed knight, that Sir Lancelot should 
 come and return in safety, and that the queen 
 should not be spoken to by the king, or any other, 
 concerning what had passed. With this safe-con- 
 duct, written at length and signed by King Arthur, 
 the holy prelate rode in state to Joyous Gard, 
 where he made Lancelot acquainted with all that 
 had happened, telling him of the pope's action, and 
 of the peril he would encounter if he withheld 
 the queen from the king. 
 
 "It was never in my thought," said Lance: 
 lot, " to withhold Queen Guenever from my lord 
 Arthur. All men know why I have her in charge. 
 She would have suffered a shameful death through 
 the king's unjust anger had I not been on hand to 
 save her life ; and I hold her only from peril of 
 that ^ile sentence, which has never until now been 
 remitted. I thank the pope heartily that he has
 
 208 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 made peace between Guenever and the king, and 
 God knows that I will be a thousand-fold gladder 
 to take her back than I ever was to bring her 
 away. All I demand is, that I shall come and go 
 in safety, and that the queen shall have her liberty 
 as before, and stand in no peril from this or any 
 former charge against her. For else I dare ven- 
 ture to keep her from a harder shower than ever 
 yet has fallen upon her or mo." 
 
 " You need dread nothing either for yourself or 
 the queen," replied the bishop. " You know full 
 well that the pope must be obeyed, by the king 
 as well as by you. It were not to the pope's 
 worship nor my poor honor that you shouM be 
 distressed, or the queen put to shame or peril. 
 And as for King Arthur, here is his promise, under 
 his own writing and seal." 
 
 Then he showed Lancelot all the written docu- 
 ments he had brought, both from the pope and the 
 king. 
 
 " That suffices," said Lancelot. " I would trust 
 King Arthur's bare word as I would the oath of 
 half Christendom. No man can say that he ever 
 broke his plighted faith. Therefore, I beg you to 
 ride before me to the king, and recommend me to 
 his good grace, letting him know that in eight days 
 from to-day, by the grace of God, I shall bring to 
 him his lady Queen Guenever. And say this far- 
 ther to him, that I stand ready to meet any one in 
 the lists for the queen's fair fame except himself 
 and Sir Gawaine. and the latter more from the
 
 THE RETURN OF GUENEVER. 209 
 
 king's love for him than from aught of his own 
 deserts." 
 
 With this agreement the bishop departed to 
 Carlisle, and when he had told the king how 
 nobly Lancelot had spoken, the tears started from 
 Arthur's eyes, and much he deplored in his heart 
 the cruel chance that had aroused war between 
 him and his dearest friend. 
 
 Lancelot now made ready a hundred knights, 
 who were all dressed in green velvet, with their 
 horses trapped to their heels, while each knight 
 held in his hand an olive branch, in token of 
 peace. For the queen there were provided four 
 and twenty gentlewomen, who followed her in the 
 same guise ; while Lancelot was followed by twelve 
 coursers, on each of which sat a young gentleman, 
 and these were arrayed in green velvet with golden 
 girdles, and the horses trapped to the heels with 
 rich cloths, set with pearls and stones in gold, to 
 the number of a thousand. As for Lancelot and 
 Guenever, they were clothed in white cloth-of- 
 gold tissue. And in this array they rode from 
 Joyous Gard to Carlisle, and through Carlisle to 
 the r.astle, while many an eye shed tears on seeing 
 them. 
 
 Then Lancelot alighted and took the queen, and 
 led hor to where Arthur sat, with Gawaine and 
 many great lords before him. Then he kneeled, 
 and the queen with him. 
 
 Many of the assembled knights wept bitterly 
 on seeing this, but the king sat in haughty silence, 
 VOL. III. o 18*
 
 210 THE HAND OF DI8TINT. 
 
 looking steadily upon the pair who knelt before 
 him. Seeing his countenance, Lancelot rose and 
 forced the queen to rise also. Then thus he spoke 
 in knightly pride, 
 
 " My lord the king, by the pope's command and 
 yours I have brought you my lady, the queen, as 
 right requireth. If there be any knight, whatever 
 his degree, except your sacred self, who shall dare 
 say she has been untrue to you, I, Lancelot du 
 Lake, stand ready to make her honor good with 
 my body. To liars you have listened, and that 
 has caused all the trouble between you and me. 
 Time has been, my lord Arthur, when you have 
 been greatly pleased with me in that I did battle 
 for my lady your queen. Full well you know, my 
 most royal sir, that she has been put to great 
 wrong before this time ; and since it pleased you 
 then that I should fight for her, it seems to me 
 that I had still more cause this last time to rescue 
 her from the fire, since she was to have been burnt 
 for my sake. Had not the might of God been 
 with me, think you that I could, unarmed, have 
 prevailed over fourteen armed knights ? I was 
 sent for by the queen, who wished to confer with 
 me, but had barely stepped within her chamber, 
 when out burst Mordred and Agravaine, calling 
 mo traitor and recreant knight." 
 
 " They called you truly," said Gawaine. 
 
 " Did they so, Gawaine ? By heaven, in their 
 quarrel they failed to prove themselves in the 
 right."
 
 THE RETURN OF GHTZNEVER. 211 
 
 " I have given you no cause to do evil to me, 
 Lancelot," said the king. " For I have loved you 
 and yours more than all my other knights." 
 
 " My good lord and liege," answered Lancelot, 
 " I beg it may not displease you if I answer that 
 you have better cause to love me and mine than 
 most knights, for none have done you such service 
 as wo have at many times and in many places. 
 Often have I myself rescued you from deadly 
 peril, when you were hard pressed by your foes ; 
 and it has ever been my joy to please you, and my 
 lord Gawaine as well, in jousts and tournaments, 
 and in set battles, both on horse and on foot. I 
 wish not to boast of my deeds, yet you all know 
 well that I never met a knight but that I was able 
 to stand against him, and have always done my 
 duty like a man. I have been matched with good 
 knights, such as Sir Tristram and Sir Lamorak, 
 whom I loved for their valor and honesty. And I 
 take God to witness, that I was never angry with 
 or jealous of any good knight whom I saw active 
 to win honor, and was ever glad at heart when I 
 found a knight who was able to endure me on 
 horseback or on foot. Sir Carados of the dolorous 
 tower was a noble knight and a man of mighty 
 strength, and this you know full well, Sir Gawaine, 
 since he pulled you from your horse, and bound 
 you before him on his saddle. Yet I rescued you 
 from him, and slew him before your eyes. In like 
 manner I found his brother, Sir Turquine, leading 
 your brother, SirGaheris, bound on his saddle, and
 
 212 THZ HAND OF DWBTINY. 
 
 slew him, and rescued your brother, as also three- 
 score and four of King Arthur's knights whom he 
 held in prison. Never met I with as strong and 
 hard-fighting knights as Sir Carados and Sir Tur- 
 quine, and I fought with them to the uttermost for 
 the sake of you and your brother. It seems to 
 me, Sir Gawaine, that you ought to bear in mind 
 this good service I did for you in the past. If I 
 might but have your good will in return, I would 
 trust to God to have my lord Arthur's kindly 
 grace." 
 
 " The king may do as he will," said Gawaine ; 
 " but while I live I shall never be in accord with 
 you. I cannot forget that you have killed three 
 of my brothers, two of them treacherously ana 
 pitilessly, for they wore no armor against you, and 
 refused to bear any." 
 
 " Would to heaven they had been armed, for 
 then they would now be alive," said Lancelot. 
 " I tell you this, Sir Gawaine, that I love none of 
 my own kinsmen as I did your brother, SirGareth, 
 and would far rather have slain myself than him. 
 Never while I live shall I cease to mourn his 
 death, not alone for your bitter sorrow and anger, 
 but for other causes which concern myself. One 
 is, that it was I who made him a knight ; another 
 is, that he loved me above all other knights ; a 
 third is, that he was ever noble, true, courteous, 
 and gentle. I never would have slain, or even 
 hurt, either Gareth or Gaheris by my will ; and 
 sad at heart am I that this fatal chance has
 
 THE RETUBN OF GKJENEVER. 213 
 
 robbed me of your love and made undying war be- 
 tween us, and has caused my noble lord and king 
 to be my mortal foe. May Jesus forgive me for 
 this cruel chance, which the fates have laid upon 
 me. In reparation for this sad misfortune, I shall 
 freely offer, if it will please the king's good 
 grace, and yours, my lord Gawaine, to do pen- 
 ance in this wise. I shall start from Sandwich, 
 and go in my shirt, barefoot, and at every ten 
 miles' end I ohall found a religious house, of what 
 order you wish, where shall be sung and read day 
 and night psalms and masses for the repose of 
 Sir Gareth and Sir Gaheris. This I shall perform 
 from Sandwich to Carlisle. This, Sir Gawaine, 
 seems to me fairer, holier, and better for their 
 souls than that you and the king should make war 
 upon me ; for little good to any is likely to come 
 from it." 
 
 Then the knights and ladies there wept as 
 though they were distracted, and the tears fell hot 
 on King Arthur's cheeks. But no shadow of soft- 
 ness came to Gawaine's stern face. 
 
 " The king, as I have said, may do as it pleases 
 him," he answered, " but I shall never forgive you 
 for the murder of my brothers. If my uncle, King 
 Arthur, accords with you, he shall lose my service, 
 for I hold you false both to the king and me." 
 
 " The man lives not that can make that good," 
 cried Lancelot. " If you charge me thus, I am 
 ready to answer you with spear and sw rd since 
 words you disdain."
 
 214 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 "That cannot be at this time," said Gawainc 
 '*' You are here under the king's safe-conduct, aud 
 so must depart. If it were not for the pope's 
 command and the king's given word, I should do 
 battle with you, body to body, and prove upon 
 you that you have been false both to the king and 
 to me. In this land you shall not abide more 
 than fifteen days, for I give you open warning 
 that your safe-conduct lasts only for that time. 
 In this the king and we all were agreed before 
 you came hither. Only for this you would now 
 find that my words are ready to be backed up 
 with deeds. And this you shall find wheresoever 
 I shall meet you hereafter." 
 
 Then Lancelot sighed, and tears fell upon his 
 cheeks. 
 
 " Alas, most Christian realm," he said, " that I 
 have loved above all other realms, and most 
 Christian king, whom I have worshipped next to. 
 my God. From both I am banished, without 
 cause or warrant. Truly I am sorry that I ever 
 came into this land, to be thus causelessly and 
 shamefully treated, after my long service here. 
 So is it ever with fortune, whose wheel is so 
 changeable that there is no constant abiding ; and 
 this may be proved by the old chronicles of noble 
 Hector of Troy, and Troilus, and Alexander the 
 mighty conqueror, and many more. "When they 
 were highest they quickly became lowest; and 
 thus has it fared with me. No living men have 
 brought more honor and glory to the Bound Table
 
 THE RETURN OF QUENEVER. 215 
 
 than I and my kindred, and yet we stand banished 
 from the land which owes us such worthy ser 
 vice. As for you, Gawaine, I can live upon my 
 native lands as well as any knight here. And if 
 you, redoubted king, shall seek me there in hostile 
 array, I must endure you as well as I may. If 
 you come thither, Gawaine, see that you charge 
 ine not with treason or felony, for if you do, it 
 will scarcely end with words." 
 
 " Do your worst," cried Gawaine, hotly. " And 
 get you gone from here as fast as you can. "We 
 shall soon come after, and tumble your strongest 
 castle upon your head." 
 
 " That shall not need," said Lancelot. " You 
 may find me ready to meet you in open field." 
 
 " There have been words enough," said Gawaine. 
 " Deliver the queen and take yourself away." 
 
 " If I had looked for so short a reception I would 
 have thought twice before coming," answered 
 Lancelot, proudly. " If the queen had been as 
 dear to me as you would make her, I durst have 
 kept her from the best fellowship of knights 
 under heaven." 
 
 Then he turned to Guenever and said, in full 
 hearing of the king and all there, 
 
 " Madam, now I must depart from you and this 
 noble fellowship forever. Since it is so, I beseech 
 you to pray for me. And if you be slandered by 
 any false tongues, send me word, my lady, and 
 if one knight's hands may deliver you by battle, 
 T shall deliver you "
 
 216 THE HAND OP DESTINY. 
 
 Then Lancelot kissed the queen, and said openly 
 to all present, 
 
 " Now let me see who there is in this place that 
 dare say Queen Guenever is not true unto my lord 
 King Arthur ! Lot him speak who dare speak." 
 
 He looked proudly around the hall, from right 
 to left, but no voice came in answer. Then he 
 took the queen by the hand and led her to the 
 king, and delivered her to his royal hand. This 
 done, Lancelot turned and walked from the hall 
 with haughty stride ; and there was neither duke, 
 earl, nor king, baron nor knight, lady nor maiden, 
 that wept not at the sorrowful parting, except 
 Sir Gawaine. And when Lancelot took his horse 
 to ride out of Carlisle there was sobbing and 
 weeping from all the people who had gathered in 
 the streets to see him depart. And so he took his 
 way to Joyous Gard, which ever after he called 
 Dolorous Gard. And thus departed Sir Lancelot 
 du Lake from the court of King Arthur forever. 
 
 He now called his fellowship about him, and 
 asked them what they would do. 
 
 " Whatever you will," they answered with one 
 voice. 
 
 " Then, my brave and faithful friends, we must 
 leave this realm. It is sore to me to be banished, 
 and had I not dreaded shame, the lady Guenever 
 should never have left me." 
 
 " If you stay in this land we shall not fail you," 
 said his knights. " If you depart hence we shall 
 go with you."
 
 THE RETURN OF QUENEVER. 217 
 
 " My fair lords, I thank you heartily," answered 
 Lancelot, with much feeling. " If you come with 
 me to my realm beyond the sea, I shall divide my 
 lands among you, till I have as little as any of you. 
 I care for only enough to live upon, and trust to 
 maintain you in knightly honor." 
 
 " So let it be," they rejoined. " Here, now that 
 the fellowship of the Bound Table is broken, there 
 will be no more peace, but only strife and tur- 
 moil. You were the stay of Arthur's court, Sir 
 Lancelot. With you gone, all quiet and harmony 
 will depart." 
 
 " You praise me too highly, gentlemen. I did 
 my duty ; but not I alone. Yet I fear, when we 
 are gone, we will soon hear of wars and rebellions, 
 from those who dared not raise their heads when 
 we were all together. Mordred I fear above all. 
 He is envious and ambitious, and if King Arthur 
 shall trust him I dread me greatly he will find 
 him a stinging serpent." 
 
 Then, soon after, they left Joyous Gard, and 
 shipped at Cardiff to pass beyond the seas to 
 Lancelot's realm of Ben wick. Some men, indeed, 
 call it Bayonno, and some call it Bourne, the land 
 whence comes the wine of Beume. Yet to say 
 sooth, Lancelot and his nephews were lords of 
 all France, and had there a host of towns ard 
 castles, and many people at their command. 
 
 There went with him a hundred proven knights, 
 whom he rewarded as he had promised. For he 
 shortly called a parliament, where he crowned
 
 218 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 Lionel king of France. Bore he made king of 
 the realm of King Claudas ; and Hector de Marie, 
 King of Benwick and Guienne ; while his other 
 knights were made dukes and earls, till all were 
 nobly provided for. 
 
 Thus Lancelot rewarded his faithful friends 
 And he furnished and provisioned his towns and 
 castles, and gathered the men of war of the realm, 
 for he felt well assured that Gawaine would not 
 rent till he had brought King Arthur against him 
 in martial array. 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 THE WAR BETWEEN ARTHUR AND LANCELOT, 
 
 WHAT Lancelot had feared came quickly to 
 pass. For so unrelenting was Gawaine's enmity, 
 and so strong his influence over the king, that 
 Arthur, at his persistent instigation, got together 
 a great army, to the number of sixty thousand, 
 and had shipping made ready to carry them over 
 the sea. 
 
 Then ho made Sir Mordred chief ruler of all 
 England during his absence, and put Queen 
 Guenever under his care, little dreaming of what 
 fatal results would follow this unwise choice. 
 
 These preparations made, Arthur passed the 
 sea with his host, and landed in Lancelot's realm,
 
 TH WAR BETWEEN AETHUB AND LANCELOT. 219 
 
 where, through the revengeful spirit of Gawaine, 
 they burnt and wasted all that they overran. 
 
 When word of this was brought to Lancelot 
 and his knights, Sir Bors thus broke out in 
 anger, 
 
 " My lord Sir Lancelot, it is a shame to let them 
 thus destroy this fair realm of France. You may 
 well be assured that, however long you forbear 
 your foes, they will do you no favor if you fall 
 into their hands." 
 
 Then said Sir Lionel, who was wary and wise, 
 " My lord Sir Lancelot, this is my counsel. Let 
 us keep to our strong-walled towns till the in- 
 vaders suffer from hunger and cold, and blow upon 
 their nails for warmth. Then we may freshly set 
 upon them, and shred them down like sheep in a 
 field." 
 
 "Such a course would disgrace us all," said 
 King Bagdemagus to Lancelot. " Your over-cour- 
 tesy has caused all the trouble we now have. If 
 we let Gawaine work his will, he will bring our 
 power to naught, while we hide like rabbits in our 
 holes." 
 
 " So say I," broke in Sir Galihud. " There are 
 knights here who come of kings' blood, and that 
 will not long be content to droop behind walls. 
 Give us leave to meet them in the field, and we 
 shall deal with them in such fashion that they will 
 curse the time they came into this country." 
 
 Then spoke seven brethren of North Wales, men 
 of such prowess that one might seek through
 
 220 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 seven lands before he could find seven such 
 knights, 
 
 " Sir Lancelot," they said together, " lot us ride 
 out with Sir Galihud, for it has never been our 
 wont to cower in towns and castles." 
 
 " My fair lords," replied Lancelot to them all, 
 " I am loath to ride out with my knights and shed 
 Christian blood. And my lands, after all the wars 
 they have endured, are too bare long to sustain 
 this invading host. It is the part of wisdom, 
 therefore, for the time to keep to our walls, and 
 meanwhile I will send a messenger to King Arthur 
 and offer him a treaty of peace." 
 
 Then he sent a damsel to the king, and a dwarf 
 with her, with a message, bidding Arthur to quit 
 making war upon his lands, and offering him fair 
 terms of accommodation. The damsel rode to 
 the hostile camp on a palfry, while the dwarf ran 
 by her side. When she came near to King Arthur's 
 pavilion she alighted, and there was met by a 
 gentle knight, Sir Lucan the butler, who said, 
 
 " Fair damsel, come you from Sir Lancelot du 
 Lake?" 
 
 " Yes, sir," she replied, " I am come hither with 
 a message from him to my lord the king." 
 
 " Alas, that it should be needed !" said Sir Lucan. 
 " My lord Arthur would soon be in accord with 
 Lancelot but for Gawaine, who has more influence 
 over him than all his knights besides, and will not 
 suffer him to think of peace and friendship. I 
 pray to God, damsel, that you speed well in your
 
 THE WAE BETWEEN ARTHUB AND LANCELOT. 221 
 
 errand, for all that are about the king, except Sir 
 Gawaine, wish well to Lancelot above all knights 
 living." 
 
 With these words he led the damsel to the 
 king's pavilion. There Arthur, who had been 
 advised of her coming, sat with Gawaine to hear 
 her message. When she had told her errand the 
 king was so moved that tears ran from his eyes, 
 and all the lords were ready to advise him to make 
 peace with Lancelot. But Gawaine, who sat with 
 lowering brow, now broke out in hot speech, 
 
 " My lord, my uncle, what will you do ? Will 
 you turn again after having come so far? All 
 the world will speak villany of you." 
 
 "I do not deem it wise to refuse his fail 
 proffers," said the king. " Yet since I am come 
 so far on this journey, I leave it to you to give the 
 damsel her answer." 
 
 " Then tell Sir Lancelot," said Gawaine to the 
 damsel, " that he wastes his labor now to sue to 
 my uncle. If he wished peace he should have 
 sought it sooner. Now it is too late. Tell him, 
 also, that I, Sir Gawaine, promise him, by the 
 faith I owe to God and to knighthood, never to 
 leave him in peace till he have slain me or I him." 
 
 This word the damsel brought back to Lancelot, 
 where he stood among his knights, and sad of 
 heart he was to hear it. 
 
 " Why do you grieve ?" said the knights. " If 
 war they want, let them have it to their fill. Let 
 us meet them in the field." 
 19*
 
 122 THE HAND OF DESTINT. 
 
 " Never before was I so loath to do battle," said 
 Lancelot. " I would rather flee from King Arthur 
 than fight him. Be ruled by me, noble sirs. When 
 I must defend myself, then I will ; but haste will 
 make fresh sorrow." 
 
 Then the knights held their peace, and that 
 night took their rest. But in the morning, when 
 they looked abroad, they saw a hostile host around 
 the city of Ben wick, pressing it so closely that lad- 
 ders were already set up against the walls. The 
 defenders of the town flocked in haste to the walls 
 and threw down the ladders, and hot strife began. 
 
 Forth now rode Sir Grawaine on a strong steed, 
 Mid with a great spear in his hand, and when he 
 came before the chief gate he called out loudly, 
 
 " Sir Lancelot, where art thou ? Or what proud 
 knight is here that dare break a spear with 
 me?" 
 
 Hearing this challenge, Sir Bors hastily made 
 ready, and rode from the city to the encounter. 
 But Grawaine smote him from his horse, and would 
 have slain him had he not been rescued. Then 
 Lionel, his brother, rode out to revenge him ; but 
 he, too, was sorely wounded, and so borne into the 
 town. 
 
 And thus, day after day, came Gawaine with 
 his challenge, and not a day passed but some 
 knight fell before his spear. And for half a year 
 the siege continued, an d there was much slaughter 
 on both sides. 
 
 At length came a day when Gawaine again
 
 THE WAR BETWEEN ARTHUR AND LANCELOT. 223 
 
 appeared before the gates, armed at all points, 
 and loudly cried, 
 
 " Where art thou now, thou false traitor, Sir 
 Lancelot? Why hidest thou within walls and 
 holes like a coward ? Come forth, traitor, that I 
 may revenge on thy body the death of my three 
 brothers ?" 
 
 Then said Lancelot's knights to their leader, 
 
 " Now, Sir Lancelot, you must fight, or you are 
 shamed forever. It is time for you to stir, for you 
 have slept over long and we suffered over much." 
 
 "Defend myself I must, since he charges me 
 with treason," said Lancelot. "His words cut 
 deeply, and I must fight or be held recreant," and 
 with stern countenance he bade the attendants to 
 saddle his strongest horse and bring his arms to 
 the gate tower. Then from this tower he called 
 to the king, who stood below, 
 
 " My lord Arthur," he said, " sad am I, for youi 
 sake, that thus you press upon me. Had I been 
 revengeful I might have met you in open field, 
 and there made your boldest knights full tame ; 
 but I have forborne you half a year, and given 
 you and Gawaine free way. It is much against 
 my will to fight with any of your blood, but since 
 he accuses me of treason I am driven to it like a 
 beast brought to bay." 
 
 " If you dare do battle," cried Grawaine, " leave 
 your babbling and come out. Nothing will give 
 deeper joy to my heart, for I have waited long 
 for this hour."
 
 224 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 At this Lancelot mounted and rode out, and a 
 host of knights followed him from the city, while 
 from the king's army a throng of knights pressed 
 to the front. But covenant was made that none 
 should come near the two warriors till one was 
 dead or had yielded, and the knights drew back, 
 leaving a broad open space for the combatants. 
 
 Gawaine and Lancelot now rode far apart, and 
 wheeled their horses till they faced each other. 
 Thus they stood in grim silence and energy till 
 the signal for the onset was given, when, like iron 
 statues come to life, they plunged their spurs in 
 the flanks of their chargers and dashed at furious 
 speed across the plain. A minute passed, and they 
 met in the middle with a shock like thunder, but 
 the knights were so strong and their spears so 
 great, that the horses could not endure the buffets, 
 and fell to the earth. 
 
 In a moment both knights had leaped clear of 
 their saddles, drawn their swords, and brought 
 their shields before them. And now began a fierce 
 and terrible affray, for they stood and hewed 
 at each other with might and main, till blood 
 burst in many places through the joints of their 
 armor. 
 
 But Gawaine had a gift that a holy man had 
 given him, that every day in the year, from nine 
 o'clock till noon, his strength should increase till 
 it became threefold. And he took good care to 
 fight all his battles during these hours, whereby 
 he gained great honor.
 
 THE WAR BETWEEN ARTHUR AND LANCELOT. 225 
 
 None know of this gift but King Arthur, and 
 as Lancelot felt the strength of his antagonist 
 constantly increasing, he wondered greatly, and 
 began tc fear that he would be overcome. It 
 seemed to him that he had a fiend, and no earthly 
 man, before him, and for three hours he traced 
 and traversed, and covered himself with his shield, 
 scarcely able to s-tand against the brunt of Ga- 
 waine's mighty blows. At this all men marvelled, 
 for never before had they beheld Lancelot so 
 sorely driven to defence. 
 
 But when the hour of noon had passed, the 
 magic might of Guwaine suddenly left him, and 
 he had now only his own strength. This Lancelot 
 felt, and he drew himself up and pressed on his 
 foe, saying, 
 
 " You have had your day, Gawaine ; now it is 
 my turn. Defend yourself, for I have many a 
 grievous buffet to repay." 
 
 Then he redoubled his strokes, and at length 
 gave Gawaine such a blow on the helmet that 
 he fell to the earth. Lancelot now withdrew a 
 step. 
 
 " Why do you withdraw ?" cried Gawaine, bit- 
 terly. " Turn, thou traitor, and slay me ; for if I 
 recover you shall fight with me again." 
 
 "It is not my way, Sir Gawaine, to strike a 
 fallen knight. When you want to fight again 
 you shall not find me lacking." 
 
 Then he turned and went with his knights into 
 the city, while Gawaine was borne from the field 
 VOL. III. -p
 
 226 THE HAND OP DKSTIHT. 
 
 to one of the king's pavilions, where leeches were 
 brought to attend him. 
 
 " Alas 1" said the king, " that ever this unhappy 
 war began, for Sir Lancelot ever forbeareth me, 
 and my kin also, and that is well seen in his 
 sparing my nephew Gawaine this day." 
 
 Then Arthur fell sick from sorrow for the hurt 
 of his nephew and regret for the war. The siege 
 was kept up, but with little energy, and both 
 sides rested from their toils. 
 
 Three weeks passed before Gawaine regained 
 his strength ; but as soon as he was able to ride 
 he armed again, mounted his horse, and rode to 
 the gate of Benwick, where ho loudly repeated 
 his challenge to Lancelot as a traitor and recreant 
 knight. 
 
 " You got the best of me by mischance at our 
 last battle," he said, " but if you dare come into 
 the field this day I will make amends, and lay you 
 as low as you laid me." 
 
 " Defend me from such a fate," said Lancelot, 
 " for if you should get me into such a strait my 
 days were done. But since you in this unknightly 
 fashion charge me with treason, I warrant you 
 shall have both hands full before you gain your 
 end." 
 
 Then Lancelot armed and rode out, and the 
 battle began as before, with a circle of armed 
 knights surrounding. But in this onset Gawaine's 
 spear broke into a hundred pieces in his hand, 
 while Lancelot struck him with such might that
 
 THI WAR BETWEEN ARTHUR AND LANCELOT. 227 
 
 his horse's feet were raised, and horse and rider 
 toppled to the earth. 
 
 " Alight, traitor knight !" cried Gawaine, draw- 
 ing his sword. " If a horse has failed me, think 
 not that a king and queen's son shall fail thee." 
 
 Then Lancelot sprang to the ground and the 
 battle wont on as before, Gawaine' s strength in- 
 creasing hour by hour. But Lancelot, feeling this, 
 warily kept his strength and his wind, keeping 
 under caver of his shield, and tracing and travers- 
 ing back and forth, to break the strength and 
 courage of his foe. 
 
 As for Gawaine, he put forth all his might and 
 power to destroy Lancelot, and for three hours 
 pressed him so fiercely that he could barely defend 
 himself. But when noon passed, and Lancelot 
 felt Gawaine's strength again decline, he said, 
 
 " I have proved you twice, Sir Gawaine. By 
 this magic trick of your strength increasing you 
 have deceived many a valiant knight. You have 
 done your worst ; now you shall see of what 
 metal I am made." 
 
 Then he attacked him fiercely, and Gawaine 
 defended himself with all his power; but at 
 length there fell such a heavy blow on his helmet, 
 and on the old wound, that he sank to the earth 
 in a swoon. When he came to himself again, he 
 struck feebly at Lancelot as he lay, and cried 
 spitefully, 
 
 " Thou false traitor, I am not yet slain. Come 
 near me, and do this battle to the uttermost."
 
 228 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 *I shall do no more than I have dote," said 
 Lancelot. " When I see you on your feet again 
 I ehall stand ready to fight you to the bitter end. 
 But to qmite a wounded and prostrate man ! God 
 defend me from such a shame." 
 
 And he turned and went towards the city, while 
 Gawaine with spiteful malice called him traitor, 
 and vowed he would never cease to fight with him 
 till one of them was dead. 
 
 A month now passed away, during which Ga- 
 waine lay sick of his wound. As ho slowly re- 
 covered, the old battle-hunger for Lancelot's blood 
 returned to his heart, and he impatiently awaited 
 the day when he could again take the field. But 
 before this day arrived, news came from England 
 that put a sudden end to the war ; tidings of such 
 threatening aspect that King Arthur was forced 
 to return in all haste to his own realm. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE STING OP THE VIPER. 
 
 DISASTROUS, indeed, were the news from Eng- 
 land. King Arthur had made the fatal mistake 
 of placing a villain and dastard in chargo of his 
 realm, for Mordred had taken advantage of his 
 absence to turn traitor, and seek to seize the 
 crown and scoptre of England as his own.
 
 THK STING OP THE VIPIB. 
 
 News moved but slowly from over seas in those 
 days, and Mordred, with treasonable craft, had 
 letters written as though they came from abroad, 
 which said that King Arthur had been slain in 
 battle with Sir Lancelot. 
 
 Having spread this lie far and wide, he called 
 the lords together to London in parliament, and 
 so managed that they voted him king. Then he 
 was crowned at Canterbury, and held a feast for 
 fifteen days, after which he went to Winchester, 
 where Guenever was, and publicly declared that 
 he would wed his uncle's widow. 
 
 "When word of this came to Guenever she grew 
 heavy at heart, for she hated the traitor to her 
 soul's depth. But she was in his power, and was 
 forced to hide her secret hate. She therefore 
 seemed to consent to his will, and desired permis- 
 sion to go to London, where she might buy all 
 things that were necessary for the wedding. She 
 spoke so fairly that he trusted her, and gave her 
 leave to make the journey. 
 
 But no sooner had she reached London than she 
 took possession of the Tower, and with all haste 
 supplied it with provisions and garrisoned it with 
 men, and so held it as a fortress, many knights 
 holding with her against the usurper. 
 
 Mordred soon learned that he had been beguiled 
 by the queen, and, moved to fury, he hastened 
 to London, where he besieged the Tower, assail- 
 ing it vigorously with great engines of war. But 
 Guenever held out stoutly against him, and neither 
 20
 
 230 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 by fair speech nor foul could he induce her to 
 trust herself into his hands again. 
 
 There now came to Mordred the bishop of 
 Canterbury, who said, 
 
 "Sir, what would you do? Would you dis- 
 please God and shame knighthood by wedding 
 the wife of your uncle, who has been to you as a 
 father ? Cease this vile purpose, I command you, 
 or I shall curse you with book, and bell, and 
 candle, and bring upon your head the vengeance 
 of the church." 
 
 " Do your worst, sir priest," said Mordred, an- 
 grily. " I defy you." 
 
 " I shall do what I ought ; be sure of that. You 
 noise about that my lonl Arthur is slain, no word 
 of which I believe. You seek with a lie to make 
 mischief in this land. Beware, lest your vile work 
 recoil upon yourself." 
 
 " Peace, thou false priest," cried Mordred. 
 " Chafe me no more, or I shall order that thy head 
 b stricken off." 
 
 Finding that words were useless, the bishop 
 departed, and, as he had threatened, laid the curse 
 of the church on Mordred. Roused to rage by 
 this, the usurper sought him to slay him, and he 
 fled in all haste to Glastonbury, where he took 
 refuge as a hermit in a chapel. But well he knew 
 that war was at hand, and that the rightful king 
 would soon strike for the throne. 
 
 Despite the anathema of the church, Mordred 
 continued his efforts to get Guenever into his
 
 THE 8TINQ OF THE VIPER. 231 
 
 power ; but she held firmly to the Tower, repelling 
 all his assaults, and declaring openly that she 
 would rather kill herself than marry such a 
 wretch. Soon afterwards he was forced to raise 
 the siege, for word came to him by secret mes- 
 sengers that Arthur had heard of his treason, and 
 was coming home with his whole host to revenge 
 himself on the usurper of his crown. 
 
 When Mordred heard this he made strenuous 
 efforts to gather a large army, and many lords 
 joined him with their people, saying that with 
 Arthur there had been nothing but war and strife, 
 but that with Mordred they hoped for peace and 
 a quiet life. Thus was evil said of the good King 
 Arthur when he was away from the land, and that 
 by many who owed to him their honors and 
 estates. Mordred was thus quickly able to draw 
 with a great host to Dover, where he had heard 
 that Arthur would land, for he hoped to defeat 
 and slay him before he could get firm footing on 
 England's soil. 
 
 Not long had he been there when a great fleet 
 of ships, galleys, and carracks appeared upon the 
 sea, bearing the king's army back to their native 
 realm. On the beach stood Mordred' s host, drawn 
 up to prevent the landing of the king's army. As 
 the boats came to the shore, laden with noble 
 nien-of-arms, a fierce struggle ensued, in which 
 many a knight was slain, while full many a bold 
 baron was laid low on both sides. But so cour- 
 ageous was the king, and so fierce the onsot of his
 
 232 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 knights, that the opposing host could not hinder 
 the landing of his army. And when they had 
 gained a footing on the land, they set on Mordred 
 with such fury that he and all his host were 
 driven back and forced to fly, leaving Arthui 
 master of the field. 
 
 After the battle, the king ordered that the dead 
 should be buried and the wounded cared for. 
 Among the latter Sir Gawaine was found ly'ng 
 in a great boat, where he had been felled with a 
 deadly wound in the bitter strife. On hearing 
 this direful news, Arthur hastened to him and 
 took him in bis arms, with great show of grief 
 and pain. 
 
 " In you and in Lancelot I had my highest joy," 
 moaned the king. " Now I have lost you both, 
 and all my earthly happiness is gone." 
 
 " My death is at hand," said Gawaine, " and I 
 owe it all to my own hate and bitterness, for I ara 
 smitten on the old wound that Lancelot gave me, 
 and feel that I must die. Had he but been with 
 you this unhappy war would never have begun. 
 Of all this I am the cause, and have but received 
 my deserts. Therefore I pray you. dear uncle, let 
 me have paper, pen, and ink, that I may write tc 
 Sir Lancelot with my own hand." 
 
 These were brought him, and Gawaine wrote a 
 moving and tender letter to Lancelot, blaming 
 himself severely for his hardness of heart. 
 
 In this wise it ran, 
 
 " Unto Sir Lancelot, flower of all noble knights,
 
 TH STING OF THE VI*R. 233 
 
 I, Sir Gawaine, son of King Lot of Orkney, and 
 sister's son unto the noble King Arthur, send 
 greeting ; and also these sad tidings, that on the 
 tenth day of May I was smitten on the old wound 
 which you gave me at Bonwick, and thus through 
 this wound have I come to my death. And I 
 would have all the world know that I, Sir Gawaine, 
 Knight of the Eound Table, have met with death 
 not through your ill-will, but from my own seek- 
 ing ; therefore I beseech you to come in all haste 
 to this realm, to which you have heretofore done 
 such honor. I earnestly pray you, Sir Lancelot, 
 for all the love that ever was betwixt us, make 
 no tarrying, but come over the sea in all haste, 
 that thou mayest with thy noble knights rescue 
 that royal king who made thee knight, for he is 
 hard bested with a falsa traitor, my own half- 
 brother, Sir Mordred, who has had himself 
 crowned king, and would have wedded Queen 
 Guenever had she not taken refuge in the Tower 
 of London. We put him to flight on our land- 
 ing, on the tenth day of May, but he still holds 
 against us with a great host. Therefore, I pray 
 you to come, for I am within two hours of my 
 death ; and I beg that you will visit my tomb, 
 and pray some prayer, more or less, for my soul." 
 When Sir Gawaine had finished this letter he 
 wept bitter tears of sorrow and remorse, and 
 Arthur wept beside him till they both swooned, 
 the one from grief, the other from pain. When 
 they recovered, the king had the rites of the 
 20*
 
 234 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 church administered to the dying knight, who 
 then prayed him to send in haste for Lancelot, 
 and to cherish him above all other knights, as 
 his best friend and ally. 
 
 Afterwards, at the hour of noon, Gawaine 
 yielded up his spirit. And the king had him in- 
 terred in Dover castle, where men to this day may 
 see his skull, with the wound thereon that Lancelot 
 gave him in battle. 
 
 Word was now brought to King Arthur that 
 Mordred had pitched a new camp on Barham 
 Down. Thither in all haste he led his army, and 
 there a second great battle was fought, with much 
 loss on both sides. But at the end Arthur's party 
 stood best, and Mordred fled, with all his host, to 
 Canterbury. 
 
 This second victory changed the feeling of the 
 country, and many people who had held aloof 
 joined the king's army, saying that Mordred was 
 a traitor and usurper. When the dead had been 
 buried and the wounded cared for, Arthur marched 
 with his host to the sea-shore, westward towards 
 Salisbury. Here a challenge passed between him 
 and Mordred, in which they agreed to meet on a 
 down beside Salisbury, on the day after Trinity 
 Sunday, and there fight out their quarrel. 
 
 Atordred now made haste to recruit his army, 
 raising many men about London, for the people 
 of that section of the country held largely with 
 him, and particularly those who were friendly to 
 Lancelot. When the time fixed came near, the
 
 THE 8TINQ OF THE VIPER. 235 
 
 two armies drew together and camped on Salis- 
 bury Down. 
 
 And so the days passed till came the night of 
 Trinity Sunday, when the king dreamed a strange 
 dream, for it seemed to him that he sat in a chair 
 that was fastened to a wheel, and was covered 
 wth the richest cloth of gold that could be made. 
 But far beneath him he beheld a hideous black 
 pool, in which were all manner of serpents, and 
 vile wor Jis, foul and horrible. Suddenly the wheel 
 seemed to turn, and he fell among the serpents, 
 which seized upon his limbs. 
 
 Awaking in fright, he loudly cried, " Help 1" 
 and knights and squires came crowding in alarm 
 into his chamber ; but he was so amazed that he 
 knew not where he was nor what he said. 
 
 Then he fell again into a half slumber, in which 
 Gawaine seemed to come to him attended by a 
 number of fair ladies. 
 
 " Fair nephew," asked the king, " who are these 
 ladies?" 
 
 " They are those for whom I did battle during 
 my life," answered Gawaine. " God has sent 
 them and me to warn you of your coming death, 
 for if you fight with Mordred to-morrow, as you 
 have agreed, you will both be slain, and most 
 of your people. Therefore I am here to warn 
 you not to fight to-morrow, but to treat with 
 the traitor, and make him large and fair prom- 
 ises, so as to gain a month's delay. Within that 
 time Lancelot and his knights will come, and
 
 236 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 Mordred the usurper cannot hold against you 
 both." 
 
 This said, Gawaine and the ladies vanished. 
 Then Arthur waked, and sent messengers in haste 
 to bring his lords and bishops to council. When 
 they had come he told them his dream, and they 
 counselled him by all means to be guided by it. 
 Lucan the butler, and his brother Sir Bevidere 
 with two bishops, were therefore sent to treat 
 with Mordred, and make him large promises for 
 a month's truce. 
 
 The commissioners sought Mordred's camp and 
 held a long conference with him. At the end 
 he agreed to meet King Arthur on the plain 
 between the hosts, each to bring but fourteen 
 persons with him, and there consult on the treaty. 
 
 " I am glad that this is accomplished," said the 
 King, when word of the compact was brought 
 him. 
 
 But when he was ready to start for the place 
 of conference, with the fourteen chosen men, he 
 said to his knights, 
 
 " Be wary and watchful, for I trust not Mor- 
 dred. If you see any sword drawn, come fiercely 
 forward, and slay the villain and his guard." 
 
 Mordred gave the same warning to his lords, 
 for he had equal mistrust of Arthur, whom he 
 feared and doubted. 
 
 The two leaders, with their chosen followers, 
 now advanced and met between the hosts. But 
 by a fatal chance, as the king and his opponent
 
 THE 6TINQ OF THJE VIPK. 237 
 
 were in consultation, an adder came from a heath 
 bush and stung a knight on the foot. Feel'ng the 
 wound, he drew his sword in thoughtless haste to 
 kill the venomous serpent. But the instant the 
 hosts on both sides saw that sword flash in the air 
 all was uproar and tumult. On both sides trum- 
 pets and horns were blown, harness rattled and 
 clanked, and the flash of spear-heads and sword- 
 blades gleamed in the sunlight, while like two 
 mighty waves of war the great hosts broke from 
 their stations and rushed together across the 
 plain. 
 
 Then Arthur sprang to his horse, exclaiming, 
 " Alas ! this unhappy day I" and rode to hw party ; 
 and Mordred did likewise. 
 
 No hand nor voice could stay the advancing 
 hosts, and in a moment there began the most 
 doleful battle ever seen in Christian land. For 
 there was rushing and riding, foining and striking, 
 and deadly clamor, and fearful strife. Many a 
 grim word was there spoken, and many a deadly 
 stroke dealt. Many times King Arthur rode 
 through Mordrcd's host, and knightly were the 
 deeds of his hands. And Mordred fought with 
 knightly valor and zeal. 
 
 Thus went on the deadly fray all day long, 
 without pause or stint, till noble knights lay like 
 fallen leaves upon the bloody ground. And when 
 nightfall was at hand they still fought with des- 
 perate valor, though by that time full a hundred 
 thousand men lay dead upon the down.
 
 238 THE HAND OF DI8TINT 
 
 Then the heart of Arthur grew full of warlike 
 fury, to see so many of his people slain. And 
 when the sun was near its setting, he leaned upon 
 his crimsoned sword, and looked about him with 
 eyes that seemed to weep blood. For of all hia 
 mighty host of knights but two remained alive, 
 Sir Lucan the butler, and his brother Sir Bevi 
 dere ; and both of these were sorely wounded. 
 
 " God's mercy I" cried the king, " where are all 
 my noble knights? Alas! that I have lived to 
 see this doleful day I Now, indeed, am I come to 
 my end. But would to God I knew where to find 
 that traitor, Mordred, who has caused all this mis- 
 chief." 
 
 As he spoke, his eyes fell on Mordred, who 
 stood leaning upon his sword amid a great heap 
 of slain, for his host had been slaughtered to a 
 man. 
 
 " Give me my spear," cried Arthur, wrathfully, 
 to Sir Lucan. " Yonder stands the traitor who 
 has wrought this dire woe." 
 
 " Let him be," said Lucan. " He is unhappy 
 enough. Remember, my good lord, your last 
 night's dream, and what the spirit of Sir Gawaine 
 told you. For God's sake make an end of this 
 fray. Blessed be God, we have won the field ; for 
 here are three of us alive, while Mordred stands 
 alone among his dead. If you leave off now, the 
 wicked day of destiny will pass and life remain 
 to you Y:>ur time for revenge will come here- 
 after."
 
 THE 8TINO OF THE VIPER. 239 
 
 " Betide me life, betide me death," cried the king, 
 "this fray must end here. Now that I see him 
 yonder alone, he shall never escape my hands. 
 One or both of us shall die." 
 
 " Then God speed the just cause," said Bevidere. 
 
 With no word more Arthur took his spear 
 in both hands, and ran furiously at Mordred, 
 crying, 
 
 " Traitor, now has thy day of death come !" 
 
 When Mordred heard him, he raised his drip- 
 ping sword and ran to meet the king. Thus they 
 met in mid-field, and King Arthur smote Mordred 
 under the shield, the spear piercing his body 
 more than a fathom. 
 
 Mordred felt tbat he had his death-wound, but 
 with a last impulse of fury in his felon soul he 
 thrust himself, with all his strength, up to the 
 bur of King Arthur's spear. Then wielding his 
 sword with both hands, he struck the king so 
 dread a blow on the side of the head that the 
 trenchant blade cut through the hehnet and deep 
 into the skull. 
 
 With this last and fatal stroke Mordred fell 
 stark dead to the ground. And Arthur sank in 
 a swoon to the earth, where he lay like one 
 dead. 
 
 Thus sadly and direfully ended that dreadful 
 war, with which came to a close the flower of the 
 days of chivalry, and the glorious and never-to- 
 be equalled fellowship of the Round Table, with 
 all the mighty deeds of prowess and marvels of
 
 240 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 adventure that to it belonged. For of those noble 
 knights, except Sir Lancelot and his kindred, only 
 two lived, Sir Lucan the butler, and Sir Bevidere 
 his brother, and of these two Sir Lucan was 
 wounded unto death ; and with them the illus- 
 trious King Arthur, whose chivalrous soul had so 
 long sustained this noble order of knighthood, 
 lay bleeding piteously upon that direful field of 
 blood. 
 
 Sir Lucan and Bevidere, with bitter tears of 
 sorrow, lifted their helpless king between them, 
 and with great labor led him from that place of 
 slaughter till they reached a small chapel near 
 the sea-shore. Here, as the night drew on, the 
 sound of many voices came to them, as if the 
 dead had risen and were astir on the blood-stained 
 field. 
 
 "What noise is this, Sir Lucan?" said the 
 king. " Go, gentle friend, and tell me what it 
 means." 
 
 Lucan went, and by the moonlight saw a throng 
 of pillagers, who robbed the dead bodies of nioney 
 and jewels, killing for their riches those knights 
 who were not quite dead. When he brought this 
 news back to Arthur, the king's sad heart carae 
 near to breaking. 
 
 " Alas ! Lancelot," he said, " how have I missed 
 you this day. Alas ! that I ever turned against 
 you, for had you been here this fatal end could 
 never have been, nor those noble warriors left to 
 be the prey of the wolves and jackals of the bat-
 
 THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. 241 
 
 tie-field. Sorely have I erred and sadly have I 
 been repaid for my error. But now, alas, it is too 
 late for regret or amendment, for the fellowship 
 of the Bound Table is at an end, and Arthur the 
 king shall reign no more." 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. 
 
 WHEN morning dawned, after that day of fate, 
 Lucan and Bevidere took up the king between 
 them, and sought to bear him to the sea-shore, as 
 he bade them do. But in the lifting the king 
 swooned, and Lucan fell prostrate, the blood 
 gushing anew from his wound. 
 
 Arthur lay long like one dead, and when he 
 came to himself again he saw Lucan lifeless at 
 his feet, with foam upon his lips, and the ground 
 around him deeply stained with his blood. 
 
 " Alas ! this is a heavy sight to see," he said. 
 " He sought to help me when he stood most in 
 need of help. He would not complain though his 
 heart broke, and has given his life for mine. May 
 Jesus have mercy on his soul." 
 
 Bevidere stood beside him, weeping bitterly for 
 the death of his brother. 
 
 " Weep and mourn no more," said the king. " It 
 will not now avail Could I live, the death of Sir 
 Lucan would grieve me evermore. But my time 
 VOL. III. L { 21
 
 242 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 goeth fast, and there is that to do for which but 
 few moments remain." 
 
 Then he closed his eyes for a time, like one who 
 sees visions ; and when he looked again there war 
 that in his face which Bevidere could not fathom 
 and his eyes were deep with meaning unrevealed 
 
 ' Now, my lord Bevidere," said the king, " the 
 end is at hand. Take thou my good sword Ex- 
 calibur, and go with it to yonder water-side. 
 When thou comest there, I charge thee throw it 
 as far as thou canst into the water ; then come 
 again and tell me what thing thou seest." 
 
 "Trust me, my lord and king, your command 
 shall be obeyed," said Bevidere. 
 
 So he took the sword and departed to the 
 water-side. But as his eyes fell upon the noble 
 weapon, whose pommel and haft were all of pre- 
 cious stones, a feeling of greed came upon him, 
 and he said to himself, 
 
 " If I throw this rich sword into the water, nc 
 good can come of it, but only harm and loss. Had 
 I not better keep it for myself?" 
 
 Moved by this thought, he hid Excalibur undei 
 a tree, and returned to the king, whom he told 
 that he had thrown the sword into the water. 
 
 " What saw you there ?" asked the king. 
 
 " Sir, I saw nothing but the rippling waves." 
 
 M Then you speak untruly," said the king. 
 " You have not thrown the sword as I bade you. 
 Go again, and obey my command, as you are to me 
 dear and true. Spare not, but throw it in afar."
 
 THE PASSING OF ASTHUR. 243 
 
 Bevidere thereupon wont again, and took the 
 sword in his hand. But the rich jewels so glit- 
 tered in the sun that his greed came back more 
 strongly than before, and he deemed it a sin to 
 throw into the sea that noble blade. So he hid 
 the sword again, and returned to the king with 
 his former tale. 
 
 " What sawest thou there ?" asked the king. 
 
 " Sir, I saw nothing but the waves that broke on 
 the beach, and heard only the roar of the surf." 
 
 " Ah, traitor ! false and untrue art thou 1" cried 
 the king. " Thou hast betrayed me twice. Who 
 would have thought that thou, whom I held dear, 
 and who art narnod a noble knight, would betray 
 his king for the jewels of a sword ? Go again, for 
 thy long delay puts me in great jeopardy of my 
 life. If now you do not as I have bidden, beware 
 of me hereafter, for dead or alive I will have 
 revenge upon you. Would you, Sir Bevidere, for 
 a shining blade, bring death and ruin to your 
 king?" 
 
 Then Bevidere, heart-full of shame, hastened 
 away, and took the sword, turning his eyes man- 
 fully away from its jewelled hilt. Binding the 
 girdle around it, with all the might of his arm 
 he hurled the blade far out over the waves. 
 
 Then came a marvel. For as he followed the 
 sword with his eyes, he saw a hand and arm rise 
 above the waves to meet the blade. The hand 
 caught it by the hilt, and brandished it thrioo in 
 the air, and then vanished with it into the water
 
 244 THE HAND OP DEgTINY. 
 
 Bevidere, much wondering, hurried back to the 
 king, and told him what he had seen. 
 
 " Now, Sir Bevidere, you have done as I bade 
 you," said Arthur. "But much precious time 
 have you lost. Help me hence, in God's name, for 
 I fear that I have tarried over-long." 
 
 Then Bevidere took the king on his back and 
 bore him to the water-side, and lo I there he saw 
 another strange thing. 
 
 For close by the shore lay a little barge, which 
 he had not seen before, and in it sat many fair 
 ladies, among whom were three queens, who wore 
 black hoods, and wept with bitter sorrow when 
 they saw King Arthur. 
 
 "Now help me into the barge," said the 
 king. 
 
 This Sir Bevidere did as gently as he could. 
 And the three queens received the dying monarch 
 with deep mourning, and had him laid between 
 them, with his head on the lap of her who sat in 
 the centre. 
 
 " Alas ! dear brother, why have you tarried so 
 long from me ?" said this queen. " Much harm I 
 fear from this sad wound." 
 
 And so they rowed from the land, while Bevi- 
 dere stood on the shore sadly watching the barge 
 go from him. 
 
 " Ah, my lord Arthur," he cried, " what shall 
 become of me, now that you go from me and leave 
 me here alone among my enemies ?" 
 
 " Comfort thyself," said the king, " and do what
 
 THE PASSING OF ARTHUR. 246 
 
 thon mayest, for in me can no man henceforth 
 put his trust. I go into the vale of Avilion, to a 
 happy summer island far over the sea, where I 
 shall be healed of my grievous wound. But when 
 I shall come again no voice may tell. Mayhap I 
 shall never come, but dwell forever in that sunny 
 vale. If you never hear more of me, pray for 
 my soul." 
 
 Then again the queens and the ladies wept and 
 moaned, and the barge moved swiftly over the 
 long waves and afar to sea, while Bevidere stood 
 and watched it till it became a black speck on the 
 waters. Then it vanished and was seen no more, 
 and the lonely watcher cast himself upon the 
 beach, weeping like one who has lost all life's 
 happiness. 
 
 But when night came near he turned and went 
 wearily away, heavy with the weight of death 
 that lay upon his soul, for he alone remained of 
 yesterday's mighty hosts. All that night he 
 journeyed through a great forest, and in the 
 morning he found himself between two hoary 
 cliffs, with a chapel and a hermitage in the glen 
 that lay between. 
 
 In this hermitage he found the holy man who 
 had been archbishop of Canterbury, and who had 
 come hither to escape Mordred's rage. "With him 
 Bevidere stayed till he was cured of his wounds, 
 ar.d afterwards he put on poor clothes, and served 
 the hermit full lowly in fasting and prayers. 
 
 But as for the three queens who went with 
 21*
 
 246 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 Arthur to the island of Avilion, the chronicles say 
 that they were Morgan le Fay his sister, the 
 queen of Northgalis, and the queen of the Waste 
 Lands. And with them was Nimue, the lady of 
 the lake. All were skilled in magic ; but whither 
 they bore King Arthur, or where lies the magical 
 isle of Aviliou, or if he shall come again, all this 
 no man can say. These are of the secrets that 
 time alone can tell, and we only know that his 
 coming is not yet. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE DEATH OF LANCELOT AND GUENEVEB. 
 
 WHEN word was brought to Lancelot du Lake 
 that Mordred had usurped the throne of England, 
 had besieged Guenever in the Tower of London, 
 and had sought to prevent Arthur from landing 
 at Dover, his soul was moved to wrath and sor- 
 row. And still more was he moved by the letter 
 of Sir Gawaine, with its pitiful self-reproach and 
 earnest wistfulness. 
 
 " Is it a time for mourning ?" said Sir Bore to 
 Lancelot. " My counsel is that you cross at once 
 to England, visit Gawaine's tomb, as he requests, 
 and then revenge ray lord Arthur and my lady 
 Guenever on this base traitor, Mordred." 
 
 " It is well advised," said Lancelot. " To Eng- 
 land we must go in all haste."
 
 THE DEATH OF LANCELOT AND QUENKVKE. 247 
 
 Then ships and galloys wore made ready with 
 the greatest despatch, for Lancelot and his host 
 to pass over to England. And in good time he 
 landed at Dover, having with him seven kings 
 and a mighty host of men. 
 
 But when he asked the people of Dover the 
 news of the country, his heart was filled with 
 dismay to hear of the great battle on Salisbury 
 Downs, where a hundred thousand men had died 
 in a day, and of the death of Arthur the king. 
 
 " Alas !" said Lancelot, " this is the heaviest 
 tidings that ever mortal ears heard. Would that 
 I had been advised in good time. Nothing now 
 remains to do. I have come too late. Pair sirs, 
 I pray you to show me the tomb of Sir Gawaine." 
 
 Then they brought him into the castle of 
 Dover, and showed him the tomb. Lancelot fell 
 on his knees before it, and wept, and prayed 
 heartily for the soul of him that lay within. And 
 that night he made a funeral feast, to which all 
 who came had flesh, fish, wine, and ale, and every 
 man and woman was given twelve pence. With 
 his own hand he dealt them money in a mourning 
 gown ; and ever he wept, and prayed for the soul 
 of Sir Gawaine. 
 
 In the morning, all the priests and clerks of the 
 country round gathered, at his request, and sang 
 a requiem mass before the tomb. And Lancelot 
 offered a hundred pounds, and each of the seven 
 kings forty pounds, and a thousand knights offered 
 one pound each, this going on from morning tiJl
 
 248 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 night. And Lancelot lay two nights on the tomb 
 in prayer and weeping. 
 
 On the third day he called about him the kings, 
 dukes, earls, barons, and knights of his train, and 
 said to them, 
 
 " My fair lords, I thank you all for coming into 
 this country with me ; but we have come too late, 
 and that I shall mourn while I live. But since it 
 is so, I shall myself ride and seek my lady Queen 
 Gruenever, for men say that she has fled from 
 London, and become a nun, and that she lives 
 in deep penance, and in fasting, prayers, and alms- 
 giving, and is sick almost unto death. There- 
 fore, I pray you, await me here, and if I come 
 not again within fifteen days, then take ship and 
 return to your own country." 
 
 "Is it wise for you to ride in this realm?" 
 said Sir Bors. " Few friends will you find here 
 now." 
 
 " Be that as it may," said Lancelot, " I shall go 
 on my journey. Keep you still here, for no man 
 nor child shall go with me." 
 
 No boot was it to strive with him, and he de- 
 parted and rode westerly, on a seven or eight 
 days' journey, asking of all people as he went. 
 At last he came to the nunnery where was Queen 
 Guenever, who saw him as she walked in the 
 cloister, and swooned away, so that her ladies had 
 work enough to keep her from falling. When she 
 oould speak, she said, 
 
 " Te marvel why I am so held. Truly, it is for
 
 THE DEATH 07 LANCELOT AND QUENEVEB, 249 
 
 the sight of yonder knight. Bid him come hither, 
 I pray you." 
 
 And when Sir Lancelot bad come, she said to 
 him with sweet and sad visage, 
 
 " Sir Lancelot, through our love has all this 
 happened, and through it my noble lord has come 
 to his death. As for me, I am in a way to get my 
 soul's health. Therefore, I pray you heartily, for 
 all the love that ever was between us, that you see 
 me no more in the visage j but turn to thy king- 
 dom again, and keep well thy realm from war and 
 wrack. So well have I loved you that my heart 
 will not serve me to see you, for through you and 
 me is the flower of kings and knights destroyed. 
 Therefore, Sir Lancelot, go to thy realm, and take 
 there a wife, and live with her in joy and bliss; 
 and I beseech you heartily to pray to Grod for me, 
 that I may amend my mis-living." 
 
 " Nay, madam, I shall never take a wife," said 
 Lancelot. " Never shall I be false to you ; but 
 the same lot you have chosen that shall I choose." 
 
 " If you will do so, I pray tbat you may," said 
 the queen. " Yet I cannot believe but that you 
 will turn to the world again." 
 
 " Madam," he earnestly replied, " in the quest of 
 the Sangreal I would have forsaken the world but 
 for the service of your lord. If I had done so 
 then with all my heart, I had passed all the 
 knights on the quest except Galahad, my son. 
 And had I now found you disposed to earthly 
 joys, I would have begged you to come into my
 
 260 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 realm. But since 1 find you turned to heavenly 
 hopes, I, too, shall take to penance, and pray while 
 my life lasts, if I can find any hermit, either gray 
 or white, who will receive me. Wherefore, madam, 
 I pray you kiss me, and never more shall my lips 
 touch woman's." 
 
 " Nay," said the queen, " that shall I never do. 
 But take you my blessing, and leave me." 
 
 Then they parted. But hard of heart would 
 he have been who had not wept to see their grief; 
 for there was lamentation as deep as though they 
 had been wounded with spears. The ladies bore 
 the queen to her chamber, and Lancelot took his 
 horse and rode all that day and all that night in 
 a forest, weeping. 
 
 At last he became aware of a hermitage and a 
 chapel that stood between two cliffs, and then he 
 heard a little bell ring to mass, so he rode thither 
 and alighted, and heard mass. 
 
 He that sang mass was the archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, and with him was Sir Bevidere. After 
 the mass they conversed together, and when 
 Bevidere had told all his lamentable tale, Lance- 
 lot's heart almost broke with sorrow. He flung 
 his arms abroad, crying, 
 
 " Alas ! who may trust this world ?" 
 
 Then he kneeled, and prayed the bishop to 
 shrive and absolve him, beseeching that he 
 might accept him as his brother in the faith. 
 To this the bishop gladly consented, and he 
 put a religious habit on Lancelot, who served
 
 THE DEATH OF LANCELOT AND OUENEVER. 261 
 
 God there night and day with prayers and fast- 
 ings. 
 
 Meanwhile the army remained at Dover. But 
 Lionel with fifteen lords rode to London to seek 
 Lancelot. There he was assailed by Mordred's 
 friends, and slain with many of his lords. Then 
 Sir Bors bade the kings, with their followers, to 
 return to France. But he, with others of Lan- 
 celot's kindred, set out to ride over all England 
 in search of their lost leader. 
 
 At length Bors came by chance to the chapel 
 where Lancelot was. As he rode by be heard the 
 sound of a little bell that rang to mass, and there- 
 upon alighted and entered the chapel. But when 
 he saw Lancelot and Bevidere in hermits' clothing 
 his surprise was great, and he prayed for the 
 privilege to put on the same suit. Afterwards 
 other knights joined them, so that there were 
 seven in all. 
 
 There they remained in penance for six years, 
 and afterwards Sir Lancelot took the habit of 
 priest, and for a twelvemonth he sang mass. But 
 at length came a night when he had a vision that 
 bade him to seek Almesbury, where he would find 
 Guenever dead. Thrice that night was the vision 
 repeated, and Lancelot rose before day and told 
 the hermit of what he had dreamed. 
 
 " It is from God," said the hermit. " See that 
 you make ready, and disobey not the warning." 
 
 So, in the early morn, Lancelot and his fellows 
 pet out on foot from Glastonbury to Almesbury,
 
 262 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 which is little more than thirty miles. But they 
 were two days on the road, for they were weak 
 and feeble with long penance. And when they 
 reached the nunnery they found that Guenever 
 had died but half an hour before. 
 
 The ladies told Lancelot that the queen had 
 said, 
 
 " Hither cometh Lancelot as fast as ne may to 
 fetch my corpse. But I beseech Almighty God 
 that I may never behold him again with my 
 mortal eyes." 
 
 This, said the ladies, was her prayer for two 
 days, till she died. When Lancelot looked upon 
 her dead face he wept not greatly, but sighed. 
 And he said all the service for the dead himself 
 and in the morning he sang mass. 
 
 Then was the corpse placed in a horse-bier, and 
 so taken to Glastonbury with a hundred torches 
 ever burning about it, and Lancelot and his fel- 
 lows on foot beside it, singing and reading many 
 a holy orison, and burning frankincense about the 
 corpse. 
 
 When the chapel had been reached, and service 
 said by the hermit archbishop, the queen's corpse 
 was wrapped in cered cloth of Raines, thirty-fold, 
 and afterwards was put in a web of lead, and then 
 in a coffin of marble. 
 
 But when the corpse of her whom he had so 
 long loved was put in the earth, Lancelot swooned 
 with grief, and lay long like one dead, till the 
 hermit came and aroused him, and said,
 
 TDM DMATH OF LANCELOT AND OUKNKVKR. 253 
 
 " You are to blame for such unmeasured grief. 
 Y"ou displease God thereby." 
 
 " I trust not," Lancelot replied, " for my sorrow 
 is too deep ever to cease. When I remember how 
 greatly I am to blame for the death of this noble 
 King Arthur and Queen Guenever, my heart sinks 
 within me, and I feel that I shall never know a 
 moment's joy again." 
 
 Thereafter he sickened and pined away, for the 
 bishop nor any of his fellows could make him eat 
 nor drink but very little, but day and night he 
 prayed, and wasted away, and ever lay grovelling 
 on the tomb of the queen. 
 
 So, within six weeks afterwards, Lancelot fell 
 sick and lay in his bed. Then he sent for the 
 bishop and all his fellows, and said with sad 
 voice : " Sir Bishop, I pray you give me all the 
 rites that belong to a Christian man, for my end 
 is at hand." 
 
 " This is but heaviness of your blood," replied 
 the bishop. " You shall be well amended, I hope, 
 through God's grace, by to-morrow morning." 
 
 " In heaven, mayhap, but not on earth," said 
 Lancelot. " So give me the rites of the church, 
 and after my death I beg you to take my body 
 to Joyous Gard, for thera I have vowed that I 
 would be buried." 
 
 When they had heard this, and saw that he 
 he was indeed near his end, there was such weep- 
 ing and wringing of hands among his fellows 
 that they could hardly help the bishop in the 
 22.
 
 254 THE HAND OF DESTINY. 
 
 holy offices of the church. But that night, after 
 the midnight hour, as the bishop lay asleep, he 
 fell into such a hearty laugh of joy that they all 
 came to him in haste, and asked him what ailed 
 him. 
 
 " Why did you wake me ?" he cried. " I was 
 never in my life so happy and merry." 
 
 " Wherefore ?" asked Sir Bors. 
 
 " Truly, here was Sir Lancelot with me, with 
 more angels than I ever saw men together ; and 
 I saw the angels bear him to heaven, and the 
 gates of heaven opened to him." 
 
 "This is but the vexation of a dream," said 
 Sir Bors. " Lancelot may yet mend." 
 
 " Go to his bed," said the hermit, " and you 
 shall find if my dream has meaning." 
 
 This they hastened to do, and there lay Lan- 
 celot dead, but with a smile on his lips, and the 
 sweetest savor about him they ever had known. 
 
 Great was the grief that followed, for never 
 earthly man was mourned as was Lancelot. In 
 the morning, after the bishop had made a requiem 
 mass, he and his fellows put the corpse of the 
 noble knight into the same horse-bier that had 
 borne Guenever, and the queen's corpse with it, 
 and they were taken together to Joyous Gard, 
 with such state and ceremony as befitted those 
 of royal blood. 
 
 And there all the services of the church were 
 sung and read, while the face of Lancelot lay 
 open for people to see; for such was then the
 
 TEX DKATH OF LANCELOT AND GUKNEVEE. 255 
 
 custom of the land. When the services were over 
 they were buried in one tomb, for so great had 
 been their love during life that all men said they 
 should not be divided in death. 
 
 During these events, Sir Constantino, the noble 
 son of Sir Cador of Cornwall, had been chosen 
 king of England in Arthur's place, and a worthy 
 monarch he proved, ruling the realm worsbipfully 
 and long. 
 
 After Lancelot's death the new king sent for 
 the bishop of Canterbury, and restored him to hifl 
 archbishopric j but Sir Bevidere remained a her- 
 mit at Glastonbury to his life's end. 
 
 King Constantino also desired the kindred of 
 Lancelot to remain in his realm; but this they 
 would not do, but returned to their own country. 
 Four of them, Sir Bors, Sir Hector, Sir Blamor, 
 and Sir Bleoberis, went to the Holy Land, where 
 they fought long and stoutly against the Saracens. 
 And there they died upon a Good Friday, for 
 God's sake. 
 
 And so ends the book of the life and death of 
 Bang Arthur and his noble Knights of the Bound 
 Table, who were au hundred and fifty when they 
 were all together. Let us pray that God was mer- 
 ciful to them all. 
 
 THE END.
 
 UCSB LIBRARY 
 
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