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diff --git a/46176.txt b/46176.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9280617..0000000 --- a/46176.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7247 +0,0 @@ - THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE - - - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: The Knights of the Round Table - Stories of King Arthur and the Holy Grail -Author: William Henry Frost -Release Date: July 02, 2014 [EBook #46176] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE -*** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - - -[Illustration: "PERCIVALE SAW A SHIP COMING TOWARD THE LAND."] - - - - - THE KNIGHTS OF - THE ROUND TABLE - - _STORIES OF KING ARTHUR - AND THE HOLY GRAIL_ - - - BY - - WILLIAM HENRY FROST - - - - ILLUSTRATED BY SYDNEY RICHMOND BURLEIGH - - - - NEW YORK - CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS - 1897 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY - CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS - - - - TROW DIRECTORY - PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY - NEW YORK - - - - - BY THE SAME AUTHOR - - Each 1 vol., 12mo, Illustrated by SIDNEY - R. BURLEIGH. Price, $1.50 - - THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE - THE COURT OF KING ARTHUR - THE WAGNER STORY BOOK - - To - MY FATHER - John Dudley Frost - - - - - *CONTENTS* - - - *CHAPTER I* - -On Glastonbury Tor - - - *CHAPTER II* - -How We Discovered Camelot - - - *CHAPTER III* - -The Boy from the Forest - - - *CHAPTER IV* - -The Queen's Robing-Room - - - *CHAPTER V* - -"Camelot, that is in English Winchester" - - - *CHAPTER VI* - -The Boat on the River - - - *CHAPTER VII* - -The Giants' Dance - - - *CHAPTER VIII* - -On the Edge of Lyonnesse - - - *CHAPTER IX* - -The Siege Perilous - - - *CHAPTER X* - -Gawain - - - *CHAPTER XI* - -Lancelot - - - *CHAPTER XII* - -Bors - - - *CHAPTER XIII* - -Percivale - - - *CHAPTER XIV* - -Galahad - - - *CHAPTER XV* - -The City of Sarras - - - *CHAPTER XVI* - -Stories of Strange Stones - - - *CHAPTER XVII* - -"And on the Mere the Wailing Died Away" - - - *CHAPTER XVIII* - -The Abbess and the Monk - - - *CHAPTER XIX* - -"Rexque Futurus" - - - - - *LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS* - - -"Percivale saw a ship coming toward the land." . . . _Frontispiece_ - -Glastonbury Tor - -"As he played a storm began to rise" - -The abbot's kitchen - -"The city and the fortress of the rabbits" - -"Kay's horse galloped back alone" (missing from book) - -The Tower of London - -The Round Table at Winchester - -Winchester Cathedral - -Stonehenge - -St. Michael's Mount - -The Land's End - -"The bright spot on the road grew smaller and smaller" (missing from -book) - -"A pasture where a hundred and fifty bulls were feeding" - -"Through woods where there were scarcely any paths to follow" - -"He saw the water before him and a ship" - -"'Knight,' she said, 'what are you doing here?'" - -"'It was King Evelake's shield'" - -"'I cut off my hair and wove it into a girdle'" - -The Dove with the golden censer - -The Cheesewring - -St. Joseph's Chapel, Glastonbury Abbey - -"The two great waves broke upon each other" - -The Choir, Glastonbury Abbey - -"On toward the gold and the purple in the west" - - - - - *SOME OLDER STORY-TELLERS* - - -There is really no need, perhaps, for me to tell you that all these -stories have been told before. But, though you know it already, I like -to say it again, because I can never say often enough how grateful I am -to those who told the world first of Arthur, of Guinevere, of Lancelot, -and of Gawain; of Galahad, of Percivale, and of Percivale's sister; of -the Siege Perilous and of the Holy Grail. If you do not now count Sir -Thomas Malory a dear friend, as I do, learn to do it, and you will be -the better for it. I do not know who made those wonderful tales the -Mabinogion, but I know who gave them to us in our own language--Lady -Charlotte Guest. I wish that I knew whom to thank for "The Romance of -Merlin" and for the story of "Gawain and the Green Knight." And there -were many other noble story-tellers of the old time who passed away and -left us no knowledge of themselves and not even their names to call them -by. But they left us their stories, and if anything from us can reach -them where they are, surely gratitude can, and that they must have from -every one of us who loves a story. And the great poet of our own days, -Lord Tennyson, must have it too, for teaching us how to read their -stories. - -Some time you may read these tales and others as they wrote them, and -you cannot read them without thinking what a great and marvellous thing -it was that they, who lived no longer than other men, could give delight -to the people of so many centuries. But some of these stories are not -easy to find, and some are not easy to read, when you have found them. I -have tried to tell a few of them again in my own way, hoping that thus -some might have the stories and know them, for whom the older books -might be hard to get or hard to understand. - - - - -[Illustration: Glastonbury Tor] - - - *THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE* - - - - *CHAPTER I* - - *ON GLASTONBURY TOR* - - -It was when we were making a journey in the South of England one summer -that we found ourselves in the midst of the old tales of King Arthur and -of the Holy Grail. "We" means Helen, Helen's mother, and me. We -wandered about the country, here and there and wherever our fancy led -us, and everywhere the stories of King Arthur fell in our way. In this -place he was born, in that place he was crowned; here he fought a -battle, there he held a tournament. Everything could remind us, when we -knew how to be reminded, of the stories of the King and the Queen and -the knights of the Round Table. - -It was I who told the stories and it was Helen who listened to them. -Sometimes Helen's mother listened to them too, and sometimes she had -other things to do that she cared about more. - -One day we had been riding for many hours on the crooked railways of the -Southwest, where you change cars so often that after a little while you -cannot remember at all how many trains you have taken. And late in the -afternoon, or perhaps early in the evening, we saw from the window of -the carriage a big hill, lifting itself high up against the sky, with a -lonely tower on the top of it. And that was Glastonbury Tor. - -There was no time to try to see anything of Glastonbury that night after -dinner, and we were too tired. But that big hill looked so inviting -that we decided that we would see it the next day and climb up to the -top of it, before we did anything else. I was a little disappointed -with Glastonbury, as we walked through the streets on our way to the -Tor. The place looked much too prosperous to please me, and not at all -too neat. - -I cheered up a little when we came to the Abbot's Kitchen. It stands in -the middle of a big field, with a fence around it, and we had to borrow -a key from a woman who kept it to lend so that we could go in and see -it. We even spared a little time from the Tor to see it in. The Abbot's -Kitchen belonged to the old abbey of Glastonbury. It is a small, square -building, with a fireplace in each corner. It is still in such good -repair that it is hardly fair to call it a ruin, but it is a part of old -Glastonbury, and we carried back the key feeling glad that we had -borrowed it. - -It was a good, stiff climb up the side of the Tor, and we stopped more -than once to look back at the town behind us and below us. It looked -prettier from here. Down there in the streets there was the noise of a -busy modern town. The ways were muddy and there were rather frowsy -women and children about some of the doors. But up here we were out of -sight and hearing of all that. From here the town looked quiet and -peaceful and beautiful--just its roofs and chimneys and towers showing -through the wide, green masses of the trees, and the sound of a church -chime, that rang every quarter of an hour, came to us softened and -mellow. - -"Down there," I said, "we saw nothing but Glastonbury--to-day's -Glastonbury--but here we can see Avalon. That is Avalon down there -below us, the Island of Apples, the happy country, the place where there -was no sorrow, the place where fairies lived, the place where Joseph -brought the Holy Grail and where he built his church. A wonderful old -place it was, and it was a wonderful abbey that grew up where Joseph -first made his little chapel. Our old friend St. Dunstan, who pinched -the devil's nose, was the abbot there once. So was St. Patrick. When -he came to Glastonbury he climbed up to the top of this hill where we -are now and found, where this old tower is, the ruins of a church of St. -Michael. They used to have a way of building churches to St. Michael on -the tops of high hills. St. Patrick rebuilt this one and afterwards it -was thrown down by an earthquake. I don't know whether St. Patrick -built this tower that is here now or not. - -"Did I say that fairies used to live here? Another abbot of Glastonbury -found that out. He was St. Collen, and he must have lived when there was -no church of St. Michael here on the top of the Tor. St. Collen was one -of those men who think that they cannot serve God and live in comfort at -the same time. When he had been abbot of Glastonbury for a time he -thought that he was leading too easy a life, so he gave up his post and -went about preaching. But even that did not please him, so he came back -here and made a cell in the rock on the side of Glastonbury Tor, and -lived in it as a hermit. - -"One day he heard two men outside his cell talking about Gwyn, the son -of Nudd. And one of them said: 'Gwyn, the son of Nudd, is the King of -the Fairies.' - -"Then Collen put his head out of the door of his cell and said to the -two men: 'Do not talk of such wicked things. There are no fairies, or -if there are they are devils. And there is no Gwyn, the son of Nudd. -Hold your tongues about him.' - -"'Hold your own tongue about him,' one of the men answered, 'or you will -hear from him in some unpleasant way.' - -"The men went away, and by and by Collen heard a knock at his door, and -a voice asked if he were in his cell. 'I am here,' he answered; 'who is -it that asks?' - -"'I am a messenger from Gwyn, the son of Nudd, the King of the Fairies,' -the voice said, 'and he has sent me to command you to come and speak -with him on the top of the hill at noon.' - -"Collen did not think that he ought to mind what the King of the Fairies -said to him, if there really were any King of the Fairies, so he stayed -in his cell all day. The next day the messenger came again and said -just what he had said before, and again St. Collen stayed in his cell -all day. But the third day the messenger came again and said to Collen -that he must come and speak with Gwyn, the son of Nudd, the King of the -Fairies, on the top of the hill, at noon, or it would be the worse for -him. - -"Then Collen took a flask and filled it with holy water and fastened it -at his waist, and at noon he went up the hill. For a long time Collen -had been abbot of Glastonbury and for a long time he had been a hermit -and lived in his cell on the side of this very hill, but never before -had he seen the great castle that stood that day on the top of -Glastonbury Tor. It did not look heavy, as if it were built for war, -but it was wonderfully high and graceful and beautiful. It had tall -towers, with banners of every color hung from the tops of them and lower -down, and there were battlements where ladies and squires in rich -dresses stood and looked down at other ladies and squires below. And -those below were dancing and jousting and playing games, and all around -there were soldiers, handsomely dressed too, guarding the place. - -"When Collen came near, a dozen of the people met him and said to him: -'You must come with us to our King, Gwyn, the son of Nudd--he is waiting -for you.' - -"And they led him into the castle and into the great hall. In the -middle of the hall was a table, spread with more delicious things to eat -than poor St. Collen, who thought that it was wicked to eat good things, -had ever dreamed of. And at the head of the table, on a gold chair, sat -a man who wore a crown. 'Collen,' he said, 'I am the King of the -Fairies, Gwyn, the son of Nudd. Do you believe in me now? Sit down and -eat with me, and let us talk together. You are a learned man, but you -did not believe in me. Perhaps I can tell you of other things that so -wise a man as you ought to know.' - -"But St. Collen only took the flask of holy water from his side and -threw some of it upon Gwyn, the son of Nudd, and sprinkled some of it -around, and in an instant there was no king there and there was no -table. The hall was gone, and the castle. The dances and the games -were done, and the squires and the ladies and the soldiers all had -vanished. The whole of the fairy palace was gone, and Collen was left -standing alone on the top of Glastonbury Tor. - -"But Glastonbury has forgotten St. Collen, I suppose. The old town is -prouder now of Joseph of Arimathaea than of anybody else--prouder than -it is of King Arthur, I think, though King Arthur--but I won't tell you -about that now. You know how Joseph of Arimathaea buried the Christ in -his tomb after He was taken down from the cross. After He had risen -again the Jews put Joseph in prison, because they said that he had -stolen the body. But Joseph had with him the Holy Grail, the cup in -which he had caught the blood of the Saviour, when He was on the cross. -It was the same cup, too, from which the Saviour had drunk at the Last -Supper. It was a wonderful thing, that cup, and there are whole volumes -of stories about it. The blood that Joseph had caught in it always -stayed in it afterwards, and the cup and the blood seemed to have a -strange sort of life and knowledge and the power of choosing. One of -the wonderful things about the Holy Grail was that it could always give -food to any one whom it chose, and those who were fed by the Holy Grail -wanted no other food than what it gave them. And so Joseph wanted -nothing while he was in prison. - -"At last the Emperor had Joseph let out of his prison. And some one -asked him how long it had been since he was put there, and he answered: -'I have been here in this prison for nearly three days.' - -"Then they all stared at one another and whispered and looked at Joseph, -and then they whispered together again. 'Why do you look at one another -and at me so,' said Joseph, 'is it not three days, almost, since they -put me here?' - -"'It is wonderful,' said one of them; 'Joseph, you have been in this -prison for forty-two years.' - -"'Can it be?' said Joseph; 'it seems to me like only three days, and -barely that, and I have never been so happy in my life as I have been -for these three days--or these--can it be--forty-two years?' - -"And this was because he had had the Holy Grail in the prison with him. -Afterwards he came to England. He brought the Holy Grail here to -Avalon, and the King of that time gave him some ground to build his -church on. They say it was really the island of Avalon then, for it was -all surrounded by marsh and water, and there was an opening, a waterway, -out to the Bristol Channel. And since it ceased to be an island the sea -has twice at least broken through and made it one again for a little -while. But the last time was almost two hundred years ago. - -"Well, when Joseph and those who were with him first came here, they -rested on the hillside and Joseph stuck the staff that he carried into -the ground. It was not this hill where we are, but another, Wearyall -Hill. And Joseph's staff, where he had set it in the ground, began to -bud, and then leaves and branches grew on it. It struck roots into the -ground and became a tree. It was a thorn-tree, the Holy Thorn they -called it, and always after that it blossomed twice a year, once in the -time of other thorn-trees and again at Christmas. The tree was gone, of -course, long ago, but other trees had grown from slips of it, and they -say that descendants of it are still growing in Glastonbury gardens and -that they still bloom at Christmas. I am sorry that we cannot stay here -till Christmas to see if it is true. - -"So, in the place that the King gave him, Joseph built his chapel of -wood and woven twigs, and it was the first Christian church in England. -Some of the stories say that the Holy Grail, that Joseph brought here -with him, was buried at last under one of these Glastonbury hills, but -that is not the story that I like the best. One story says that it was -not a cup at all that Joseph brought to Avalon, but two cruets. It says -besides that these two cruets were buried with Joseph when he died, and -that when his grave is found, and the two cruets in it, there will never -again be any drought in England. But according to the story that I like -best, Joseph did not die at all, as other men die, but was long kept -alive by the Holy Grail, waiting for the best knight of the world, for -it was foretold that he should never die till the best knight of the -world should come. - -"Since it was here that the Grail was brought, I think it must have been -not far from here that King Pelles lived, before Balin gave him the -wound that was never to heal till the best of all knights should come. -And I fancy it was somewhere near here, too, that he lived after that. -He was the keeper of the Grail, and he had a castle called Carbonek. -When we talk of the Grail it seems to me that everything becomes -mysterious and uncertain, so that it is hard to tell where this Castle -of Carbonek was. At one time it seems to have been on the seashore and -at another time it seems to have been inland. But for that very reason -I think that Avalon is as likely a place for it as any, for this place -was inland, just as it is now, but then the waters of the sea came in -around it. Yet the land around King Pelles's old castle was all laid -waste, and I have never heard that the land around Avalon was so. But -you see that it is all uncertain and strange, and we cannot be sure of -anything about it. - -"I think I have told you the story about King Pelles and Balin before, -but I will tell you a little of it again, because it fits in so well -just here. King Pelles was descended from Joseph of Arimathaea, and, as -I said, he was the keeper of the Holy Grail. Once Balin came to his -castle, seeking for Garlon, a knight who had the power of riding -invisible and who killed other knights, when they could not see him. -Balin found him there and killed him, and King Pelles tried to avenge -his death, because he was his brother. - -"Balin had broken his sword and he fled from King Pelles and ran through -the castle till he came to a chamber where Joseph of Arimathaea, who was -kept alive by the power of the Holy Grail, was lying in a bed. And -beside him was a spear, with drops of blood flowing from the point. It -was the spear with which the Roman soldier wounded the side of the -Christ when He was on the cross. Balin seized it and turned upon King -Pelles and wounded him with it in the side. - -"Then the whole castle fell down around them and all the country about -it became waste and dry and desolate. Balin lay under the ruins for -three days, and then Merlin, the great magician of King Arthur's court, -came and woke him and gave him a horse and a sword and sent him on his -way. Afterwards Balin met his brother Balan, and they fought, neither -of them knowing who the other was, till they killed each other. Then -Merlin took the sword with which Balin had killed his brother and drove -it into a great stone, up to the hilt, and set the stone floating on the -river. And he wrote on the stone that no knight should ever draw this -sword out of the stone except the one to whom it should belong, the best -knight of the world. - -"I cannot tell you how King Pelles got out of the ruins of his castle, -but afterwards he had another castle, the one that was called Carbonek. -He was still the keeper of the Grail. And it was foretold that the -wound in the side that Balin had given to him with the spear would never -be healed till the best knight of all the world should come. So for -many years King Pelles lived in his castle and bore the pain of a wound -that always seemed new and fresh, and waited for the coming of the best -knight of the world. - -"This is getting to be a rather rambling sort of story, and while we are -rambling perhaps I may as well tell you about the adventure that Sir -Bors had at the Castle of Carbonek. Bors was a knight of the Round -Table. He was one of the best of all of them. He sat at the table in -the next seat but one to the Siege Perilous. The Siege Perilous was the -seat on the right of the King's. Merlin had made it when he made the -Round Table, and he said that no one should ever sit in it without -coming to harm, except the best knight of all the world. So for many -years no one had sat in that seat. And no one sat in the one next to it -either, but Bors sat in the one next to that. Next to him sat his -cousin Lancelot. They were the sons of two kings who were brothers, Ban -and Bors, who had helped King Arthur, when he first came to his throne. - -"Lancelot was counted as the best of all King Arthur's knights. He was -the strongest and the bravest of them all, people said, and the best -fighter, and the King and the Queen loved him more than any of the -others. Nobody could see why he should not sit in the Siege Perilous, -but whenever a knight came to the Round Table his name appeared of -itself, in gold letters, in the seat that he was to have; and nobody -could sit in the Siege Perilous till his name came in it. - -"But I set out to tell you about Sir Bors. Once Bors came to the Castle -of Carbonek. A wandering knight, in those days, was always welcome in -every castle, and so King Pelles welcomed Bors. The King was brought -into the hall and Bors was placed at the table between him and his -daughter. And there in the hall, too, Bors saw a beautiful child, a -boy, with deep eyes and a bright, sweet face and golden hair. He was the -son of King Pelles's daughter, and I will tell you more about him -another time. - -"It was a strange way of entertaining guests that they had here, Bors -thought, for, though they were sitting at the table, there was nothing -to eat on it. Just as Bors noticed this he saw a white dove fly into -the room. It carried a little golden censer, by a chain which it held -in its beak. The thin smoke from the censer spread through the hall and -filled it with a strange, sweet odor. And while the dove flew about the -hall a girl came in, carrying something covered with white silk, which -she held high up in her hands. Bors could not see what it was that she -carried, but all who were in the hall knelt down and looked up toward -it, and Bors did the same. But though the covering of silk hid the thing -itself which was under it, there was something about it that it could -not hide. For the white silk was all glowing with a rosy light that -came from within it, and it shone through it and shed a rosy brightness -all through the hall. The dove flew out of the room again and the girl -went away too. And this was the Holy Grail that had passed, and Bors -had not seen it. - -"But when it was gone and Bors looked at the table again it was covered -with food, finer and more delicious than Bors had ever tasted or seen -before. 'There are strange things to see in your castle, King Pelles,' -said Bors. - -"'There are stranger things than you have seen yet,' King Pelles -answered. 'It is a place of wonders and of danger for knights, and few -of them leave here without coming to harm. Only for the best of them is -it safe to stay all night in my castle. You, Sir Knight, may stay if -you will, but it will be better for you to go, and so I warn you.' - -"'It is not for me to say,' Bors answered, 'that I am better than other -knights, and indeed I know some who are better than I. But I am not -afraid to be in your castle for a night, and here I will stay.' - -"'Do as you please,' said the King, 'but I have warned you.' - -"So, when it was time to go to bed, Bors was led to a chamber and left -alone in it. Nothing that the King had said had made him afraid, but he -thought that it would be better not to take off his armor. And as soon -as he had lain down in his armor a great beam of light shone upon him. -He could not tell where it came from, but suddenly, along in the beam of -light, came a spear, with no hand to hold it, and a little stream of -blood flowed from the point of the spear. And before Bors could move the -spear came upon him and went through his armor as if it had been a -cobweb and made a deep wound in his side. The spear was drawn away -again, but with the pain Bors fell back upon his pillow and did not see -where it went. - -"Then there came a knight, all armed, with his sword drawn, and the -knight said: 'Sir Bors, arise and fight with me.' - -"Bors was almost fainting, because of the wound in his side, but he -arose and tried to fight. And when he tried he found that he could fight -better than he thought. He fought the other knight till he gave ground -before him, little by little, and at last Bors forced him out of the -chamber. Then Bors lay down again to rest, and all at once the room was -full of falling arrows. He could not see where they came from, any more -than he could see where anything else came from, but they fell all -around him and upon him. They pierced his armor, just as the spear had -done, as if there had been no armor, and they wounded him in many -places. And these wounds and the wound that the spear had made burned -and smarted more than before, and Bors felt weaker and fainter. - -"Then a lion came into the chamber and sprang upon Bors and tore off his -shield. But again Bors found that he could fight if he tried, and he -struck the lion's head with his sword and killed it. - -"And next there came an old man, who had a harp. He sat down and began -to play on the harp and to sing, and as he played a storm began to rise -outside the castle. At first it was only a rising of the wind that Bors -heard, but it grew and grew, till it swept through the halls and the -corridors of the castle and through the room where Bors lay. It caught -at the curtains and the tapestries of the chamber and almost tore them -from their places, and it shook the arms that hung on the walls, till -they rattled together with a dull, ghostly clatter. Bors could hear the -wind, too, rushing and roaring and screaming up over the towers. And -then the rain came, and the thunder, with noises of splitting and -crashing as if the hills around were breaking and rolling down into the -valleys, and the very walls shuddered and trembled, and the lightning -was so fierce that it seemed to shine through the walls, as if they had -been made of glass. - -[Illustration: "AS HE PLAYED A STORM BEGAN TO RISE."] - -"But all through the dreadful noise of the storm Bors could hear the -soft voice of the old man who sang, as if there had been no other sound. -He sang a song of how Joseph of Arimathaea had come to England and had -brought the Holy Grail. When he had finished it he spoke to Bors, and, -as he talked and as Bors answered him, the storm grew louder and more -terrible. 'Bors,' said the old man, 'leave this place. You have done -nobly here. There are few knights in the world who could bear all that -you have borne to-night. Tell your cousin Lancelot all that you have -seen, and tell him that it is he who should be here and should see these -things and more, but that he is not so good a knight as to be allowed to -see what you have seen. These things are only for the best of knights.' - -"'It is well for you,' said Bors, 'that you are old. I am weary with -fighting and I am faint and dizzy with many wounds, but in spite of all, -if you were not old and weak, I would not hear you say such things of my -cousin Sir Lancelot. Sir Lancelot is the best knight that lives, and -what any good knight can do or see Lancelot can do or see.' - -"'Bors, Bors,' said the old man again, 'do not think that you can -frighten me with loud talk. In the strength of his arm and the sureness -of his spear and the power of his sword, Lancelot is the best knight -that lives, but, for all that, he is not so good a knight as you, Sir -Bors. Bors, what did you, and what did Lancelot swear when King Arthur -made you knights of his Round Table?' - -"'We swore,' said Bors, 'that we would help the King to guard his -people, that we would do right and justice, that in all things we would -be true and loyal to God and to the King.' - -"'Yes, Bors,' said the old man, 'that was what you swore, and have you -kept your oath, both by your deeds and in your heart?' - -"'As far as God has given me power,' Bors answered, 'I have kept it.' - -"'Yes,' said the old man, 'you have kept it well. But how has Lancelot -kept it?' - -"'Old man,' said Bors, 'do you dare to say to me, Lancelot's cousin and -his friend, that he has not kept his oath?' - -"'Bors, Bors,' said the old man again, 'do not try to frighten me. I -dare to tell you anything that it is good for you to know. In all his -deeds Lancelot has kept his oath, but how has he kept it in his heart? -Go and ask him. Ask him if in his heart he has always been true and -loyal to the King. Ask him if he has never grown proud of his strength. -Ask him if he has not sometimes done his deeds for the Queen's praise, -and not for the King's love and the King's glory. Ask him if he has -never wished that he himself were such a king, with such a queen. Ask -him if that wish was all true and loyal to the King. Bors, Bors, out -there in the world, where you and Lancelot live, the strongest knight is -the best, and Lancelot is the best knight--out there in the world. But -this is the castle of the Holy Grail, and the Holy Grail searches the -hearts of men. Here, in this chamber, Sir Bors, Lancelot could not stay -as you have stayed and see what you have seen and bear what you have -borne.' - -"As the old man ceased to speak it seemed to Bors that the burning of -his wounds grew less. While he was thinking of this and of what the old -man had said, the old man was gone, he could not tell where. Then, he -could not tell from where, the white dove flew into the room. It was the -same dove that he had seen in the hall, and it held the same little gold -censer in its beak, and again there was the sweet odor through the room. -And when the dove came the storm was ended. There was no more blinding -lightning and the thunder sounded only a little and far off. The rain -ceased and all the wind died down. - -"Then Bors saw four children pass through the room, carrying four -lighted tapers. With the four children was a figure like an old man. It -wore a long, white robe, and a hood hung low down over the face, so that -all that Bors could see of it was the end of a white beard. In the right -hand was that spear, with the little stream of blood flowing from the -point. There was no one to tell Bors who this was, but somehow he -seemed to know that it was Joseph of Arimathaea. - -"They passed through the room, but still Bors could see them in the next -chamber. The children knelt around the old man and he held high up in -his hands that wonderful thing with the covering of white silk. Again -the soft, rosy brightness glowed through the silk, and Bors did not know -why it was that when he saw it he felt so peaceful and glad. Then he -heard a loud voice that said: 'Sir Bors, leave this place; it is not yet -time for you to be here.' - -"Then all at once the door was shut and Bors could not see the children -or the old man or what he carried. The strange, bright light that had -shone upon him all this time was gone. Outside the storm and the clouds -were past, and a clear ray of moonlight shone through the chamber. All -the pain of his wounds was gone and he sank back upon his pillow and -slept. - -"When he awoke in the morning it seemed to him that he had never felt so -strong and fresh. The wounds that he had had from the spear and the -arrows had left no scar. And when King Pelles saw him he said: 'Sir -Bors, you have done here what few living knights could do, and I know -that you will prove one of the best knights of the world.' - -"Then Bors remembered that the voice had told him that it was not time -yet for him to be in this place, so he took his horse and rode away -toward Camelot, to find Lancelot and to tell him what he had seen." - - - - -[Illustration: The Abbot's Kitchen] - - - *CHAPTER II* - - *HOW WE DISCOVERED CAMELOT* - - -One of the strangest things about this kind of travel is to find how -much more you know about the country than the people do who live in it. -Before we came to England at all I had read in certain books that the -real Camelot was in the county of Somerset. It was at Camelot that King -Arthur lived more than anywhere else and where he had his finest castle. -So of course we were anxious to see Camelot. Our trouble did not seem -to be that we could not find it; it was that we found it in too many -places. We had been to Camelford, a poor little village in Cornwall, -earlier in our journey, and they had told us that that was Camelot. We -did not really believe it, but neither did I feel quite sure that my -books were right about the place in Somerset. We thought that it would -be best to see all the Camelots, so that we could make up our minds -which one we ought to believe in, or whether we ought to believe in any -of them at all. - -I had studied the books and I had studied the maps, till I almost felt -that I could go straight to this Camelot, without any help. It was -still called Camelot, it seemed, and it was a fortified hill, near a -place called Queen Camel, some dozen miles to the south of Glastonbury. - -It was lucky that I knew all this, because when we asked the people of -the hotel in Glastonbury if they could give us a carriage and a driver -to take us to Camelot they said that they had never heard of any such -place. They had heard of Queen Camel. They did not know just where -even that was, but they thought that it might be found. I felt so sure -that the books and the maps and I were right about it that I told them -that we would take the carriage and go to Queen Camel, and then we would -see if we could find Camelot. No doubt they thought that we were -insane, but that made no difference to us, and as long as we paid for -the carriage it made no difference to them. - -Helen's mother is one of those dreadfully sensible people who always -want you to take umbrellas and things with you. She was not going with -us to discover Camelot, but she said that we must take umbrellas and -mackintoshes with us, because it was going to rain. It is always hard -to argue with these people, because they are so often right. This time -we really had no excuse for not taking them, for they would simply be -put in the bottom of the carriage and they would be no trouble. So we -took them, and we were scarcely outside Glastonbury before we found that -this was one of the times when Helen's mother was right. For then it -began to rain. The driver had taken the way that he thought was toward -Queen Camel, and we were riding across a great stretch of low, level -land. The wind swept across it, and the rain came at us in sheets. We -didn't mind it much, with our mackintoshes on, but I did think that it -was fair to ask Helen what she thought of the poet who said that this -Avalon was a place "Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow." - -"Maybe it is," she answered, pulling her water-proof hood down so that -scarcely a bit of her could be seen, except the tip of her nose; "this -rain doesn't fall; it just comes against us sideways." So the poet's -reputation was saved. - -It could not rain so hard as this very long, and by and by it stopped -altogether. Then it began again, and there were showers all day. -Sometimes it looked as if it were going to stop for good, but we could -scarcely get our waterproofs off before it began all over. - -"Isn't it curious," I said, "that a storm coming up just here should -remind me of a story? It is about a time when Gawain had to go out in -bad weather. This is the right time to tell the story, too, while we -are looking for this particular Camelot. For the story begins at -Camelot, and the learned man who first dug it out of its old manuscript -and printed it says that Camelot was in Somerset. - -"King Arthur was keeping Christmas at Camelot with his knights. The -feast lasted for many days. On New Year's Day, as they all sat in the -hall, the King and the Queen and the knights, there rode in the most -wonderful-looking man whom they had ever seen. He was dressed all in -green, and the big horse that he rode was green. And that was not all, -for the hair that hung down upon his shoulders was like long, waving -grass, and the beard that spread over his breast was like a green bush. -He wore no helmet and he carried no shield or spear. In one hand he -held a branch of holly and in the other a battle-axe. It was sharp and -polished so that it shone like silver. 'Who is the chief here?' he -cried. - -"'I am the chief,' Arthur answered; 'sit down with us and help us keep -our feast.' - -"'I have not come to eat and drink,' said the man in green. 'I have -come to see if it is true that you have brave knights in your court, -King Arthur.' - -"'Then sit and eat with us first,' Arthur answered, 'and afterwards you -shall have as many good knights to joust with you as you can wish, and -you shall see whether they are brave.' - -"'It is not for jousting that I have come, either,' said the man in -green. 'Do you see this axe of mine? I will lend it to any knight in -this hall who dares to strike me one blow with it, only he must promise -that afterwards I may strike him one blow with it, too. He shall strike -me with the axe now, and I will strike him with it a year from this -day.' - -"This was such a new way of proving whether they were brave or not that -for a minute none of the knights answered. Then the King himself rose -and went toward the man in green. 'Give me your axe,' he said; 'none of -us here is afraid of your big talk; I will strike you with the axe -myself, and you shall strike me with it whenever you like.' - -"Then Gawain sprang from his seat. Gawain was the King's nephew. And he -cried: 'My lord, let me try this game with him! You are the King, and -if any harm should come to you it would be the harm of all the country, -but one knight more or less will count but little.' - -"Then many other knights begged the King to do as Gawain had said, and -the King thought of it a moment, and then gave the axe, which he had -taken from the man in green, to Gawain. - -"Sir Knight,' said the man in green, 'will you tell me who you are?' - -"'I am Gawain,' he said, 'the nephew of King Arthur.' - -"'I have heard of you,' said the other, 'and I am glad that I shall -receive my blow from so great a knight. But will you promise that a -year from now you will seek me and find me, so that I may give you your -blow in return?' - -"'I do not know who you are or where you live,' Gawain answered. 'If -you will tell me your name and where to find you, I will come to you -when the year is over.' - -"'I will tell you those things,' said the man in green, 'after you have -struck me. If I cannot tell you then, you will be free of your promise -and you need not seek me.' - -"Then the man in green came down from his horse, knelt on the floor -before Gawain, put his long, green hair aside from his neck, and told -Gawain to strike. Gawain swung the axe above his head and brought it -down upon the neck of the man in green, and his head was cut cleanly off -and rolled upon the floor. Instantly the green man sprang after it and -caught it in his hands, by the long, green hair. He sprang upon his -horse again and held up the head, with its face toward Gawain. 'Sir -Gawain,' it said 'seek for me till you find me, a year from now, so that -I may return your good blow. Bring the axe with you, and ask, wherever -you go, for the Knight of the Green Chapel.' Then he rode out of the -hall and away, still carrying the head in his hands. - -"Of course Gawain and the King and all the rest thought that this was -the strangest adventure that they had ever seen. They were all sorry -for Gawain and they all wondered what would become of him, but there was -no danger for a year, and that always seems a long time, at the -beginning of it. So, as the time went on, they almost forgot about the -Knight of the Green Chapel, and even Gawain himself seemed to have no -dread of him. And the year went past like other years. Yet Gawain was -not forgetting his promise, and, as the time came near when he must keep -it, he began to wonder more and more who this Knight of the Green Chapel -could be and where he must go to look for him. 'It may take me a long -time to find him,' he said to the King at last, 'and so I mean to leave -the court and to begin my search on All Saints' Day.' - -"'Yes,' said the King,' that will be best. And we know all the places -and nearly all the knights here in the South and in the West of England, -and over in the East, but we have never heard of this Knight of the -Green Chapel, so it will be best for you to seek him in the North.' - -"So, on All Saints' Day, King Arthur made a feast, that all the knights -of the court might be together and bid Gawain good-by. They called it a -feast, but there was no happiness in it. They were all sad at the -parting and with the fear that Gawain would never come back. - -"And when the time came they helped Gawain to put on the finest armor -that could be found for him and he mounted his horse and left them. He -rode slowly at first, and as soon as he came to places that he did not -know he began to ask the people whom he met if they could tell him where -to find the Green Chapel and the Knight of the Green Chapel. But no one -had ever heard of such a place or of such a person. - -"He went farther and farther into the North, and as his time grew -shorter he tried to travel faster, for he felt that it would be a shame -to him if he did not find the Knight of the Green Chapel by New Year's -Day. Up great hills he went and down into deep valleys, across wide, -lonely plains, with freezing winds sweeping over them, and through dark -forests, where the wind cried up among the treetops and the trees -groaned and sighed in answer. Often he met wild beasts, wolves that -barked and leaped and sprang about him and tried to pull down his horse. -But he killed them or beat them and drove them away. Then he came to -plains where for many miles he saw no houses and no people. Often he -had to sleep in his armor, lying on the ground. Often he had to go so -long without food that he was faint with hunger, as well as weary. - -"As the days went by the winter came on rougher and stormier and colder. -Then the winds that swept across the plains were full of driving rain -and sleet and snow. They cut against his face and almost blinded him, -and his horse could scarcely labor through the drifts and stand against -the storm. The wet sleet found its way into the joints of his armor and -froze there, and it froze into the chains of his mail and choked them -up, so that it was all rigid and hard, and it was as if all that he wore -were one solid piece of iron or ice. So terrible it was that he almost -forgot why he had come, and all that he wanted was to find some place -where he and his horse could rest and be warm. But at night he must get -off his horse, though he could scarcely bend his limbs, in his frozen -armor, and lie down in it, with no shelter but a tree, or perhaps a high -rock, and try to sleep till the light came, so that he could go on -again. - -"Yet wherever he saw any people he asked them if they knew of the Knight -of the Green Chapel, and always they answered no. Then he told them how -the knight looked, but they all shook their heads or stared at him or -laughed, and they all said that they had never seen such a knight. Some -of them thought that he must be mad, to be wandering all by himself and -asking for a knight with green hair and a green beard, and sometimes -Gawain himself almost thought that he must be mad. Sometimes he -thought: 'I will hunt for him only till New Year's Day. If I have not -found him then it is his fault that he did not tell me where to come, -and I shall be free of my promise.' And then at other times he thought: -'I will not count my promise as so small a thing; I will seek this -knight as long as I live, if I do not find him, for the honor of King -Arthur and the Round Table.' - -"And the cold and the storm and the long, rough journey seemed worst of -all to Gawain on Christmas Eve, for then he thought most of the King and -the Queen and the knights whom he had left at Camelot. He knew that -they were all together in the great hall now, that the fires were -blazing, that the minstrels were singing, and that a noble feast was -spread upon the Round Table. He thought of his own place at that table, -where he had sat a year ago, empty now. Did the others look at that -seat and think of him and wonder where he was? It was a common thing, -he knew, for Arthur's knights to be away from the hall seeking -adventures, and he knew that those who were left behind went on with -their feasting at such times as these, just as if all were there. No, -it was a little thing to them that he was gone, he thought. They were -laughing together and eating and drinking, and perhaps some one was -telling them some strange old tale, and they were warm and happy; and -the light of the fires and the torches was shining on the windows of the -hall, so that the people of the country miles away could see it and -could say: 'King Arthur and his knights are at Camelot to-night keeping -the Christmas feast.' And here was he alone, cold, hungry, weary, -riding over the rough ways and through the rough night, to find a man -who was to kill him. - -"Then there came another thought that made him stronger: 'The honor of -the Round Table to-night is not all with those who sit about it; it is -here with me too. I am here because it was I who dared to come, for the -King and for all of them. If I never go back the King and all of them -will know that, and they will not forget. And now my time is short and I -must not rest any more. I will ride all night and go as far as I can to -find the Knight of the Green Chapel by New Year's Day.' - -"So Gawain rode all night. In the morning he was in a great forest, -where it would have been too dark for him to ride, but for the snow that -lay everywhere, so that he could dimly see the black trunks of the trees -against it. And before the first cold light of the late morning fell -into the forest, he saw it touch the top of a high hill before him, and -there he saw a castle. It was one of the greatest castles he had ever -seen, with strong towers and thick walls and high ramparts. And as soon -as he saw it, it seemed to him as if the last strength went out of him -and his horse too, so that they could scarcely climb the hill to come to -the gate and ask if they might come in. - -"But they reached the gate and the porter said: 'Come in, Sir Knight; -the lord of the castle will welcome you and you can stay as long as you -will.' And the lord of the castle did welcome him and Gawain let his -men lead him to a chamber, where they took off his armor and gave him a -rich robe to wear. Then they led him back to the hall and placed him at -the table with the lord and his wife and his daughter. - -"They asked him who he was, and he told them that he was Gawain, a -knight of the Round Table. 'It is a proud day for us,' said the lord, -'so far away up here in the North, when a knight comes to us from the -court of King Arthur, and now you will stay with us and help us keep our -Christmas.' - -"'No,' said Gawain, 'I cannot stay, for I must go on and find the Knight -of the Green Chapel,' and then he told them all that he knew about this -knight and why he had made this journey. - -"'Then you will stay with us,' said the lord, 'for the Green Chapel is -only two miles from here, and on New Year's Day some one of my servants -shall show you the way there.' - -"So Gawain stayed, and, on the third day after he had come to the -castle, the lord told him that on the next day he was going hunting and -asked Gawain if he would go too. 'No,' Gawain answered, 'it is only four -days now before I must go to the Knight of the Green Chapel. I have no -magic, such as he has, to guard myself against him, and he will kill me. -It is not a time now for me to think of hunting or of other pleasures. -I must think of more solemn things.' - -"'Then shall we make a bargain?' said the lord. 'I will go to the hunt -to-morrow, and you shall stay here at the castle. When I come home I -will give you all that I have got in the hunt, and you shall give me all -that you have got by staying here.' - -"'It shall be so, if you wish it,' said Gawain. - -"The next morning the lord and his men were away early at the hunt. -Gawain breakfasted with the lady of the castle and her daughter, and -afterward they left him and he sat alone in the hall. Then the lord's -daughter came back, without her mother, and sat on the seat beside him. -'Sir Knight,' she said, 'will you tell me about King Arthur's court?' - -"'What shall I tell you?' he asked. - -"'We are so far away from all the world here!' she said. 'We never see -a town or a court or any people, except those who live here with us. -But sometimes we hear strange things and beautiful things about Camelot -and Caerleon and London and the court of King Arthur. They say that we -cannot believe how grand it is, and they say that there are such feasts -and tournaments, and that all the knights and the ladies are so happy -there in King Arthur's court! And oh! will you tell me one thing! Is -it true that every knight of King Arthur's has some lady whom he loves -more than anybody else, and is it true that every lady has some knight -whom she loves, who fights for her and wears something that she gave -him, a sleeve or a chain or a jewel, and tells everybody that she is the -most beautiful lady in the world?' - -"'There are many knights,' Gawain answered, 'who have ladies whom they -love and who love them, and they do all the things that you have said.' - -"The girl looked at Gawain and was silent for a little while, and then -she said: 'Sir Knight, is it too much that I am going to ask? I would -not ask you to be my knight, for there must be many ladies in King -Arthur's court more beautiful and more noble than I am. You would have -to love some one of them, I suppose. Only do not tell me so, and I will -not ask you. But after you have gone let me remember you and love you, -and I will try not to think whether you love me or not.' - -"'My child,' said Gawain, 'I am here in your father's castle and he -trusts me, and it is not right that I should talk to you of such things -without his leave. And besides that, it is not right for me to think of -such things now. You know that I am going to find the Knight of the -Green Chapel. Your father has promised that on New Year's Day he will -send me to him. Then the Knight of the Green Chapel will kill me. I -have only three days more to live, and it is no time for me to think of -love.' - -"'But why must you find this wicked Knight of the Green Chapel?' she -asked. 'Go back to Camelot and tell the King and the knights that you -fought him and that he could not hurt you. Nobody will know but us. We -never go to court and we never would tell anybody what you had done.' - -"'No, no,' said Gawain, 'I promised him that I would find him. Now I -must find him or I never could go back to King Arthur's court or be one -of his knights again.' - -"Then the girl started to go out of the hall, but when she was at the -door she turned and came back to Gawain. 'Will you let me kiss you just -once?' she said. And Gawain let her kiss him and she went away. - -"At night, when the lord of the castle came home from the hunt, he -brought with him a deer that he had killed. He gave it to Gawain and -said: 'This is what I got in the hunt; now give me what you got by -staying behind.' - -"Then Gawain gave him a kiss. 'Indeed,' said the lord, 'I think that -you have done better than I. Where did you get this?' - -"'It was not in our bargain,' said Gawain, 'that I should tell you -that.' - -"'Very well, then,' said the lord, 'shall we make the same bargain for -to-morrow?' - -"'Yes,' said Gawain, 'if you wish it.' - -"So the next day the lord rode to the hunt again and Gawain stayed -behind, as he had done before. And again the lord's daughter came to -him as he sat in the hall. 'Sir Knight,' she said, 'is it because you -have some other lady whom you love that you will not let me be your -lady? I do not ask you to love me, you know, only to let me love you.' - -"'No,' Gawain answered, 'I have no lady, and if I might have any now, I -could love you as well as any other, but I have only two more days to -live and I must not think of such things.' - -"Then the girl kissed him twice and went away. When the lord came back -that evening he brought the head and the sides of a wild boar that he -had killed. He gave these to Gawain and Gawain gave him two kisses. -'You always have better luck than I,' said the lord. - -"Then they made the same bargain for the third day, and in the morning -the lord rode to the hunt and Gawain stayed behind. As he sat in the -hall the lord's daughter came to him again. 'Sir Knight,' she said, -'since you will do nothing else, will you not wear something of mine, as -the knights at King Arthur's court do for their ladies? See, this is -it, my girdle of green lace. And it is good for a knight to wear, for -while you have this around your body you can never be wounded.' - -"Then Gawain thought that such a girdle as this would indeed be of use -to him, when the time came for the Knight of the Green Chapel to strike -him with his axe. So he took the girdle and thanked her for it, and she -kissed him three times and went away. - -"That night the lord of the castle brought home the skin of a fox. He -gave it to Gawain and Gawain gave him three kisses. 'Your luck grows -better every day,' said the lord. - -"Early the next morning Gawain rose and called for his armor and his -horse. One of the lord's servants was to show him the way to the Green -Chapel. The snow was falling again and there was a fierce, cold wind. -It was not daylight yet. They rode over rough hills and through deep -valleys for a long time, and at last, when it had grown as light as it -would be at all on such a dull, dreary day, the servant stopped. 'You -are not far now,' he said, 'from the Green Chapel. I can go with you no -farther. Ride on into this valley. When you are at the bottom of it -look to your left and you will see the chapel.' - -"Then the servant turned back and left Gawain alone. He rode to the -bottom of the valley and looked about, but nothing like a chapel did he -see. But at last he saw a hole in a great rock, a cave, with vines, -loaded down with snow, almost hiding its mouth. Then it seemed to -Gawain that he heard a sound inside the cave, and he called aloud: 'Is -the Knight of the Green Chapel here? Gawain has come to keep his -promise to him. He has brought his axe, so that he may pay back the -blow that he received a year ago. Is the Knight of the Green Chapel -here?' - -"Then a voice from the cave said: 'I am here, Sir Gawain, and I am -waiting for you. You have kept your time well.' - -"And then out of the cave came the Green Knight. It seemed to Gawain -that he looked stronger and fiercer than when he was at Arthur's court, -and that his hair and beard were longer and of a brighter green. 'Give -me my axe,' he cried, 'and take off your helmet and be ready for my -stroke. Let us not delay!' - -"'I want no delay,' said Gawain, and he took off his helmet, knelt down -on the snow and bent his neck, ready for the knight to strike. The -Green Knight raised his axe, and then, in spite of himself, Gawain drew -a little away from him. - -"'How is this?' said the Green Knight; 'are you afraid? I did not -flinch when you struck me, a year ago.' - -"'I shall not flinch again,' said Gawain; 'strike quickly.' - -"Then the knight raised his axe a second time and Gawain was as still as -a stone. But this time the axe did not fall. 'Now I must strike you,' -said the Green Knight. - -"'Strike, then, and do not talk about it,' said Gawain; 'I believe you -yourself are losing heart.' - -"This time the knight swung the axe quickly up over his head and brought -it down with a mighty force upon Gawain's neck, and it made only a -little scratch. The girdle of green lace would not let him be wounded. -Then he sprang up and drew his sword and cried: 'Now, Knight of the -Green Chapel, take care of yourself. I have kept my promise and let you -strike me once, but I warn you that if you strike again I shall resist -you.' - -"'Put up your sword,' the Knight of the Green Chapel answered; 'I do not -want to harm you. I could have used you much worse than I have, if I -had wished. I tried only to prove you, and you are the bravest and the -truest knight that I have ever found. I am the lord of the castle where -you have stayed for this last week. I knew where you got your kisses, -for I myself sent my daughter to you to try you, and you would not do -what you thought would not be right toward me, and you would not let any -thoughts of love turn you aside from your promise to the Knight of the -Green Chapel. You were well tried and you proved most true. It was -because of that and because you kept your word to me on the first two -days that I went to the hunt, that I did not strike you the first or the -second time that I raised my axe. But the third time I did strike you, -because you were untrue to me in one little thing. For you said that -you would give me all that you got by staying in the castle, yet you did -not give me the girdle of green lace. It was I who sent that to you by -my daughter, too. But you kept it only to save your life, and so I -forgive you, and to show you that I forgive you, you may keep it now -always.' - -"But Gawain tore off the girdle and threw it at the feet of the Knight -of the Green Chapel. 'Take it back!' he cried, 'I do not deserve ever to -be called an honorable knight again! I came here for the honor of the -Round Table, and then I broke my promise to you. Tell me why you came -to our court and why you brought me to this shame, and then I will go -back to King Arthur and tell him that I am not worthy any longer to be -one of his knights. He will ask me why you did this, so tell me and let -me go away, for now I have lied to you and I cannot look you in the -face.' - -"'I did it,' said the Knight of the Green Chapel, 'because the great -enchantress, Queen Morgan-le-Fay, King Arthur's sister, who hates him, -told me that all his knights were cowards. She said that all who praised -them lied or were themselves deceived and that some good knight ought to -go and prove them to be the cowards that they were. So I went to try -whether they were brave or not, and it was by the magic of Queen -Morgan-le-Fay that I was not killed when you cut off my head. But now I -see that what I did was wrong. It was Morgan-le-Fay, I see now, who -hoped to bring shame on King Arthur's court, because she hated him. And -you have shown me that Arthur's knights are brave and true, for you took -my challenge and came up here into the North to find me and to let me -kill you. Now come back with me to my castle and help us to keep the -festival of the New Year. Take up your girdle and come.' - -"But Gawain was still filled with shame and horror at what he had done. -'I will not go back with you,' he said, 'but I will keep the girdle to -remind me of this time. If I ever feel that I am doing better things -and if I ever begin to grow proud of them, I will look at this girdle -and it will make me remember how I broke my word.' - -"And Gawain would not listen to anything more that the knight said, but -he mounted his horse and turned him toward the south and rode away. -Gawain never knew what happened to him on that journey back to Camelot. -Perhaps the nights were as cold and the ways as rough as they had been -before. Perhaps the wild beasts came against him again. Perhaps the -storms still drove the snow and the sleet against him, so that they cut -him in the face and froze into his armor. He cared for none of these -things and he remembered none of them afterwards. His one thought was -to get back to Camelot and tell the King that he was no longer worthy to -be his knight, and then to go where no one who had known him should ever -see him again. - -"And so he rode on, as fast as he could, for he did not know how many -days, and at last, in the early winter evening, he saw the glow in the -windows of the castle at Camelot. Once more he hurried his horse till -he reached the gate. He threw himself down from the saddle and hastened -to the hall, where a great shout went up: 'Gawain is alive and he has -come back!' and the knights and the ladies crowded around him to ask him -where he had been and what he had seen and done. He pushed his way -through them all and threw himself down upon the floor before the King. -He told all of his story, how he had gone out for the honor of the Round -Table and how he had broken his word and been shamed, and at the end he -held up the girdle of green lace and said: 'My lord, I shall leave you -now and I shall never see you again, for I am not worthy to be your -knight, but I shall carry this with me, and shall always wear it, so -that I never can forget my shame." - -"And the King answered: 'Gawain, you are still among the best of my -knights. You failed a little at last, but it was no coward and no false -knight who went up there to seek his death and to keep a promise that he -need not have kept. Wear your girdle, but it shall be no shame to you. -And that it may be none all my knights shall wear girdles of green lace -like it. - -"So the story says that all of King Arthur's knights wore green lace -girdles in honor of Gawain. I don't know what became of the girdles -afterwards, but they cannot have worn them always, or at least Gawain -cannot have worn his. For you know he could never be wounded while he -had it on, and he certainly was wounded afterwards. But I will tell you -about that when I get to it." - -About the time that we got to the end of this story we came to a place -which the driver said was as far from Glastonbury as he had ever been in -this direction. We stopped at a little inn by the road, and the driver -asked the way to Queen Camel. We also asked the man who told him if he -had ever heard of a hill or of any sort of place about here called -Camelot, but he never had. So we went on to find it for ourselves. -After more riding and more asking of the way and more showers, we came -to Queen Camel. It was past luncheon-time then, and, what was more to -the point, it was past the horse's luncheon-time. So we decided that we -would not go any farther till we had all had something to eat. - -The Bell looked like the best hotel in the place, so we went there and -astonished the proprietor and all the servants by asking for something -to eat. But we got it, and while we were at luncheon the driver put the -horse in the stable and then talked with the proprietor, to find out -whether he knew anything about Camelot. Now the keeper of this bit of an -hotel must have been a remarkably intelligent man, for he really did -know something about it. He came in to see us and he said that he -thought that it must be Cadbury Castle that we were looking for. Then a -great light shone upon me and I remembered what I ought to have -remembered before, that one of my books at home had said that it was -called Cadbury Castle now. "But do they not call it Camelot too?" I -asked him. I did not like to give up that name. - -"Oh, yes, sir," he said, "they call it Camelot too." - -"And do they say that King Arthur lived there?" - -"No, sir, he didn't live there; he placed his army there." - -Then the landlord went away and came back with a big book, a history of -Somersetshire, or something of that sort, to show us what it had to say -about Cadbury Castle. It did not say much that I did not know before, -but it said enough to prove what I wanted to know most of all. And that -was that this Cadbury Castle was without any doubt the place that we -were looking for. We finished our luncheon, the landlord showed us our -way, and we went on again. - -It was only a little way now. We were to find a steep road that led up -the side of the hill to Cadbury Castle. It was too steep, we were told, -to take our carriage up, and we should have to leave it at the bottom -and walk. And so it proved. We found the hill and the steep little -track up its side. We got down from the carriage, and, while we waited -for the driver to find a safe place to leave the horse, we gazed up the -hill, along the rough little road, and knew that at last we were before -the gates of Camelot. - - - - -[Illustration: "The city and the fortress of the rabbits"] - - - *CHAPTER III* - - *THE BOY FROM THE FOREST* - - -We walked up the steep road, and just before we came to the top of the -hill the rain began again. There was one little house near the top and -we decided to let Camelot wait for a few minutes longer and go into the -house and stay till the rain stopped. - -The woman of the house seemed to be glad to see us, and she asked us to -write our names in her visitors' book. The names and the dates in the -book showed that Camelot had some six or eight visitors a year. Of -course we tried to get the woman to tell us something about the place, -and of course we failed. She knew that it was called Cadbury Castle and -sometimes Camelot and sometimes the Camp. She knew that the well close -by her house was called King Arthur's Well, but she did not know why. -The water in it was not good to drink, and in dry times they could not -get water from it at all. She got drinking-water and in dry times all -the water that she used from St. Anne's Wishing Well, a quarter of a -mile around the hill. She did not know what that name meant either. She -used to have a book that told all about the place, but she couldn't show -it to us, because it had been lent to somebody and had never been -returned. The vicar had studied a good deal about the place too, and he -knew all about it. Could we find the vicar and get him to tell us about -it? Oh, no, it wasn't the present vicar, it was the old vicar, and he -was dead. - -So we gave up learning anything and waited for the rain to stop, and -then went out to see as much as we could for ourselves. The hilltop was -broad and level. I can't tell just how broad, because I am no judge of -acres, but I believe it was several. It had a low wall of earth around -it, covered with grass, of course, like all the rest of the place. When -we stood on the top of this wall and looked down, we saw that the ground -sloped away from us till it made a sort of ditch, and then rose again -and made another earth wall, a little way down the hillside. Then it -did the same thing again, and yet once more. So in its time this -hilltop must have had four strong walls around it. It really looked -much more like a fort or camp than like a city. It seemed too small for -a city, though it might have been a pretty big camp. If we had been -looking for hard facts, I think we should have believed what the -hotel-keeper had said, that this was not where King Arthur lived, but -where he placed his army. - -I remembered reading somewhere that the Britons and the Romans and the -Saxons had all held this place at different times. I had read, too, I -was sure, that parts of old walls, of a dusky blue stone, and old coins -had been found here. It was a fine place for a camp or a castle. It was -so high and breezy and we could see for so many miles across the -country, that we could understand how useful and pleasant it must have -been for either or for both. It was pleasant enough now, this broad, -grassy hilltop, with its four grassy walls and the woodland sloping away -from it all around. But nobody lived here now to enjoy it--nobody, that -is to say, but the rabbits. For the place is theirs now, and they dig -holes in the ground and make their houses where King Arthur's castle -stood, where he and his knights sat in the hall about the Round Table, -and where all the greatest of the world came to see all that was richest -and noblest and best for kings and knights to be and to enjoy. - -The rabbits scuttled across our way, as we walked about, and leaped into -their holes, when we came near, and then looked timidly out again, when -we had gone past, and wondered what we were doing and what right we had -here in their Camelot. There were only these holes now, where once -there were palaces and churches, and no traces of old glories, but the -walls of earth and turf. Yet it seemed better to me that Camelot should -be left alone and forgotten, like this, the city and the fortress of the -rabbits, but still high and open and fresh and free, than that it should -be a poor little town, full of poor little people, like Camelford. -Helen said that she thought so too, when I asked her, and she was -willing that this should be Camelot, if I thought that it really was. - -"Really and truly and honestly," I said, "I think that this is as likely -to have been Camelot as any place that we have seen or shall see. It is -lucky for us that we know more about it than the people who live about -here do. If we did not I am afraid it would not interest us much. I -think that I have read somewhere that the King and his knights were -still here on the hilltop, kept here and made invisible by some -enchantment, that at certain times they could be seen, and that some -people had really seen them. I don't believe this story, but while we -are here let us believe at least, with all our might, that we are really -and truly in Camelot. - -"Now here is a story, with Camelot in it, that you ought to hear. You -must not mind if it makes you think of a story that we saw once in the -fire. There are different ways of telling the same story, you know, and -this is a different way of telling that same story. - -"Once, when Arthur was first King of England, he had a good knight -called Sir Percivale. He was killed in a tournament by a knight whom no -one knew. Some who saw the fight said that it was not a fair one and -that Sir Percivale was as good as murdered. The knight who killed him -wore red armor, and once, when his visor was up, Arthur saw his face. -No one knew where the knight went afterward and Arthur could never find -him to make him answer for the death of Sir Percivale. - -"Now this Sir Percivale had seven sons and a daughter, and six of his -sons were killed also, in tournaments or battles. But the youngest of -the sons was not old enough yet to be a knight, and when his mother had -lost her husband and all her sons but him, she resolved that he should -never be a knight. His name was Percivale, like his father's. It was -right, she thought, for her to keep this last son that she had safe and -not to let him fight and be killed, as his father and his brother's had -been. And she feared so much that when he grew up he would want to be a -knight, like the others, that she resolved that he should never know -anything about knights or tournaments or wars or arms. - -"She took him far away from the place where they had lived, and made a -home in the woods. It was far from the towns and the tournaments and -the courts, and it was even away from the roads that led through the -country. It was a lonely place that the mother chose, and she hoped -that no one would ever come to it from the world that she had left. She -brought her daughter with her, I suppose, though the story says nothing -about her just here, and she brought nobody else but servants--women and -boys and old men. Nobody in her house was ever allowed to speak of -knights or arms or battles or anything that had to do with them. She -would not even have any big, strong horses kept about the place, because -they reminded her of the war horses that knights rode. She tried to -bring up her boy so that he should know only of peaceful things. He -should know the trees and the flowers of the woods, she thought; he -should know the goats and the sheep and the cows that they kept, how the -fruits grew in the orchard, how the birds lived in the trees and the -bees in their hive; but he should never know the cruel ways of men out -in the world. He should see the axe of the woodman, not the battle-axe; -the scythe, not the sword; the crook of the shepherd, not the spear. - -"So the boy grew up in the forest and ran about wherever he would and -climbed the trees and followed the squirrels and studied the nests of -the birds and knew all the plants that grew and all the animals that -lived about him. If it had not been for many things that his mother -taught him he would have been almost like one of the animals of the wood -himself. He could run almost as fast as the deer and he could climb -almost as well as the squirrel, and he could sing as well as some of the -birds. - -"When he grew a little older his mother let him have a bow and arrows to -play with and shoot at marks, but nobody told him that men used bows and -arrows to shoot at one another or that men ever wanted to harm one -another. But he began to shoot at the birds with his arrows, and at -last he hit one of them and killed it. Then he looked at the dead bird -lying at his feet and he heard the other birds singing all around him. -And he thought: 'I have done a dreadful thing; a little while ago this -bird was singing too, and was as happy as the rest of them, and now it -can never sing any more or be happy any more, because I have killed it.' -And he broke his bow and threw it away and he threw himself down on the -ground beside the little dead bird and cried at what he had done. And -when his mother saw how grieved he was she said that all the birds -should be driven away, so that they should not trouble him. But -Percivale begged her to let them stay. He liked to hear them sing, and -to drive them off would be a crueler thing than he had done already. -And his mother thought: 'The boy is right; I brought him here to find -peace and safety for both of us, and why should I not let the poor birds -stay in peace and safety too?' - -"But it was foolish for the poor woman to think that she could keep her -boy so that he would never know anything of the world. The world was -all around him, no matter how far off, and it was sure some time to come -where he was. And so, one day, as he was wandering in the wood, he saw -three horses coming, larger and stronger and finer than any horses he -had ever seen before. And on their backs, he thought, were three men, -but he could not feel sure, for they did not look like any men whom he -had ever seen. They seemed to be all covered with iron, which was -polished so that it glistened where the light touched it, and they wore -many gay and beautiful colors besides. He stood and looked at them till -they came close to him, and then one of them said: 'My boy, have you -seen a knight pass this way?' - -"'I do not know what a knight is,' Percivale answered. - -"'We are knights,' the man on the horse said; 'have you seen anyone like -us?' - -"But Percivale was wondering so much at what he saw that he could not -answer. 'What is this?' he asked, touching the knight's shield. - -"'That?' the knight answered, 'that is my shield.' - -"'And what is it for?' - -"'To keep other knights from hitting me with their spears or their -swords.' - -"'Spears? What are they?' - -"'This is a spear,' the knight answered, showing him one. - -"'And what is this?' - -"'That is a saddle.' - -"'And what is this?' - -"'A sword.' - -"And so Percivale asked the knights about everything that they wore and -everything that they carried and all that was on their horses. 'And -where did you get these things?' he asked. 'Did you always wear them?' - -"'No,' the knight answered; 'King Arthur gave me these arms when he made -me a knight.' - -"'Then you were not always a knight?' Percivale asked again. - -"'Why, no, I was a squire, a young man, like you, and King Arthur made -me a Knight and gave me these arms.' - -"'Who is King Arthur, and where is he?' - -"'He is the King of the country, and he lives at Camelot.' - -"Then Percivale ran home as fast as he could and said to his mother: -'Mother, I saw some knights in the forest, and one of them told me that -he was not a knight always, but King Arthur made him one, and before -that he was a young man like me. And now I want to go to King Arthur, -too, and ask him to make me a knight, so that I can wear bright iron -things like them and ride on a big horse.' - -"The instant that she heard the word 'knights' the mother knew that all -her care was lost. The boy was a man now. He had seen what other men -were like and she knew that he would never be happy again till he was -like the rest of them. Before her mind, all at once, everything came -back--the court, the field of the tournament, the men all dressed in -steel, with their sharp, cruel spears, the gleaming lines charging -against each other, the knights falling from their horses and rolling on -the ground. Her brain whirled around as she thought of all this, and -her one last son in the midst of it, to be killed, perhaps, as the rest -had been. But she knew that he must go--that he would go--nothing could -keep him with her now. - -"'My son,' she said, 'if you will leave me and be a knight, like those -that you have seen, go to King Arthur. His are the best of knights and -among them you will learn all that you ought to know. Before you are a -knight the King will make you swear that you will be always loyal and -upright, that you will be faithful, gentle, and merciful, and that you -will fight for the right of the poor and the weak. Percivale, some -knights forget these things, after they have sworn them, but you will -not forget. Remember them the more because I tell them to you now. Be -ready always to help those who need help most, the poor and the weak and -the old and children and women. Keep yourself in the company of wise -men and talk with them and learn of them. Percivale, the King will make -you swear, too, that you will fear shame more than death. And I tell -you that. I have lost your father and your brothers, but I would rather -lose you, too, than not to know that you feared shame more than death.' - -"Then, from the horses that his mother had, Percivale chose the one he -thought the best. It was not a war horse, of course, and it was not even -a good saddle horse, but it would carry him. He put some old pieces of -cloth on the horse's back, for a saddle, and with more of these, and -bits of cord and woven twigs he tried to make something to look like the -trappings that he had seen on the horses of the knights. Then he found a -long pole and sharpened the end of it, to make it look like a spear. -When he had done all that he could he got on the back of the horse, bade -his mother good-by, and rode away to find the court of King Arthur. - -"The King and the Queen and their knights were in the great hall of the -castle at Camelot, when a strange knight, dressed in red armor, came in -and walked straight to where the King and the Queen sat. A page was -just offering to the Queen a gold goblet of wine. The red knight seized -the goblet and threw the wine in the Queen's face. Then he said: 'If -there is any one here who is bold enough to avenge this insult to the -Queen and to bring back this goblet, let him follow me and I will wait -for him in the meadow near the castle!' Then he left the hall, took his -horse, which he had left at the door, and went to the meadow. - -"In the hall all the knights jumped from their places. But for an -instant they only stood and stared at one another. They remembered the -Green Knight, and they thought that this other knight would never dare -to do what he had done, unless he had some magic to guard him against -them. I am sure that in a moment some one of them would have gone after -him, but just in that moment a strange-looking young man rode straight -into the hall, on a poor, old, boney horse. He looked so queer, with -his simple dress and the saddle and trappings that he had made himself, -and his rough pole for a spear, that the knights almost forgot the -insult to the Queen in looking at him, and some of them laughed as they -saw him ride through the hall toward the King, with no more thought of -fear than if he had been a king himself. He came to where Kay, King -Arthur's seneschal, stood, and said to him: 'Tall man, is that King -Arthur who sits there?' - -"'What do you want with King Arthur?' said Kay. - -"'My mother told me,' the young man answered, 'to come to King Arthur -and be made a knight by him.' - -"'You are not fit to be a knight,' said Kay; 'go back to your cows and -your goats.' Kay was a rough sort of fellow and he was always saying -unpleasant things without waiting to find out what he was talking about. - -"Then a dwarf came close to the boy and cried out: 'Percivale, you are -welcome here! I know that you will be one of the best of knights, for I -knew your father and your brothers, and they were all good knights!' - -"And Kay was so angry with the dwarf for speaking in this way that he -struck him and knocked him down. Now when Arthur had seen the red -knight come into the hall and insult the Queen and then go away again, -he had been as much astonished as any of the knights, and he had -thought, just as they had, that he must have some charm to protect him. -But he had had another thought, and it was: 'Where have I seen the face -of that knight before?' And when the young man had come into the hall -he had thought again: 'I have seen that face, too, before.' But when he -heard the dwarf call him by name he remembered it all. 'Young man,' he -said, 'are you the son of my old knight, Sir Percivale? I know that you -are, because you are so much like him, and the man who killed your -father was here just now and insulted the Queen and all of us.' - -"'Yes, yes,' Kay shouted, 'go after him, boy, and avenge your father and -avenge the Queen and bring back her golden goblet! And when you have -killed him you can have his horse and his armor, and then you will look -fit to be made a knight.' - -"'I will do what you say,' the boy answered, and he turned his horse and -rode out of the hall again. When he came to the meadow the red knight -was there, riding up and down. 'Boy,' he said, 'do you know if anyone is -coming from the hall to take this gold cup from me?' - -"'I have come from the hall,' Percivale answered, 'to take that gold cup -from you.' - -"'Go back and tell the King,' said the red knight, 'to send a man, a -knight, to take it. And tell him that I will not wait much longer.' - -"'I mean to take it from you myself,' said Percivale again, 'so be ready -for me.' - -"Then Percivale made his poor old horse go as fast as it could, and he -came against the red knight with his pointed pole. The knight tried to -strike the pole aside with his spear, but Percivale hit him fairly with -it and knocked him off his horse. And in falling he managed somehow to -break his neck. - -"All that had passed in the hall since the red knight had appeared there -had passed so quickly that the King and the knights had scarcely had -time to know what was going on at all till it was all over. But when -Percivale had gone to find the red knight, Uwain, King Arthur's nephew, -said: 'Kay, it was not right for you to send such a boy as that after a -knight who is no doubt a hard fighter. The knight will kill him, and -then a double disgrace will fall upon the court, that of letting the boy -be killed and that of sending no good man to avenge the insult to the -Queen. Now I will go and see if I am in time to save the boy and punish -the knight.' - -"So Uwain went to the meadow and there he found Percivale trying to take -off the dead knight's armor. He could not do it, because he knew -nothing about armor and did not know how it was fastened. So Uwain -showed him how to take it off and then how to dress himself in it. 'And -now,' said Uwain, 'come to King Arthur and I know that he will gladly -make you a knight, for you have shown that you are worthy to be one.' - -"'No, 'said Percivale, 'I will not go back now. But tell me, what is -the name of the tall man who told me to follow this knight?' - -"'He is Sir Kay,' Uwain answered, 'King Arthur's seneschal.' - -"Then Percivale said: 'Take this gold cup back to the Queen and tell her -that I have avenged the insult to her. Tell King Arthur that wherever I -go I will be his servant and will try to do him what honor I can, but -tell Sir Kay that I will never come back to King Arthur's court till I -have met him and punished him for striking the dwarf who greeted me when -I came into the hall. My mother told me to fight for the poor and the -weak, and I am sure that dwarf is weak and I ought to fight for him.' - -"When Uwain went back to the hall with these messages Kay laughed, but I -am not sure that he felt quite comfortable. He had had bad luck before -in making fun of young men who turned out well in spite of their simple -looks. Perhaps you may like to know how the dwarf knew who Percivale -was. It was very simple. He used to live in Percivale's father's house, -and he knew him because he was so much like his father. - -"And Percivale was riding away from the court and did not know or care -where he was going. But after awhile he met a knight who asked him -whence he came. 'I come from the court of King Arthur,' he answered. - -"And the knight said: 'I am the enemy of King Arthur and of all his men, -and when I meet any of them I kill them, if I can, and so I will kill -you now, if I can.' - -"So they took their places and charged against each other with their -spears. Percivale had a real spear now. And Percivale threw the knight -off his horse and he begged for mercy. 'You shall have mercy,' -Percivale said, 'if you will go to the court of King Arthur and tell him -that Percivale sent you and that Percivale will never come to his court -again till he has punished Sir Kay for striking the dwarf.' - -"The knight did as Percivale bade him, and the story says that within a -week he overcame sixteen knights and made every one of them go to the -court and tell King Arthur that Percivale had sent him and that -Percivale would never come back till he had met Sir Kay and punished him -for striking the dwarf. Now you can imagine that, when these knights -came into the hall, two or three of them a day, and brought always this -same message, Kay kept getting more and more uncomfortable. Every new -one who came proved over again what a tough fighter Percivale was and -every one of them told the King and the court that Percivale was waiting -for a chance to fight with Kay. And then the other knights began to -blame Kay for making such a fine young man leave the court. For it was -clear, they said, that he would some time be one of the best knights -among them all. At last King Arthur said that he himself, with some of -his best knights, would go to search for Percivale. And Kay, who was -really no coward, went with them. - -"And Percivale kept on his way. And one evening, when it was time for -him to find a place to stay for the night, he saw a great castle before -him. He knocked on the gate and a young man with a thin, pale face put -his head through an opening in the battlement and looked at him. Then -the young man came and opened the gate for Percivale and led him to the -hall. There were eighteen young men there, all thin and with pale -faces, like the first. They took off Percivale's armor and they all sat -down together. Then five young women came into the hall, and Percivale -thought that one of them, who was the lady of the castle, was the most -beautiful he had ever seen. Mind, I don't say that I think so; I say -that Percivale thought so. For, as one of the beautiful, wonderful -books that tells this story says, 'whiter was her skin than the bloom of -crystal, and her hair and her two eyebrows were blacker than jet, and on -her cheeks were two red spots, redder than whatever is reddest.' She -was dressed in satin, but it was old and faded and worn. - -"Afterwards two nuns came into the hall. One of them carried a flask of -wine and the other had six loaves of bread. 'Lady,' said one of the -nuns, 'there is not so much bread and wine left in our convent as we -have brought you here.' Then they all sat at a table, and Percivale saw -that the lady of the castle was giving more of the bread and the wine to -him than to any of the others. So he took all the bread and wine and -divided them equally among all who were at the table. And when it was -time they led Percivale to his chamber. - -"And the rest still sat in the hall. Then one of the young men said to -the lady of the castle: 'Sister, go to this young man and tell him that -you will be his wife, if he will rescue you and the rest of us from our -enemies.' - -"'I cannot do that,' she answered. 'He may not want me for his wife; if -he did he would ask me.' - -"'Sister,' said the young man again, 'we have no more food and we cannot -hold the castle any longer. This is the only hope we have. You must do -this or we will leave you, and your enemies may do what they like with -you and your castle.' - -"So she left them and went to the door of Percivale's chamber and opened -it. It was dark and he was asleep, but he heard her weeping and awoke. -'Who are you,' he asked, 'and why are you weeping? Can I help you?' - -"'My lord,' she answered, 'if you do not help me nothing can ever help -me. I am the lady of the castle. My father owned this castle and all -the lands around it. There was a wicked knight, named Sir Mordred, who -wanted me to be his wife, but I would not, and so, after my father died -and left me the castle and the lands, Sir Mordred made war upon me. I -had not men enough to fight with him, and so he has taken everything I -had except this castle. But this castle is so strong that the few men -whom you have seen were able to hold it as long as we had food. They -are my foster brothers. Mordred and his men always watch the castle to -see that no one goes out from it to bring food, and so at last all that -we had was gone. Then the nuns, who are permitted to go wherever they -like, brought us food, but now they have no more. And Mordred watches -us so closely that he will know that we have no more food, and he will -come against us at once and take the castle, unless you can help us. So -the young men told me that I must come to you and tell you that I would -be your wife if you would save us, for there was no other way. Forgive -me, Sir Knight, for doing what I must do, and help me and my brothers, -if you can.' - -"Then Percivale answered: 'I know that you do not say this because you -want to be my wife, and so I will not ask it of you. Marry whomever you -will. To-morrow, if this Sir Mordred comes, I will do my best to help -you.' - -"And so we have come to Mordred. I am almost sorry that I have to tell -you about him, but I should have to tell you, some time, and it may as -well be now. Mordred was the brother of Gawain, and so he was King -Arthur's nephew. He was a knight of the Round Table, and he was the -wickedest and most treacherous man who was ever in Arthur's court. When -people tell you that they do not like King Arthur because he was too -good--and somebody is sure to tell you that some time--ask them what -they think of his letting such a creature as Mordred be a knight of his -Round Table. Still, I suppose Arthur did not know how bad Mordred was. -Good people are often slow to believe that there are any bad people, and -Arthur was so. - -"Well, in the morning, surely enough, there were Mordred's men all -around the castle. There were tents set up and knights were riding up -and down on horses, and banners were flying, and it all looked as if -they had come to fight against a city, instead of against five women and -eighteen starved young men. Breakfast did not take long that morning, -because there was nothing in the castle to eat. So, as soon as he was -up, Percivale put on his armor and called for his horse and rode out of -the castle. He came near to some of the knights who were riding about -and seemed to be so ready to fight, and called out that he wanted to see -Sir Mordred and to talk with him. - -"When Sir Mordred came, Percivale said to him: 'I challenge you alone, -Sir Mordred to fight with me alone for the right of the lady of this -castle. If you beat me you shall keep all that you have taken from her -and you shall have the castle too. If I beat you she shall keep the -castle and you shall give her back all that she had before. Do you -agree to this?' - -"And Mordred said: 'I agree.' - -"It was a short battle. They charged against each other once, and -Mordred's spear was broken against Percivale's shield, but Percivale's -spear went through Mordred's shield and through his shoulder. Mordred -could not fight any more after that, so he promised to give back to the -lady of the castle all the lands and everything else that he had taken -from her, if Percivale would not kill him. Percivale made him promise, -too, that his men should take to the castle that very day enough food -and drink for a hundred men and their horses. Then he sent Mordred -himself to Camelot, to say to the King and the court that Percivale -would never come back there till he had punished Sir Kay for striking -the dwarf. But when Mordred got to Camelot the King and Kay and a good -many of the other knights had gone to hunt for Percivale, and there were -not many left to hear the message. - -"Then Percivale took his leave of the people of the castle and rode on -his way. He rode all day, and in the evening he came to the cell of a -hermit, who made him welcome, and he stayed with him all night. In the -morning he left the cell to go on his way, but just in front of the door -he saw something that made him stop to look at it. There had been a -fall of snow in the night, and a little way from the hermit's cell a -hawk had killed a wild fowl and the snow was stained with its blood. -Something had frightened the hawk away and now a raven had lighted on -the snow near the wild fowl. It was this that made Percivale stop to -look, for the blackness of the raven and the whiteness of the snow and -the red of the blood made him think of the black hair of the lady of the -castle where he had stayed, and of her white skin, and of the red in her -cheeks. This must have been a pleasant thought, for Percivale stood -there thinking it and gazing at the blood on the snow for a long time. - -"Now it happened that King Arthur's tent had been pitched for the night -near this very place. And Arthur came out of his tent and saw some one -leaning on a spear and looking upon the ground. And he told one of his -young men to go and see who it was. So the young man rode to where -Percivale stood and said: 'Who are you, and what are you doing here?' - -"But Percivale was thinking so much of the raven and the snow and the -blood and the lady of the castle that he gave no answer, and then the -young man thrust at him with his spear. Then Percivale turned and struck -the young man with his own spear and knocked him off his horse, and he -went back to tell the King how he had fared. And Kay said: 'I will go -and make him tell me who he is.' - -"So Kay came and said and did very much as the young man had done, and -Percivale knocked him off his horse too, and in the fall he broke his -arm. Kay's horse galloped back alone to where the King and the knights -were and Kay had to walk back. 'Now, I will go,' said Gawain. 'It is -likely, Kay, that you spoke to him rudely, for you do speak rudely -sometimes. The knight may be deep in some thoughts in which he does not -like to be disturbed, but I will try to bring him back.' - - - *[Illustration: "Kay's horse galloped back alone" - (missing from book)]* - - -"It used to be said that Gawain could speak so well that nobody could -ever refuse him anything that he asked. He went to Percivale and stood -still beside him for a moment and then said to him: 'If I thought that -it would be pleasant to you to hear it, I would give you a message from -King Arthur. He wishes that you would come to his tent. Two others -have come here before me to speak to you.' - -"'Yes,' said Percivale, 'and they spoke to me rudely and attacked me. -And it annoyed me, because I was looking at the snow and the raven and -the blood, and I was thinking of the face and the hair and the cheeks of -the lady whom I fought for yesterday. But tell me, is Sir Kay with King -Arthur?' - -"'Yes,' said Gawain, 'and he was the second of the men who came to speak -to you, and the fall from his horse that you gave him broke his arm.' - -"'Ah, then I am glad,' said Percivale, 'for now I have punished him for -striking the dwarf.' - -"'For striking the dwarf?' Gawain repeated, 'then you are Percivale! -This is good news! Come back with me to the King, for he and all of us -have left Camelot to seek for you.' - -"'Yes,' Percivale answered, 'I can come back with you now, for I have -met Sir Kay and have punished him for striking the dwarf.' - -"So Gawain led Percivale back to the King, and Arthur and his knights -welcomed him as one of the best among them all. Then they all went back -to Camelot together, and as soon as they were there King Arthur made -Percivale a knight. And he said to him, when he had touched his -shoulders with his sword: 'Rise, Sir Percivale, and may God make you a -good knight. I know that He will, Sir Percivale, for no young man who -has ever come to my court has done so soon such noble things as you have -done. For before you were a knight at all you fought many battles for -right and justice, and you are worthy to be called God's own knight. And -you are worthy, too, to be a knight of the Round Table. Kneel again, -Sir Percivale, and take the oath of the Round Table.' - -"Then Percivale knelt before the King again and the King said to him: -'Do you swear that you will help the King to guard his people and to -keep peace and justice in his land; that you will be faithful to your -fellows; that you will do right to poor and rich alike? Do you swear -that in all things you will be true and loyal to God and to the King?' - -"And Percivale answered: 'I swear it.' - -"The King took Percivale's hand and turned toward the Round Table. All -the knights looked eagerly to see where his place would be, for they -thought: 'No man of us has ever done such deeds as his while he was -still so young, and who knows but he may be that best knight of all the -world, who is to sit in the Siege Perilous?' - -"The King thought of that too, and he paused beside the Siege Perilous, -to see if there were any letters in it, but there were not. But in the -next seat to it, where no one had ever sat since Arthur had been King, -he saw new letters of gold, and the letters said: 'This is the seat of -Percivale, God's knight.'" - - - - -[Illustration: The Tower of London] - - - *CHAPTER IV* - - *THE QUEEN'S ROBING-ROOM* - - -When we got back to the hotel at Glastonbury that night there was a -surprise awaiting us. Helen's mother had a letter and she said: "We are -going to London by the first train to-morrow morning, and then we are -going straight to Paris." - -Now you must know that before we started on this journey Helen's mother -had said that she did not care in the least where we went, except that -we must go to Paris. So it was agreed between us that she should be -allowed to go to Paris just whenever she pleased and that I should -arrange everything else just as I pleased. And so, when she said that -we were going to Paris at once, she made exactly the one announcement -that she had a perfect right to make, without asking me anything about -it at all. Still, just at first, I was not at all pleased. - -I said that of course we should do just as she liked about it, still we -had thought that we were to have plenty of time in Glastonbury, and so -we had not gone to see the ruins of the abbey yet, and it seemed a pity -to have to leave Glastonbury without seeing them. Helen knew nothing -about the ruins of the abbey, but she agreed with me. That made no -difference to Helen's mother. She had a letter from somebody whom she -knew, who was in Paris. That somebody was to be there only for a week, -and she must be there at the same time. We really had no right to -object, and so I gave up objecting and tried to think of the best way -out of it. "Couldn't we come back here again afterwards?" Helen -suggested. - -Now the notion of going to a little place like Glastonbury, so far off -the usual lines of travel, twice in the same journey, is one that would -never come into the head of any ordinary traveller. But Helen is not an -ordinary traveller. And when I came to think of it I could not see the -slightest reason in the world why we should not come back to Glastonbury -after we had been to Paris. I looked at Helen's mother and said: "May -we?" - -"You know very well," she said, "that you can go and come wherever you -like, as long as you let me go to Paris." - -Here was another notion. "As long as I let you go to Paris," I -repeated. "That is just what I will do. What do you want of me in -Paris? All the time that you are there you women will be running about -the city, seeing things that I don't care about and doing things that I -don't care about, such as shopping, and I should only be in the way. -You would get on better without me, and so why should I go to Paris at -all? I will go to London with you to-morrow, and then I will wait there -for you till you come back." - -Helen's mother liked my plan so much that I almost felt hurt. "I don't -see," she said, "how you could be of the least use in Paris. You will -have a much better time in London, and I shall have you off my mind, and -can do just what I like." - -This almost took my breath away, but, as the plan was my own, of course -I had to pretend that I liked it. I said that there were several things -in London that I wanted to see again, and I wanted to look up two or -three places not far from London that had stories about them. I was -afraid I should not have time to go to them if I went to Paris too. -When I said that Helen began to take an interest, as I had thought that -perhaps she might. "Are there more stories in London?" she asked. - -"If you and I," I said, "were to stay in London and find a story every -day, we should not live long enough to find half of them." - -"Oh!" said Helen. - -"Now do you think?" I said, "when you come to think of it a second time, -that you really need Helen in Paris any more than you do me? When she -is a little older she will want to go there just as much as you do now, -and then she can go. But now, don't you think that you should like to -have her off your mind as well as me, and don't you think that she could -do a good deal toward cheering me up there in London, while you are -gone?" - -Helen looked at her mother to see what she was going to say. She said -nothing at all, but she looked at Helen in a way that meant that she -might do just as she pleased about it, and Helen said: "If you don't -mind very much, I think I will stay in London." - -Helen's mother did not mind very much, so I said: "Very well, then; this -is what we will do. We will go all the way to Dover with you, and then -we will come back to London and have as good a time as we can, till you -come back from having the best time that ever was in the world, in -Paris. And when you are with us again we will come back here to -Glastonbury and go to some other good places." - -Nobody could make the least objection to that. And so the next day but -one Helen and I found that we were left quite to ourselves in London. -We found plenty of things to amuse us. We went to see the Tower of -London, as Americans do. We found the old armor and weapons that were -there most interesting, and Helen made a discovery. "Did King Arthur's -knights wear armors like those?" she asked. - -"Yes," I said, "about like those." - -"With all those chains and iron things?" - -"Yes, to be sure." - -"Then I know what became of the green lace girdles that Gawain and the -rest of them had." - -"Very well; what did become of them?" - -"Why, don't you see? They all wore out. They wouldn't last a week, if -they put them round their waists, with all those iron things on." - -There was really no need of any better explanation than this, and so I -gave up ever finding any. - -"There is one curious little thing about this Tower," I said, "that is -not in most of the books about it. It was here, you know, long before -King Arthur's time. One of the old kings was called Bran the Blessed. -And once he told his men that when he was dead they must cut off his -head and bury it under the White Tower, in London, with the face toward -France, and that as long as it stayed there England could never be -harmed by any foe from abroad. Now I have never heard of any White Tower -in London, except this big square one in the middle of the Tower of -London, so that I have no doubt that it was here that the head of Bran -the Blessed was buried, with the face toward France, to guard England -from her foreign foes. But when Arthur came to be King he had the head -dug up, for he said that it would be better for England to be guarded by -the strength and the courage of Englishmen than by magic. You can look -around you at the England of to-day and judge for yourself whether -Arthur was right." - -I had heard that there were pictures of some of the King Arthur stories -in the Queen's robing-room, at the Palace of Westminster, and of course -we wanted to see them. Now anybody who looks moderately respectable can -walk through the Palace of Westminster any Saturday. The trouble is -that the policemen who are posted in the rooms will not let you stay in -any one of them long enough to do more than take a glance at it and pass -on to the next room. Of course this would not do for us, when there -were pictures of King Arthur to be looked at. But we were very lucky. -We knew somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody else, and I rather -think that this last somebody was the secretary of the Lord Great -Chamberlain. At any rate, there were some letters written about us, and -we were told to go to the Palace of Westminster and ask for the -inspector of police. So we went there when Saturday came around and saw -the inspector and told him that we were the ones whom the letters had -been written about. He was very glad to see us and he introduced us to -somebody else. Once more I think that it was the secretary of the Lord -Great Chamberlain, but I am not sure. Whoever he was, he was most -polite, and when we told him what friends of King Arthur's we were he -ordered the policemen on duty to let us stay in the Queen's robing-room -as long as we liked. - -Having all the time we wanted, we did not hurry, but stood for a few -minutes at the windows, looking out across the Thames. "It was -somewhere over there," I said, "not very far on the other side of the -river, that there used to live one of the wickedest knights that were -ever in King Arthur's court. His name was Meliagraunce. I don't know -what made him so wicked, but I suppose he was so to start with. It -occurred to him once that there could be no better way for him to make -trouble than by stealing the Queen and carrying her off to his castle, -over there across the Thames. King Arthur was holding his court just -here at Westminster then, for it seems that there was a palace here as -long ago as that. - -"Meliagraunce had to watch a long time for his chance, for there were -usually a good many people about the Queen, and Lancelot was likely to -be among them, and somehow, wicked as he was, he did not care about -doing anything to harm the Queen while Lancelot was with her. But one -day he heard that the Queen was going maying, with some knights and -ladies, and that Lancelot was not going. That, he thought, would be -just his chance. Now, as the Queen did not mean to go far from -Westminster, there was no thought of any danger. So the knights who -rode with her wore swords at their sides, as they did almost everywhere, -but they carried no spears or shields, and they wore no armor. There -were only ten of them, with ten ladies and a few squires and pages. But -Meliagraunce got ready twenty knights, fully armed, and a hundred -archers on foot. - -"Westminster and the country about it looked very different then from -what they do now. Now there is nothing but city for miles around, but -then there were fields, and a little farther off there were woods. So -the Queen and her knights and ladies rode to the woods and gathered -flowers and green branches, and decked themselves and their horses with -them and started back toward Westminster. Then Meliagraunce and his -armed men fell upon them. The Queen's knights fought for her as well as -they could, but they were so few and so poorly armed that they were no -match for their enemies. In a little while they were all of them -wounded, and the Queen saw that they would all be killed if the fight -went on. So she called to Meliagraunce and begged him to stop the fight -and promised that she would go with him to his castle, if he would let -all her knights go too, for they were wounded and she must have them -with her, so that she could take care of them. - -"Meliagraunce agreed to this and they all set off toward his castle. -But on the way the Queen whispered to a page who was on a swift horse, -and told him to ride back to Westminster and tell Lancelot that she was -a prisoner in the castle of Meliagraunce. So the page watched till -nobody was looking, and then turned his horse suddenly and rode back. -Of course Meliagraunce and his men saw in a moment what he was doing and -what it was for, and they shot at him with arrows, but they missed him -and he was soon beyond their reach. - -"Now Meliagraunce and all those who were with him had to go slowly, -because of the wounded knights, but the page who went to tell Lancelot -rode fast. And when Lancelot heard what the page had to tell he rode -fast too, so that he came to the castle of Meliagraunce not long after -the others arrived there. And as soon as Meliagraunce heard that -Lancelot had come he began to see what a silly thing he had done and to -wish that he were well out of it. So he went to the Queen and begged -her not to let Lancelot kill him. If she would promise that, he said, -they would all go back to Westminster the next morning. So the Queen -sent for Lancelot and told him that it would be better to do as -Meliagraunce had said, for Meliagraunce was a knight of King Arthur's -and it would be better that it should not be known what he had done as -it would have to be if Lancelot fought with him and killed him. And of -course Lancelot said that it should be as the Queen wished. - -"But Meliagraunce had still other mischief in his mind. Now that he had -found that he must send the Queen back to Westminster, he decided that -he would charge her with treason to the King. That was as easy a charge -to make against her as any, and it was as easy a way to harm her as any, -since that was what he wanted to do. You know anybody could charge -anybody else with anything, as long as he was ready to fight and risk -his life to prove it. of course it did not take a minute for Lancelot -to say that the charge that Meliagraunce made was a lie and that he -would fight with him to prove that the Queen was not a traitor to the -King, whenever and wherever Meliagraunce liked. And Meliagraunce said -that it should be eight days from that day, at Westminster, before King -Arthur. - -"Now you may be sure that Meliagraunce would never have said a word -against the Queen if he had thought that he should really have to fight -with Lancelot about it. But he had still another trick to play, which -he thought was a good one. He pretended to be very friendly with -Lancelot and asked him if he should like to see his castle. Then he led -him about from room to room and at last he led him over a trap door. It -gave way and Lancelot fell down into a dungeon and struck on a heap of -straw. And there Meliagraunce meant to keep him till after the time for -the fight. And so, as he expected, it would all be decided his way, -because Lancelot would not be there to defend the Queen, or, at the -worst, he would have to fight with some knight who was not so good as -Lancelot. - -"I suppose I ought to tell you just here that King Arthur himself could -not fight for the Queen in such a case as this, because he had to sit -and be the judge in all such fights. And Arthur always did justice to -rich and poor and to great and small alike, and he would do the same -justice, or he would try to, to the one whom he loved best of all the -world as to the meanest man or woman who could be brought before him. - -"When the rest were ready to go back to Westminster they were surprised, -of course, that Lancelot was not with them. But they did not think that -it was so very strange, for Lancelot often went away suddenly in search -of adventures and told nobody that he was going. So they went back and -told the King that Meliagraunce had charged the Queen with treason and -that Lancelot was to defend her. And the King was not alarmed at all, -for he knew that the Queen could not be guilty of such a thing, and he -felt sure that Lancelot would be at hand when the time came to prove it. - -"But the King felt more sure of Lancelot than Lancelot felt of himself, -for all that week he was in prison. And on the eighth day Meliagraunce -came to Westminster ready for the fight and called upon the King to give -judgment against the Queen, because Lancelot was not there to defend -her. Then Arthur said that he was sure that Lancelot must be dead or -sick or else in prison, for he never failed to keep his promise before, -and he asked if there was any other knight who would fight in his place -to defend the Queen. Then a knight of the Round Table said that he was -sure, too, that it was as the King had said and he would fight for the -Queen instead of Lancelot. - -"But Meliagraunce, as clever people sometimes do, had made a mistake. -He did not know, perhaps, that there was a woman in his castle who was -in love with Lancelot. But there were a good many such women scattered -over England and he ought to have been careful about it. On the very -morning when the battle was to be she came to Lancelot and told him that -she would let him out of his prison if he would give her one kiss. -Lancelot thought that this was not a large price to pay and he paid it. -Then the woman let him out and found his armor for him and helped him to -get a horse from the stable and he set off, as fast as he could go, for -Westminster. And he arrived just as the knight who had promised to -fight for him had taken his place ready to begin the battle. - -"Lancelot rode straight up before the King and told him how Meliagraunce -had trapped him and kept him in prison, and then he took the place of -the other knight and was ready for the fight. Nobody had any doubt how -the fight would go. Everybody felt that the right would win and that -the right meant Lancelot. The King felt so sure of it that he had the -Queen come and sit in her place beside him, though she was accused of -treason. The heralds gave the signal, the knights charged together, and -Meliagraunce was thrown from his horse. Lancelot dismounted then and -they fought with swords, but it was only a few moments before -Meliagraunce was disarmed and helpless and begging for mercy. - -"Then Lancelot had a hard question to decide. In any ordinary fight it -would be unknightly to refuse mercy to any knight who asked it, but -Lancelot felt that such a cowardly, lying wretch as this had no right to -live and that he had no right to let him live. He thought for a moment -and then he said: 'Meliagraunce, take up your sword and let us go on -with this fight to the end.' - -"'I will not fight any more,' said Meliagraunce; 'you have beaten me and -I ask your mercy, and you must give it, as you are a knight of the Round -Table.' - -"'Meliagraunce,' said Lancelot, 'I will take off my helmet and all the -armor that I can from the left side of my body, and my left hand shall -be tied behind me, and then I will fight with you.' - -"Then Meliagraunce ran toward the King. 'My lord,' he cried, 'have you -heard what he has said? I call upon you to make him keep his promise -and fight me with his head and his left side uncovered.' - -"'Meliagraunce,' said Lancelot, 'come back! I am not a liar, like you, -and I need no one to make me keep my promises, even to traitors and -cowards.' - -"Then Lancelot's armor was taken off his left side, as much of it as -could be, and his helmet was taken off. And his left hand was tied -behind him, so that he could not use his shield. And in this way he -stood ready for the fight again. Meliagraunce aimed a blow at his head, -but Lancelot caught it with his sword and put it aside. Then he struck -one great stroke and split Meliagraunce's helmet and laid him dead on -the field. And everybody felt that the Round Table was better by the -loss of Meliagraunce than it would be by the gain of three good knights. -And now I think that it is about time for us to look at these pictures -that we came to see." - -The pictures were painted on the walls of two sides of the room. On the -third side was a throne, with a canopy over it, and on the fourth side -were the windows. The artist had painted scenes from the stories of -King Arthur and he had made them represent the virtues that he thought -ought to belong to a good knight. One of his pictures he called -"Mercy," and it showed Sir Gawain kneeling before Queen Guinevere and -swearing always to be merciful and never to be against ladies. The one -next to this was "Hospitality," and in it King Arthur was receiving Sir -Tristram as a knight of the Round Table. Another picture was -"Courtesy," and there Tristram was playing his harp to Isolt. For -"Religion" there was "The Vision of Sir Galahad and his Company." Then -there was one of "Generosity," with King Arthur thrown from his horse in -battle and his life spared by Lancelot. "That seems a strange picture -to you, no doubt," I said, "but some time I will tell you the story that -it belongs to, and then it will not seem so strange." - -All around under these pictures and on the side of the room where the -throne was, there were carvings: "Arthur Delivered unto Merlin," "Arthur -Crowned King," "How Arthur Gate His Sword Excalibur," "King Arthur -Wedded to Guinevere," and many more. - -"But of all these pictures," I said, "the one that reminds me of a story -that I want to tell you just now is this one of 'The Admission of Sir -Tristram to the Fellowship of the Round Table.' Tristram had been known -as the best knight of the world, next to Lancelot, for a long time -before he was a knight of the Round Table. King Arthur had long wished -that Tristram might be one of his knights, and Lancelot had heard so -much about him that he wanted to know him and to be his friend. So at -last Lancelot and some of the other knights set out to hunt for Tristram -and to try to bring him to the court. - -"You remember that Tristram was in love with Isolt, the Princess of -Ireland. There was another knight, Sir Palamides, who was in love with -her too. I must tell you about this Palamides, for there never was a -knight who belonged more to that dear, silly old time or fitted into it -better than he did. He was a good and strong and brave knight, but -Isolt did not care two straws for him and never would, and he knew it. -But do you suppose that made any difference to him? Not a bit. He made -it half of his business to love her year after year, though he knew that -it would never do him or anybody else any good. It never came into his -head that there were just as good fish in the sea as ever came out of -it. No, all he cared for was to sit on the shore of the sea, never -trying to catch or even thinking of any other good fish, but only -wishing and wishing that he might catch the one that he knew he never -could. It was just like a good knight of those days. - -"I said that he made it half of his business to love Isolt. The other -half of his business was to hunt the questing beast. It was called the -questing beast because of the questing or barking noise that came out of -it. It was a wonderful animal altogether. It had a body like a leopard -in front and like a lion behind, but its head was like a serpent's and -its feet were like those of a deer. And it did not make this barking -noise with its mouth, but the noise was inside the beast, and it was not -like the barking of one dog, but of sixty dogs. I don't know why -Palamides hunted it or what he was going to do with it if he ever caught -it, but this again was just like a knight of those days. - -"Now Palamides used often to feel very unfriendly toward Tristram, -because Tristram loved Isolt. By nature I believe that he was a good -fellow, but he was hot-tempered, and, like other hot-tempered people, he -sometimes did things that he was afterward sorry for. And so, when he -met Tristram, he often felt angry and wanted to fight with him. And -Tristram beat him usually, but not always, for Palamides was such a good -knight that he could give Tristram, or even Lancelot, a pretty hard -battle. Then Palamides would be Tristram's friend for awhile, and then -he would think more about Isolt and would grow to be his enemy again, -and so would be ready for another fight. - -"And once Tristram and Palamides had set a time and a place to fight -together and settle everything between them. But when the day came -Palamides was held in prison by some enemy and could not come. But -Tristram was at the place, and as he waited he saw a knight riding -toward him, with a closed helmet and a covered shield. Of course he -thought that this was Palamides, ready for the fight, so he put his -spear in rest and faced him, and the other knight, seeing him do that, -got ready to defend himself. Now this other knight was Lancelot, and -when the two had been fighting for a few minutes each began to wonder -who the other could be. Tristram knew very well that he was fighting -with a better knight than Palamides, and Lancelot knew that he had never -fought with so good a knight before. - -"And after a long time it came into their heads to stop fighting for a -moment and ask each other who they were. And when each had told the -other his name they saw what a mistake they had made in fighting at all. -It was then that Lancelot made Tristram come to the court with him, and -it was then that King Arthur welcomed him and gave him his seat at the -Round Table, as the picture shows. - -"And now, after all this bother, we have come to the story. Tristram -had not been long a knight of the Round Table when King Arthur made a -great tournament in his honor. It was at the Castle of Lonazep. I -don't know just where that was, but it was somewhere up in the other end -of England. As Tristram was on his way to the tournament he met -Palamides, and they fought, as usual. And Tristram won, as usual, and -then Palamides begged him to let him ride to the tournament with him and -fight for him and do him service. - -"So they rode together till they came to the River Humber, and there -they saw a boat, all covered with canopies of purple silk, coming up the -stream. It came to the shore close to them and lay there still. Then -Tristram and Palamides went down into the boat and saw a strange sight. -In the middle of it was a couch, all covered with silk and cloth of -gold, and on the couch lay a dead knight, armed all but his head. As -Tristram stood gazing and wondering at this he saw that there was a -letter in the dead knight's hand. He took the letter and opened and -read it, and this is what it said: 'To the knights of King Arthur: I who -bring this letter was Hermance, King of the Red City. I was killed by -two traitors, for my lands and my crown. Now I pray that some one of -King Arthur's knights will avenge my death and will take my city and my -castles and my crown for his reward.' - -"Then Palamides said: 'Sir Tristram, you must be at this tournament, for -King Arthur has made it in your honor, and he and many others will wish -to see you here. So let me go to avenge the death of this King, and -whatever I do shall be done for you and in your name.' - -"'You are right,' said Tristram, 'and you may go, but come back, if you -can, for the tournament.' - -"'If I live,' said Palamides, 'and the work that I find to do will let -me, I will be with you again at the tournament.' - -"Then Tristram went ashore from the boat and Palamides stayed in it, and -the men turned the boat and it went away down the river. The men in the -boat knew why Palamides stayed in it. He did not speak to them and they -did not speak to him. He knew that they would take him where he ought -to go, so he stood at the prow and watched the fields that they passed -and the woods and the river, and waited to see and to know who these -traitors were whom he must punish and what sort of task it was to be to -avenge this dead King. And after a time the boat came to where the -river widened out toward the sea, and the men steered it toward a castle -that stood on the shore. Then they gave Palamides a horn and told him -to blow it. And the people of the castle knew the sound of the horn, -and when they heard it they came down to where the boat had landed and -welcomed Palamides and led him up into the hall. There the lord of the -castle met him and made him sit at the table and they brought him food -and wine. And Palamides saw that the lord of the castle and all the -others in it were dressed in black, and after he had eaten and drunk he -asked why this was. - -"'It is for the death of our King,' the lord of the castle answered. -'He was Hermance, the King of the Red City, and no truer king ever -lived. He had two foster sons, whom he had brought up since they were -children. He loved them as if they had been his own sons, but they were -false and wicked. He meant when he died to give them everything he had, -but they could not wait. So they watched their chance, and one day, -when he had been hunting and had stopped to drink at a spring, they came -behind him and stabbed him in the back. There, beside the spring, I -found him, not yet dead. He made me put him in a boat and he made me -write a letter and put it in his hand before he died. The boatmen were -told to go up the Humber toward Lonazep, where all King Arthur's knights -were soon to be, and the letter asked that some one of them would come -to avenge the death of our good King. And you, Sir Knight--since you -have come in this boat--I suppose that you have read this letter and -have come to help us.' - -"'One of the best knights of the world, Sir Tristram, read that letter,' -Palamides said, 'and I have come for him and in his name to avenge the -death of your King. So tell me where I shall find these men.' - -"'You must take your boat again,' said the lord, 'and go to the -Delectable Isle. There is the Red City, and there you will find these -two brothers, Helius and Helake. Go and conquer them and we shall pray -for you and wait to hear what you have done.' - -"Then Palamides went back to his boat, and just as he came to it he met -a knight who said: 'Sir Knight, tell me who you are and where you are -going.' - -"'By what right,' said Palamides, 'do you command me so?' - -"'If you are going to the Red City,' said the knight, 'to avenge the -death of King Hermance, turn back and go no farther. It is for me, not -for you, to avenge him. I am the brother of King Hermance.' - -"'That may be true,' Palamides answered, 'but when the letter was taken -out of the dead King's hand we did not know that there was any knight to -avenge him. I promised then that I would do it, and I must do it now or -I shall be false to my promise.' - -"'That is true,' said the other knight, 'but now let us try a few -strokes together, to see which of us is the better knight, and then that -one shall avenge the King my brother.' - -"So they drew their swords and struck a few strokes, and then the -brother of the King said: 'You are the better; the adventure is yours. -But I will go to the Red City too, so that I can fight with these -traitors if they kill you. - -"'Come with me, then,' said Palamides, 'but if they kill me go to my -lord, Sir Tristram, and tell him of it, and I am sure that he or Sir -Lancelot will come to avenge me and the King your brother.' - -"So they both went on in the boat till they came to the Delectable Isle -and the Red City. And there all the people welcomed them, for they all -loved their King who was dead and hated the traitors who had killed him. -And they sent messengers to the brothers to tell them that one of King -Arthur's knights had come to fight with them, to avenge King Hermance. -And the brothers sent back word that they would be ready for the fight -the next morning. - -"In the morning Palamides was ready in the lists and the people of the -city came to see the battle. And when they saw what a bold and -strong-looking man Palamides was they began to hope that they should be -free of their tyrants and have another King as good as Hermance. Then -the brothers came and took their places at the other end of the lists, -and when the people looked at them they began to fear again that the one -knight from King Arthur's court could never beat them. - -"It was Helake who came first against Palamides, and Palamides ran him -through with his spear at the first charge and he fell dead upon the -field. But the battle with Helius was not so easy. At the first charge -Palamides was thrown from his saddle, and as he lay on the ground, -before he could get up, Helius tried to drive his horse over him, to -crush him. But Palamides sprang up and caught the bridle and cried: -'Come down and fight me fairly on foot or I will kill your horse and -make you do it.' - -"Then Helius got off his horse and they began to fight again with their -swords. It was a fight for life and death, and it was a hard one. It -lasted for a long time, with no rest, and Helius seemed never to lose -any ground or any strength, but Palamides grew weaker and fainter and he -was forced back and back across the field. The people saw it and a low, -sad murmur ran through the crowd. And Palamides heard it, and for an -instant he glanced away from his enemy and saw the anxious faces of the -people and the tears in the eyes of some and the fear in the looks of -many. Then he said to himself: 'Palamides, you are a knight of the -Round Table. Will you let the news go back to King Arthur that you were -beaten in a fight by a traitor and a murderer? And you are here for -Tristram. Will you lose his battle for him?' - -"And with that thought he gathered all his strength and struck Helius -three great blows with his sword, one upon the other, and with the third -he cut through his helmet and laid him dead upon the field with his -brother. - -"Then a great shout went up from all the people and some of them ran -away to tell those who had not seen the fight how it had gone, and they -built bonfires and set all the bells of the city ringing, and others -crowded around the knight and cheered and shouted: 'Long live King -Palamides!' - -"But when they would let him speak to them Palamides said: 'You must not -call me so; all that I have done was for my lord, Sir Tristram. If he -could have come he would have fought this battle better than I. If you -have any new king it is he, and now I must go back to him. But I leave -here this good knight, the brother of your old King Hermance, and he -shall rule you till Sir Tristram sends to tell you what else to do.' - -"Then Palamides went on board his boat again and it took him away toward -the Humber and toward Lonazep to find Sir Tristram." - - - - -[Illustration: The Round Table at Winchester] - - - *CHAPTER V* - - *"CAMELOT, THAT IS IN ENGLISH WINCHESTER"* - - -Even while we were at Camelford, and again while we were at Cadbury -Castle, I had not forgotten the words of my favorite book, "Camelot, -that is in English Winchester." If we were talking about hard history, -I suppose that I should have to say that, if there ever was a real -Camelot at all, it was probably that pleasant hill-top that we had seen -in Somerset. Yet, when a story-teller whom I love as much as I do good -old Sir Thomas says that Winchester was Camelot, it shall be Camelot for -me, at least while I am there. So we went down from London to see if -this third Camelot pleased us as much as the two that we had seen. - -First we walked about the streets and aimed at nothing in particular. -That is a good thing to do on the first day when you are in a strange -city. "If I were to try to tell you," I said, "all the interesting and -useful and delightful things that there are to tell about Winchester, I -should have to go first and learn the most of them for myself. And then -you would get tired of listening to them, for there would be enough of -them to make a book as big as a dictionary. We are supposing, you know, -while we stay, that King Arthur lived here, and, whether he did or not, -other kings of England lived here more or less for I don't know how many -hundred years. King Alfred lived here and King Canute lived here and -William the Conqueror built a castle here, on the very spot, we will let -ourselves believe, where King Arthur's castle stood." - -If the first thing to be done in a town newly visited is to walk about -the streets, the second is to go to the cathedral, if there is one. So -the next thing that we did was to go to Winchester Cathedral. It is not -much to look at from the outside, though it is pretty enough, with the -trees and grass around it. It has only the lowest of towers. It had a -higher one once, but when King William Rufus was killed, they buried him -in the cathedral and seven years afterward the tower fell down. They -thought that it must be because they had buried such a wicked man in the -church. But I think that there are kings as bad as William Rufus buried -under some English towers that have not fallen down. There are kings -and kings, good and bad, lying here in this cathedral. Canute is here, -and it was here that he brought his crown and put it up over the cross, -after he had found, down yonder at Southampton, that he could not rule -the waves, as England has since been supposed to do. To be fair to the -cathedral, I ought to say that, though it is unpromising outside, it is -surely very beautiful inside. After that I think I do not need to say -anything more about it at all, because there are so many people who can -tell you about this cathedral and others so much better than I can. - -We left it and walked up the street to find the castle. I think I -forgot to say at the proper place that the whole town of Winchester that -day was in a state of breathless excitement about a cricket match. The -boys of Winchester College were playing against the boys from Eton, and -pretty nearly everybody in town had gone to see the game. When we got to -the castle, the man who ought to have been there to show it to us had -gone to see the cricket match, like the rest. But his wife, who was a -very pleasant elderly lady, said that she would show it to us. - -They hold court in the castle still. Not the sort of court that King -Arthur used to hold, but courts of justice for the County of Hants. The -old woman took us into one room after another and told us about the -trials that had taken place in them. We pretended to be greatly -interested, but we were not a bit. But by and by she took us to a place -where we were interested. It was the great hall of the castle. I -should feel sorry for anybody who was not interested in the great hall -of Winchester Castle. It belonged to the old castle that William the -Conqueror built, where more kings and queens lived or were born or died -or did other fascinating things than I should dare to try to remember. -And this was the hall of Parliament for almost four hundred years. "And -we may as well believe," I said, "that now we are standing in King -Arthur's hall. If Winchester was Camelot there is no reason to suppose -that his castle was not on this very spot, and there is no reason to -suppose, either, that the great hall was not on this very spot. Henry -VII. believed it, when his son was born here and he named him Arthur." - -It is a beautiful room as it stands to-day. It is long and wide and -high. It has fine arches and cluster columns and windows of stained -glass. But what we gazed at most hung high up on the wall at the west -end of the hall. The old woman told us that it was King Arthur's Round -Table. Well, there was no doubt that it was round, and she said that -there was no doubt that it had been a table once, because there were -places at the back of it to fasten legs. We found a picture of the back -of it afterwards in a book about Winchester, and it showed that she was -right. The table is eighteen feet across, if you insist on my being -exact. The table is painted in quite an elaborate style. There is a big -rose in the middle of it, and then there is a border, and in the border -are the words: "This is the round table of King Arthur and his -twenty-four Knights." This did not make us believe in the table any the -more, because we knew very well that twenty-four knights would not make -any show at all in King Arthur's hall. Above the rose, as the table -hangs now, and with his feet resting on it, is a picture of King Arthur -himself. The rest of the table, except the outer edge, is painted with -broad stripes of dark and light, which run from the border around the -rose to the larger border of the whole table. The old woman asked us to -notice that the names of the knights were around the edge of the table. - -We tried to make out the names and we did make out some of them. There -were Lancelot and Lionel and Tristram and Gareth and Bedivere and -Palamides and Bors and Kay and Mordred and others that we could not -read. The old woman said that there were some of them that nobody had -ever been able to read, and we were not so proud as to try to read what -we were told that nobody could. It was King Henry VIII. who had this -table painted in such a gorgeous way, and it seemed to us that the -picture of King Arthur did not look quite unlike Henry. No, we could -not quite believe in the table after all. King Arthur's Round Table had -places, as we knew, for a hundred and fifty knights, and this had places -for only twenty-four. Still we could not help being uncommonly -interested in anything that had even been called King Arthur's Round -Table for four hundred years at the very least, and probably for six -hundred. - -"You see," said the old woman, "the three pictures on the windows over -the Round Table are King Arthur and King Alfred and King Canute, a -Briton and a Saxon and a Dane." - -We looked up at the three kings on the stained glass windows, and it was -then that I made a dreadful mistake. It came into my mind that it would -be a good plan to show off to this good lady who had so kindly shown us -the hall, how much we knew about these three kings. Pride does -sometimes go before a fall. "Helen," I said, "tell this lady something -about King Arthur, just to show her how much we have learned." - -"I don't want to tell about him," Helen answered, "I would rather you -would tell a story about him." - -"But I am not going to tell any story now," I said, "I want you to tell -one--any one you like, just to show that you can do it." - -"But I don't want to show that I can do it." - -"Helen, if you do not tell us something about King Arthur at once, I -will not tell you another story for a week." - -And then what did this horrible child do but stand there and recite: - - "When good King Arthur ruled this land - He was a goodly King; - He stole three pecks of barley meal - To make a bag-pudding. - A bag-pudding the king did make, - And stuffed it well with plums; - And in it put great lumps of fat, - As big as my two thumbs. - The King and Queen did eat thereof, - And noblemen beside; - And what they could not eat that night, - The Queen next morning fried." - -I tried to look as sorrowful as I could. "You know very well," I said, -"that that is not true at all. That was written by some enemy of King -Arthur. There are plenty of good things that you know and might have -told us; and so, to punish you for telling that, you shall tell us now -about King Canute and his courtiers." - -Now Helen did not like this any more than she liked telling about King -Arthur, but she must have seen how very determined I looked, and she -gave a little gasp and said: "King Canute's courtiers told him that he -was the greatest King in the world, and that the sea would obey him if -he told it to do anything. So he had his chair put on the sand and he -ordered the tide not to come up and wet him, and it did come up and wet -him. And he told his courtiers not to flatter him any more, and he -never smiled again." - -"You get worse every minute," I said. "You know very well that it was -not Canute who never smiled again, and for telling that story wrong you -shall tell us now about King Alfred and the cakes." - -By this time Helen saw that it was getting serious and that it would not -do any good to make any more mistakes, so she said: "King Alfred was -hiding from his enemies, and he was in the house of a cowherd. And the -cowherd's wife was baking some cakes, and King Alfred was sitting by the -fire. And the cakes burned and he was so busy mending his bows and -arrows that he didn't know it, so the cowherd's wife said: 'Can't you -look at the cakes and not let them burn? You'll be ready to eat them -fast enough when the time comes.' And she didn't know that he was the -King." - -"I can't say," I said, "that you have told that quite as well as you -might, but it will do. And now, who was it that never smiled again? - -"Henry I." - -"And why?" - -"Because his son William was drowned when the White Ship was lost." - -"Very well. The first class in English history could sit down, if there -was anything to sit on." - -The old woman was quite speechless with astonishment by this time. I -don't suppose anybody had ever come into this hall and tried to tell her -so many things about the kings who used to live in Winchester before. -We thanked her for her trouble and said good-by, and she just managed to -get back enough of her senses to say that we were welcome and to bid us -good-by in turn. "And now," I said, "suppose we do what everybody else -in town is doing and go and see the cricket match." - - - - -[Illustration: Winchester Cathedral] - - - *CHAPTER VI* - - *THE BOAT ON THE RIVER* - - -Neither Helen nor I knew enough about cricket to tell a wicket-keeper -from a maiden over. But, whether we understood what was going on or -not, the Winchester cricket-field that day was a pretty sight. The -grass all over it was fresh and green, and around it were crowds of -gayly dressed people, watching the game and talking and laughing and -enjoying the warm, soft air and the bright sunshine. For a little while -we walked around the edge of the field and looked at the people and the -boys who were playing, running about and doing such absurd things as the -players of a game you do not understand always do. Then we found a -quiet place across the field from where the most of the people were, and -there we sat down on the grass to rest and to try to make something out -of the game. But that was hopeless, and we soon gave it up. - -"Just suppose," I said, "that instead of these boys, with their harmless -bats and balls and wickets, this field was filled with armored knights -on horses, with long spears and great swords. Suppose that they were -playing their own rough game of the tournament, charging together and -throwing one another off their horses and not caring any too much, -sometimes, whether they killed one another or not. Suppose that the -people from the town had all come out to see the tournament, just as -they have come out to-day to see the game of cricket, and that we had -come, too, just as we really have. And suppose that King Arthur was -sitting over there in his high seat to judge the knights. If we can -suppose all this, I think that wee shall see pretty clearly how one of -King Arthur's tournaments looked when Winchester was Camelot. There is -a story, very pretty and very sad, about a tournament that was held at -this very Camelot, and for all I know it may have been on this very -field. - -"The court was at Westminster just then but the King had given out that -this tournament was to be at Camelot, so, when the time came, he and his -knights set out to ride here. The Queen was sick and said that she would -not come with them, and Lancelot said that a wound that he had was not -yet well and so he would stay behind too and would not fight in this -tournament. Now, although Lancelot was usually honest, I am sorry to -say that just now he was saying what was not quite true. The truth was -that Lancelot wanted to be at the tournament without King Arthur or any -of the knights knowing that he was there. He had won in so many -tournaments and all the knights knew so well that he was sure to win if -he fought, that none of them liked to fight against him, and tournaments -where Lancelot was had come to be rather one-sided affairs. So he -thought that he would wait till the others were gone and then come to -Camelot by himself, in armor that they did not know and carrying some -strange shield, and join in the tournament and fight with whom he -pleased. - -"It was early morning when the others went away. Lancelot waited till -noon, so that he should not overtake them on the way, and then he -mounted his horse and rode toward Camelot. Late in the day he came to a -place called Astolat. There was a castle, and Lancelot thought it best -to stay there for the night. The lord of the castle was an old knight, -Sir Bernard of Astolat. He welcomed Lancelot and asked him who he was, -but Lancelot said: 'If you will pardon me, I do not wish to tell my -name. I am going to the tournament at Camelot, to try what I can do -against the knights who will be there, and I do not wish that any of -them shall know who I am.' - -"When it was time for supper Lancelot sat at the table with Sir Bernard -and his two sons, and Sir Bernard's daughter served them. Her name was -Elaine. And wherever Elaine went and whatever she did, she was always -looking at Lancelot. It seemed to her that there was something about -him that was wonderful and new. She thought that she had never seen a -man who looked so noble, and, as he talked with her father, she thought -that she had never heard a man who spoke so well. They lived a quiet -life there at Astolat, and this knight was telling her father about the -court and about battles and tournaments. He told things that were -strange to her about many of the knights, and she listened to hear him -say something about himself, but he did not say anything. 'Still,' she -thought, 'when I look at him I know that he is the best of them all.' -And she knew so little about knights that this was really a very good -guess for her to make. - -"But Lancelot scarcely saw Elaine at all. He knew that she was there, of -course, and he knew that she was young and beautiful, and he knew that -she was serving them, as they sat there. But Lancelot had seen many -young girls serving at many tables--yes, and a good many of them had -fallen in love with him, too, before this one, with or without his -knowing it. And Lancelot asked the old man: 'Have you any plain shield -here that you could lend to me for this tournament? I have told you -that I do not want to be known at Camelot, but every knight would know -my shield, if I should carry my own.' And when she heard that, Elaine -thought: 'He is some famous knight, I knew he was!' - -"And the old man answered: 'Here are my two sons, Torre and Lavaine; -they are both new knights and their shields are plain and blank. It may -be that Lavaine will like to go and see this tournament, but Torre -cannot go, for he has a wound that is not well yet. You can have his -shield.' - -"'And may I leave my own shield here,' said Lancelot, 'till I come -back?' - -"'Surely,' said the old man, 'Elaine will take good care of it for you.' - -"And when she heard that, Elaine blushed from her forehead down to her -throat, and she stood still and gazed at Lancelot, and he looked up at -her and said: 'If she will do that for me I shall be very grateful.' - -"Lavaine had been listening to all that Lancelot said, almost as much as -his sister, and now he said: 'Father, if this knight will let me, might -I not ride with him to the tournament and see the knights, and perhaps -try a joust with one of them?' - -"'No, no," said his father, 'it would trouble the knight too much to -have such a boy with him.' - -"'It would not trouble me at all,' said Lancelot; 'let him come. He -shall see everything, and if he wants to joust I will advise him and -help him all I can. It would be a poor return for your kindness to me -to do less than that.' - -"Then Elaine, although she scarcely dared to speak to Lancelot, said: -'Sir Knight, if I am to keep your shield, could you not wear some token -of mine at the tournament?' - -"'My child,' said Lancelot, 'I have never done that for any lady, and it -is against my rule.' And then he thought again: 'All my friends know -that I never wear a token of any lady, and, if I do it now, it will be -all the harder for them to know me.' So he said: 'Very well, then, I -will wear something for you; what is it?' - -"And Elaine blushed again with happiness, and she went away and brought -him a sleeve of red silk, all embroidered over with pearls. And Lancelot -bound it on his helmet. Then they all went to bed, and in the morning -Lancelot and Lavaine rode away from Astolat together and came here to -Camelot. And Elaine took Lancelot's shield to her own chamber, and from -the tower of the castle she watched Lancelot and her brother till they -were out of sight. - -"I don't see why I should tell you about the tournament. I have told -you about such things so many times that you know how the knights -fought, and I am sure you do not care to hear it again. But I will tell -you that Lancelot came to the tournament and nobody knew him, that he -did better than any other knight there, that Lavaine did well, too, for -so new a knight, and that Lancelot at last got a dreadful wound. - -"Then he called to Lavaine to follow him and they rode away. Lancelot -could scarcely sit on his horse, but they rode a little way from Camelot -to a place that Lancelot knew, where a hermit lived. The hermit had -been a knight of the Round Table long ago, and when he saw Lancelot he -knew him, and he took him into his cell and took off his armor and -dressed his wound and did all that he could to help him. And Lancelot -was there with the hermit for a long time, and Lavaine stayed with him. - -"Now when the tournament was over the King and all the knights wondered -what had become of the knight who had worn the red sleeve, with the -pearls, on his helmet. He had done better than any of them and the King -wanted to find him, so that he could give him the prize. Some of the -knights had seen that he was wounded, but none of them had seen which -way he went. Then Gawain said that he would hunt for him, but he rode -all around Camelot and could not find him, and then he went back to the -King' and told him that he feared that the knight who wore the red -sleeve was dead. - -"So they all went back to Westminster. And at night Gawain came to -Astolat and to the castle of old Sir Bernard. And as soon as he and his -son and his daughter heard that Gawain had come from the tournament at -Camelot, they asked him to tell them all about it and what had been done -there and who had won the prize. 'The prize was won,' he said, 'by a -knight whom nobody knew, and he carried a plain shield and wore a red -sleeve, with pearls, on his helmet. I never saw a knight joust better, -but he went away before the tournament was over and afterwards he could -not be found.' - -"Elaine was trembling with happiness that her knight had proved the best -of them all. 'We know him,' she cried; 'he was here with us; it was my -sleeve that he wore, and he is the knight that I love. I knew that he -was the best of knights!' - -"'You know him?' said Gawain. 'Then tell me who he was, so that I may -tell the King.' - -"Then Elaine told him that she did not know his name, and she told him -all that she did know about him, how he had come there and how he had -promised to wear her sleeve, and how he had taken her brother's shield -and had left his own with her. - -"'Will you let me see his shield, then?' Gawain asked. 'I know so many -shields that I might tell who he was by that.' - -"So Elaine brought the shield and showed it to Gawain, and said: 'do you -know the knight by this?' - -"'Yes, yes,' said Gawain, 'indeed, indeed, I know him; I have known him -for many years, and he is the best knight of the world. He is Sir -Lancelot of the Lake.' - -"And when she heard this, Elaine could not say anything, but could only -stand before Gawain, blushing and trembling again, that the great Sir -Lancelot had worn her token at the tournament. - -"'But I fear,' said Gawain, 'that we must all be sad for this, for the -knight who wore that red sleeve with the pearls got a dreadful wound, -and now he may be dead or dying.' - -"Then Elaine begged her father to let her go to find Lancelot. And he -saw that she loved him so much that it would be better for her to go and -try to find him and help him, if he needed her, than to stay at home and -fret about him, not knowing whether he was alive or dead. And so Elaine -left Astolat to seek for Lancelot. She went first toward Camelot, and -before she reached the city she met her brother, Lavaine. He did not see -her at first, but she called to him, and she was in such haste that she -would not wait to tell him how their father was, or why she had come, -but asked him at once where Sir Lancelot was. - -"'How do you know,' he said, 'that he is Sir Lancelot?' - -"'It was Sir Gawain that told us,' she answered; 'he came to Astolat and -saw his shield and knew it. Where is he?' - -"'In a hermitage, not far from here.' - -"'Then he is not dead?' - -"'No,' said Lavaine, 'he was wounded and almost killed, but the hermit -is a skilful man and knows what to do with wounds, and he hopes that he -will live.' - -"'Take me to him, then,' said Elaine. - -"So Lavaine led her to the hermit's cell. And when she saw Lancelot -lying there, with his face thin and white, his eyes large and dark, and -all his strength gone from him, she ran to him and fell upon her knees -beside his bed and hid her face in the pillow, and for a few moments she -could not see or speak or move. Then she rose and looked at him again -and put her hand on his forehead, and then she went and spoke to the -hermit and at last she came and sat down beside Lancelot. And after -that she scarcely left the cell till he was well, and in all the weary -days that passed no one ever saw her tremble or shed a tear, and she -never slept when Lancelot needed her, but she was always there to nurse -him and care for him and help the hermit to cure him, and if he ever -smiled at her or called her by her name or reached out his hand and -touched hers she was happy. - -"But Gawain had gone back to the court and had told the King and all the -rest that the knight who wore the red sleeve was Lancelot. And then Bors -had set off to find him too. And Lancelot knew that Bors would come to -find him and he told Lavaine to watch for him in the town, and so he was -soon brought to the cell. And when he and Lancelot had talked for a -little while and Lancelot had asked him about the King and the Queen and -all who were at court, Bors said: 'Is this girl whom I see about you the -one whom they call Elaine of Astolat?' - -"'Yes,' said Lancelot, 'and I cannot make her go away. I tell her that -she keeps herself here too close, but she will not rest or leave me.' - -"'Why should she leave you?' said Bors. 'She loves you, they say, and -here she proves it; why can you not love her too?' - -"'No,' Lancelot answered, 'I wish that it could be, but it never can. I -shall be grateful to her always, she has done so much for me, and I -shall always be her knight, but I can do no more.' - -"'It is for you alone to say,' said Bors, 'but I am sorry for her and -for you too.' - -"They had spoken low, but Elaine was near and she could not help hearing -a part of what they said. When Bors stole a glance at her he saw that -her face was white, but there were no tears in her eyes, and when there -was anything for her to do for Lancelot she did it just as before, and, -just as before, she never wanted to sleep or to be away from him. - -"So Lancelot grew slowly stronger, and after a long time he could sit -upon a horse again, and at last the hermit told him that he needed no -more of his care. Then it was agreed that Lancelot and Bors and Elaine -and Lavaine should ride together to Astolat. There Lancelot was to rest -and get his shield, which was still there, and then go on with Bors and -Lavaine to Westminster. So they came to Astolat and spent the night, -and in the morning Lancelot, Bors, and Lavaine were ready to ride on -their way. Then Lancelot said to Elaine: 'You have done more for me -than I can ever repay. I shall never forget you and always and -everywhere that I go I shall be your knight, and anything that I can -ever do for you I will do gladly.' And Elaine knew that Lancelot could -never do the one thing that she wished him to do for her--to love her. - -"And after they were gone her father saw that she grew paler and -thinner, day by day. Her father and her brother Torre tried to amuse her -and cheer her and make her think less of Lancelot, but she thought of -him all day, and when she slept she dreamed of him. She did not sleep -much. Every morning, before the sun rose, she was up and was looking -out from the tower. Sometimes she looked away toward London, where -Lancelot was, or where she thought that he was, and sometimes she would -look away toward Camelot, where she had been with him. But at last she -could not get up to look out from her tower any more. She could not -leave her bed, but she lay there awake all day and much of the night; -she talked with her father or her brother a little, and for the rest of -the time she thought and dreamed of Lancelot. And one day she told her -father that she knew that she should live for only a little while more. -'And now,' she said, 'you must write a letter, just as I shall tell you. -And when I am dead, dress me the best you can and lay me on a couch and -put this letter in my hand. Then put the couch, and me upon it, into a -boat, and let the boat be rowed down the river to Westminster, where -Lancelot and the King and the Queen are.' - -"All this she made her father promise to do. Then she told him what to -write for her in the letter, and a little while after that she died. -And her father did all that he had promised. - -"One day King Arthur and Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot stood at a -window of the palace at Westminster, looking out upon the Thames. And -there they saw a little boat, all covered over with black and purple -silk, and with only one man to row it. And the boat came straight on -till it touched the shore near the palace. 'It is a strange-looking -boat,' said the King; 'let us go down and see what it is.' - -"So they all went down and looked into the boat, and there they saw the -dead Elaine, lying on a couch covered with silk and cloth of gold. Then -the Queen saw the letter in her hand and took it and opened it and saw -that it was to Lancelot. But when she gave it to him Lancelot gave it -to the King and asked him to read it. And the letter said? 'To the -best knight of the world, Sir Lancelot of the Lake: I who bring you this -letter was Elaine of Astolat. I have died, Sir Lancelot, because you -could not love me. Now I beg that you will pray for my soul and will -bury me as I ought to be buried.' - -"When the King had read this letter none of them spoke at first. Then -the Queen said: 'Lancelot, could you not do her some little kindness, to -make her sorrow less, so that she might live?' - -"'She would have nothing but my love,' said Lancelot. 'I could not give -her that if I would, for true love, such as she should have had, must -come of itself, and cannot be compelled.' - -"So the next day Elaine was buried as if she had been a queen, and -Lancelot and the King and the Queen and the knights of the Round Table -were there to see it done. And the boat that had brought her down the -river went back up the river toward Astolat." - - - - -[Illustration: Stonehenge] - - - *CHAPTER VII* - - *THE GIANTS' DANCE* - - -Instead of going from Winchester straight back to London, we took a -little run across to Salisbury. It was not so much that we wanted to -see Salisbury, though it is a pretty place and has a fine cathedral, but -I wanted to go to Stonehenge. To look at Stonehenge, I think, brings -one nearer to the history and the legend of ancient Britain than -anything else that I have ever seen. And if Stonehenge were nothing at -all it would still be worth going to, for the ride to it from Salisbury -is one of the prettiest in all England. There is no such remarkable -scenery, perhaps, as is to be found in many another place, but on that -day when we rode out there the fields were fairly blazing with flowers, -red and yellow and purple, and the little gardens were almost too full -of them to hold them all without spilling. It was just a free, open, -country ride, with everything around looking peaceful and sweet and -beautiful and happy. - -And when you take that ride, if you trust to a driver who knows the way -and where you ought to go, he will bring you soon to Old Sarum. It is a -hill, with a thick double wall of earth and a ditch around it, and it -was a Roman town once. Perhaps it was a British town or stronghold -before that. It reminded us a little of Cadbury Castle, but it is a -good deal bigger. It had a cathedral in it once, but for some reason or -other the people began to get tired of living in it and moved down and -made the town of Salisbury, and there a new cathedral was built, and Old -Sarum came to be nothing at all any more but a great hilltop, with its -walls and its ditch around it. - -From Old Sarum we went on to Amesbury. I told the driver that I wanted -to stay there for a little while. I think he meant to make a little -stay, whether I had mentioned it or not, for he got ready to do it with -less explanation than it usually takes to get a driver to do anything he -is not used to. He stopped at the little hotel and gave the horse a -drink, and we gave him enough to get something to drink for himself. -Then we walked on toward the church and told him to follow us in a -little while. - -We had walked about in the churchyard for only a minute when we saw a -man coming toward us. He proved to be the vicar, who had seen us and -was coming to show us the church. He did show it to us and told us a -great many interesting things about it which I cannot remember well -enough to repeat them here. But I do remember that it was so old that I -decided that there must have been a church here in King Arthur's time, -and that perhaps some part of this very one was standing then. - -"But where is the old abbey?" I asked. "Are there not some ruins of that -left?" - -We were outside the church now and were looking about at the fields and -the trees. "Oh, no," the vicar said, "there is nothing left of the -abbey now. It was very near where that large house is now. That is the -house of Sir Edmund Antrobus. We can come nearer and look at it, if you -like." So we went nearer and looked at it, and it was a handsome house, -and then we went and stood on a little bridge across the Avon. It was a -shady place and the water was clear, so that we could see the trout -swimming in it, and we looked down the river under a green arch of trees -that grew on the sides of the stream and sent their branches to meet -above it. "I should like you to remember this place," I said, "because -Queen Guinevere lived here for a long time. It is not time yet for me -to tell you how or why, but I will tell you when the time comes, and -till then I want you to remember how the place looks. Remember these -fields and this river and these trees. I don't know, of course, whether -they looked the same then, but they may have been not so very different. -So think of Queen Guinevere sometimes standing on a bridge, just as we -are now, or on the bank of the river, and looking down into just such -clear water and up at just such cool, green, spreading trees. Remember -that she lived over there where Sir Edmund Antrobus lives now, and that -she walked many a morning, it is likely, across these very fields, to a -church that stood where the church is now. That is all. Remember it -till we come to the story about it." - -By the time we came out to the road the driver was waiting for us and -wondering what we had found to keep us so long. We got into the -carriage and went on again, and nothing happened till we got to -Stonehenge. Now I know that you don't want me to describe Stonehenge to -you. If you want to know a great deal more than you do about it, you -can find it in a good many big and learned books. What I wish I could -do would be to make you see it, and I cannot do that. It is not much to -tell about, but it is a wonderful thing to see. It seems to me to mean -so much, standing there, so lonely, in the middle of Salisbury -Plain--that great circle of half-smoothed stones--grand, sad, silent, -older than history--a solid, real, noble thing, left to us from a time -out of which we have little else but fairy tales. It was a huge circle -of stones once, square pillars set on end and big blocks laid across -them. Now many of them are lying on the ground, where they fell so long -ago that some of them are half buried in it. Some way off from the -circle is another tall stone, that they say the devil once threw at a -monk. He was such a good man that the devil could not hurt him, but it -struck his foot and took the print of his heel, and the print is there -now, to prove the story. In the morning of the day of the summer when -the sun goes highest in the sky, people come here to see it rise. I -have never been here then, but they say that on that morning, if you -stand over across the circle and look through one of the great stone -gateways, you will see the sun rise exactly over the point of this stone -that the devil threw at the monk. - -"I am sorry," I said, "that I cannot tell you the history of Stonehenge, -but I can tell you the story of it, if you care to hear it." - -To be sure Helen cared to hear it. - -"We shall have to go back, then," I said, "to a time long before King -Arthur was born. Lud was the King of England. It was for him that -London was named. Perhaps the two names do not sound very much alike to -you, but you know names will get a good deal twisted, the best you can -do. Lud had a brother named Levelys, who had gone over to France and -married a princess and had become King of France. And about that time -King Lud and his people began to have a great deal of trouble. There -were three things that troubled them especially. The first was a race -of people called the Coranians. I don't know where these Coranians came -from or what they did to make themselves so troublesome, but there is no -doubt that, for some reason or other, they did not get on well with -Lud's people. And the worst of it was that there seemed to be no way to -get rid of them. The reason was that they had such good ears. For they -could hear anything that was said anywhere on the island, no matter how -softly it was spoken, if the wind was the right way. And so no plan -against them could ever be talked over without their finding out all -about it. - -"And the second trouble was a noise, a horrible scream, that was heard -in every house in England on the eve of every May Day. It was so loud -and so fearful that it frightened people half to death, and it went -through them like a knife, and it chilled their blood and filled them -with horror, and some of them went mad because of it. - -"And the third trouble was that the King never could keep anything to -eat in the house. No matter how much provision there was at night, it -was all gone the next morning, and nobody could find out what became of -it. - -"Now, it occurred to King Lud that his brother Levelys was a very wise -man, and that it would be worth while to go to France and see him and -ask him if he could tell what ought to be done about all these troubles. -So he got ready a fleet, very quietly, so that the Coranians should know -as little as possible about it, and sailed toward France. And when his -brother heard that he was coming he got ready a fleet too, and sailed -from France to meet him. When they met they were very glad to see each -other, and they got ready to talk about King Lud's troubles. Levelys -was so wise that he knew just what Lud had come for, without being told, -so he tried to find a way for them to talk without the Coranians hearing -them. And he had a horn made of brass, and he thought that if they -talked through that they could not be heard even by such ears as the -Coranians had. - -"But when they began to talk through it they found that whatever either -of them said into it nothing would come out but angry and hostile words. -Then Levelys knew that a demon had got into the horn. So he poured wine -through the horn and drove the demon out. Then they found that they -could hear through the horn much better. Levelys talked through the -horn and told Lud that he would give him some insects that would kill -the Coranians. He must put them in water and then he must call all the -people of the island together and scatter the water over them. It would -kill all the Coranians, he said, and it would not harm Lud's own people. - -"As for the second trouble, that of the dreadful noise, Levelys said -that it was caused by two dragons, that were fighting. 'When you go -home,' he said, 'you must measure your island and find the exact middle -of it. There you must dig a pit, and in the pit you must put a cauldron -of the best mead, and you must cover the top of the cauldron with satin. -Then you must watch till you see the two dragons flying in the air and -fighting together. After a time they will grow weary with fighting and -they will drop down upon the satin and sink into the cauldron. Then -they will drink all the mead that there is in it and go to sleep. After -that you must fold the covering of satin around them and bury them in -the strongest place that you have. - -"'And the third trouble,' Levelys went on, 'the disappearing of all your -food, is caused by a great enchanter, who comes and carries it away. -And the reason that nobody who watches ever sees him is that he casts -spells over all of them and makes them sleep. But you yourself must -watch, and you must have a cauldron filled with cold water beside you, -and when you feel like sleeping you must get into the cauldron and the -cold water will keep you awake.' - -"When he had heard all this Lud went home. And the first thing that he -did was to call all the people together, as his brother had told him. -Then he sprinkled the water with the insects in it over all the people -and it killed all the Coranians and did no harm to his own people. - -"Then he measured the island and found that the very middle of it was in -Oxford. You can measure it yourself, on the map, if you want to find -out whether the middle of it is really in Oxford. I don't say that it -is, only that that was what Lud found. But I suppose he must have been -right about it, for the rest of the experiment worked perfectly. That -is to say, he dug the pit and put the cauldron in the pit and the mead -in the cauldron, and the satin over the cauldron, and waited to see the -fight of the dragons. And the dragons came and fought and fell down -into the cauldron and drank up the mead and slept, and Lud covered them -with the satin and buried them in Snowdon, which is a great mountain in -Wales. I am sorry that we cannot go to Snowdon at present, for I know -that it must be worth seeing. - -"And finally Lud made such a great feast that there was sure to be a -good deal of it left, and then he sat up to see what would become of it. -He put on his armor and sat down and waited, and by and by he began to -hear such sweet music that he could scarcely help going to sleep. But -he got into the cauldron of cold water which he had ready, and that kept -him awake. And at last there came a great man, dressed all in armor and -carrying a big basket. He began to put the food into the basket and Lud -began to wonder how he could do it, for it seemed to him that there was -a great deal more of it than the basket could ever hold. But the man put -it all in and then started to go away with it. Then Lud stopped him and -made him fight with him. And Lud beat him and would not grant him mercy -till he promised to be Lud's servant and to restore the value of all -that he had ever taken from him. - -"Now we come to the second part of the story. To get to it we have to -come down a good many years, to the time when Merlin, the great magician -and wise man of King Arthur's court, was a boy. We almost always think -of him as an old man, with white hair and a long, white beard. But he -was a boy once, just like anybody else. And a wonderful thing about it -was that he knew just as much more than anybody else in the world when -he was a boy as he did when he was an old man. - -"There was a King of England named Vortigern. He had no right to be King -of England, but he was. King Constantine had died not long ago, and had -left three sons. They were Constans, Pendragon, and Uther. Vortigern, -being very powerful at that time, had had Constans made King and he -himself had become his chief adviser. Then he had contrived to get -Constans killed and had been crowned as King himself. Pendragon and -Uther were too young then to rule, and those who had the care of them -had fled with them to France, because they knew that Vortigern would -kill them too, if they stayed in England. And in France the princes -lived and grew up to be young men. - -"While they were doing that, Vortigern was having a good deal of trouble -in trying to govern the kingdom that did not belong to him. He did it -so badly that the people turned against him, and he had many enemies -from abroad besides. At last he called his wise men together and they -told him that there was nothing left for him to do but to build the -strongest tower he could, in the safest place he could, and then stay in -it and try to keep himself from his enemies. - -"So Vortigern hunted all over the island to find the best place to build -his tower, and he decided that the best place was Snowdon. But when his -workmen began to build there was more trouble. No matter how much they -built in a day, it all fell down in the night, and the next day they had -to begin all over again. When that had gone on for awhile Vortigern -called his wise men together again and asked them what was the matter. - -"The wise men did not know in the least, but they tried to look wiser -than they had ever looked before in their lives, and they said that in a -few days they would find out. Then they got together, away from the -King, and talked it all over and tried to make up their minds why the -King's tower would not stand. I don't know all the absurd ways that -they had of thinking that they found out things, but the one that they -believed in the most was studying the stars. So they studied the stars -as hard as ever they could, but not a thing could they find out from -them about the King's tower and why it would not stand. But they were -dreadfully scared by something else that they thought they saw in the -stars. This was that every one of them would finally be brought to his -death by a child who never had a father. Then one of them, who was a -little brighter than the others, said: 'If we cannot do anything for the -King, perhaps we can do something for ourselves. Let us try to kill -this child who never had a father, before he kills us. Let us tell the -King that we have found out from the stars that his tower will stand, if -he mixes the mortar with the blood of a child who never had a father. -Then he will find the child and kill him and we shall be safe." - -"They all thought that this was a good plan, so they went and told the -King that he must find a child who never had a father and mix his blood -into the mortar. So the King sent out messengers in every direction to -hunt for a child who never had a father. As I told you at first, Merlin -was a child then, and perhaps you remember that I told you a long time -ago that nobody ever knew who Merlin's father was, unless, as some -people said, he was the son of a devil. Well, one day two of -Vortigern's messengers came to the town where Merlin lived, and Merlin -and some other children were playing in the street. - -"Just as the messengers came along Merlin struck one of his playmates. -The boy cried out and asked Merlin how he dared to strike him, when he -was the son of a great man and when Merlin never had any father. When -the messengers heard that, of course they were interested at once. They -asked about Merlin and they found that the story was indeed that this -boy never had any father, so they told him that the King wanted him and -that he must come with them. 'I am ready to go with you,' Merlin said, -'and I am not afraid, though I know that the King means to kill me. You -could never have found me if I had not been willing that you should. I -knew that you were looking for me and I struck the other boy so that he -would say just what he did, to tell you that I was the child that the -King wanted. I shall not let the King kill me and I shall tell him what -makes his tower fall down.' - -"Then the messengers went back to the King and took Merlin with them. -When he came before the King Merlin said: 'My lord, you mean to kill me -because your wise men have told you that my blood will make your tower -stand. But they know nothing about it. Call them and let me question -them and prove to you that they know nothing about it.' - -"So the King called his wise men and Merlin said to them: 'What is under -the place where the King wants to build his tower?' - -"The wise men studied and whispered together and tried to look wiser -than ever, but at last they had to say that they did not know what was -under the place. 'Then I will tell you,' said Merlin; 'there is water -under it; my lord, have your workmen dig down and see. - -"So the workmen were set to digging and after awhile they came to the -water. 'Now what is under that?' said Merlin to the wise men. - -"And again they could not tell. 'There are two great stones under it,' -said Merlin; 'draw the water off and see.' - -"So they drew off the water and there were the stones, just as Merlin -said. 'Now,' said Merlin to the wise men, 'tell the King what is under -these stones.' - -"And the wise men, who were getting pretty well scared by this time, -could not tell. 'There are two dragons under the stones,' said Merlin; -'one of them is red and the other is white; when the stones are lifted -they will fight and the red dragon will kill the white one.' - -"The wise men had not another word to say and the King told the workmen -to take up the stones. They took them up and, surely enough, there were -the dragons. And, just as Merlin had said, they began to fight. People -were fond of fights in those days and there surely never was a better -one of its kind than this. But everybody who saw it felt that it could -be seen better a little way off. They were a good deal relieved when -Merlin told them that the dragons would not hurt any of them and would -only kill each other. And no doubt it was a fine fight to look at. The -dragons were horrible creatures, with snaky bodies and wings like bats -and long, sharp teeth and claws. And they flew above the heads of the -people and struck at each other with their claws and twisted about each -other and tore with their teeth and breathed fire out of their mouths, -and roared and shrieked till the air shook. And at last the red dragon -killed the white one, and then he fell down to the ground, and in a -little while he died too. - -"'Now,' said Merlin, 'you can build your tower and it will stand. But -what is to be done,' he went on, 'with these men who tried to make you -kill me? Is it not fair, my lord, that you should give them to me and -let me do whatever I like with them?' - -"'That is fair,' said the King; 'take them and do with them what you -like.' - -"Of course the wise men were all begging Merlin for mercy now, and -telling him that all they did was only because the stars had told them -that he was to cause their death. 'That is true,' said Merlin; 'I know -that you really thought that you saw that in the stars, but I know too -that it was only because an evil spirit was deceiving you. He is a -spirit who hates me and he made you see what you saw in the stars in the -hope of destroying me. So it was not so much your fault, and I forgive -you.' - -"After that Vortigern built his tower and it stood. But he was not -happy or safe in it long. The sons of the old King Constantine, -Pendragon and Uther, who had been taken to France, were grown up by this -time and they came over to England with an army, to get back from -Vortigern the kingdom which belonged to them. To make a short story of -it, they captured Vortigern's strong tower and killed him, and then -Pendragon was King of England. But the country was not peaceful yet. -The Saxons, who had come many times before, came still and tried to -conquer the Britons. Then Merlin foretold that there would be a great -battle on Salisbury Plain. There, he said, Pendragon and Uther and -their army would fight with the Saxons and would beat them, but one of -the brothers would be killed. He would not say which one, but he said -that the one who lived must take his brother's name, besides his own, -and be King of England, and he must build a monument to his brother on -Salisbury Plain that should last forever. - -"So the great battle was fought on Salisbury Plain, all around where we -are now, and the Saxons were beaten. But when it was over, they found -that many of the Britons had been killed, and that the King, Pendragon, -was among them. So his brother Uther was made King and took his name -and was called Uther Pendragon. Then the new King sent for Merlin and -said to him: 'How shall I build the monument to my brother on Salisbury -Plain, so that it shall last forever?' - -"And Merlin answered: 'Send to Ireland and get the Giants' Dance, and -set it up for a monument to your brother.' - -"'What is the Giants' Dance?' the King asked. - -"'It is a circle of great stones,' Merlin answered. 'The giants brought -them long ago from Africa and set them up in Ireland.' - -"'And how shall I bring them here?' the King asked. - -"'Send ships and men to get them,' Merlin answered, 'and I will go to -show them how.' - -"So the ships were got ready and Merlin crossed over with the men into -Ireland. He knew the place to go, and there stood the Giants' Dance, a -great circle of upright stones, with other great stones lying across the -tops of them. 'Now see if you can take them down,' said Merlin. And -they tried. They brought timbers and ropes and made levers and pulled -and pushed and did everything that they could think of. And they could -no more move even one of the stones than they could move the mountain -that they stood on. 'Now rest a little while,' said Merlin. - -"Then Merlin, all alone, walked about the stones and in and out among -them, and he seemed to be saying something or singing something, but -nobody could understand what it was. 'Try again to move them,' he said. - -"They tried again and this time it was as easy as if the stones had been -bags filled with air. They put them on board the ships and they sailed -back to England, and Merlin set them up, just as they had been in -Ireland, here on Salisbury Plain, where Pendragon had been killed. And -afterward, when Uther Pendragon died, he was buried here at Stonehenge, -too. - -"That is all of the story and here is Stonehenge to prove that it is -true. If anybody cares to say that this story is not true, let him tell -me how else these stones came here. Let him try to tell me how else -they could come here. Merlin told King Uther Pendragon that he would -build a monument that should stand forever. Forever is a long time. -Many of the stones have fallen now, you see, but still many of them -stand, and it is not for us to say that Merlin was wrong and that this -monument will not be here always. All that we can know is that the -stones, fallen or standing, are here where Merlin put them, that they -still show us the place where the battle was and where Pendragon fell, -and that the sun, on the longest day of the summer, still rises over the -one stone away down there and looks through the gate that Merlin built, -into the wonderful, old, mysterious, magic circle, where the two kings, -Pendragon and Uther, are buried. And after all, I think that I would -rather not know any more about Stonehenge than that." - - - - -[Illustration: St. Michael's Mount] - - - *CHAPTER VIII* - - *ON THE EDGE OF LYONNESSE* - - -We had meant, when Helen's mother should come from Paris, to go back to -Glastonbury and begin our journey again where we had left off. But when -she came we thought better of it. We decided that, since we were going -to the Southwest of England again, we might as well go all the way and -see the Land's End. Then, we thought, we could go to Glastonbury just as -well on the way back. - -So it happened that when Helen's mother was with us again, we took the -longest railway ride that we had taken yet, and at the end of it we -found ourselves in Penzance. Penzance is the place where the pirates -were, you know. We had always supposed that that was a made-up story and -that there never were really any pirates of Penzance. But we found that -the pirates were there still. Only now they do not scuttle ships any -more, if they ever did; they keep hotels. But that is an unpleasant -subject. - -We set off the next morning for a long drive--which was to be partly a -walk--to the Land's End. There were many things that were worth seeing -before we got to the Land's End, or anywhere near it. First there was -the harbor of Penzance, one of the prettiest that I ever looked out -upon. And over on the other side of it, stately and beautiful against -the summer morning sky, stood St. Michael's Mount. St. Michael's Mount -is a cone-shaped hill, rising high out of the water, with a castle on -the top of it. It is one of those things that are so picturesque that -they surprise you when you see them in a real scene, because they look -too perfect to belong outside a painted picture. - -"And who do you suppose used to live on the top of that hill?" I said. -"Why, the old giant Cormoran, the one whom Jack the Giant-Killer knocked -on the head with his pickaxe, the very first giant whom he killed. Of -course I should not think of telling you that story, at your time of -life; I only tell you that there is the place. But I might tell you -about another giant, and let you try to straighten out his story, if you -like, better than I can. Over across the channel from here, in France, -there is another St. Michael's Mount. I have never seen it, but the -picture of it looks as much like this one as if it were its own brother. -I think that I have told you before that the people of old days used to -think that high hills belonged somehow to St. Michael. Well, over there -on the other St. Michael's Mount lived another giant with whom King -Arthur himself once had a little tussle. The giant's name was Ryence, -and he had a mantle trimmed with kings' beards. You remember something, -perhaps, that I told you once about a King named Ryence, who had a -mantle trimmed with kings' beards. It is rather curious that there -should be two of them. - -"It was when King Arthur went over to France on his way to fight the -Emperor of Rome that he heard of this giant. He was a terror to the -whole country, for he killed hundreds of people and spoiled crops, and -his favorite food was little boys. I don't know why he liked little -boys so much better than little girls, but I suppose he knew more about -which were the better to eat than I do. - -"When Arthur heard about the giant he took Sir Kay and Sir Bedivere with -him and went to the foot of the hill. There he told them to wait for -him, and went up the hill alone. He found the giant sitting before a -fire cooking a man for his supper. Arthur got close to him and wounded -him with his sword before the giant knew that he was there. Then he -sprang up and caught hold of Arthur, and they both fell and rolled over -and over each other clear to the bottom of the hill, and Arthur managed -to give the giant two or three more wounds on the way. Kay and Bedivere -ran to see if the King was killed, and they found that he was scarcely -hurt at all and that the giant was dead. - -"I don't say that there is anything so very remarkable about that. It -is just a plain sort of every-day giant story. But here are the strange -points, I think. Here were two hills looking wonderfully alike and with -the same name, and a giant lived and was killed on each of them. And -here were two giants, both named Ryence, for King Ryence was a giant, -too, and they both had mantles trimmed with kings' beards, and Arthur -killed one and beat the other. It looks to me as if two stories, at -least, had got a little mixed, or else one story twisted in two. How -does it look to you?" - -There is no reason, that I can see, why I should try to tell you all -about the way from Penzance to the Land's End. It will not do you much -good to know that it was grand and beautiful, as long as you were not -there to see its grandeur and its beauty. We stopped at St. Buryan, and -a very old woman showed us the church. It is a curious old place, and -it has some fine carvings. But the old woman, who showed us everything -and explained it to us, could not understand what there was about it -that we found interesting. She had been showing this church to people, -she said, for more than fifty years, and she had never been able to make -out yet why they wanted to see it. - -Then we went on to see the Logan Rock, and got a guide to find it for -us. We could never have found it for ourselves, because it is so mixed -up with so many other rocks. It is a huge rocking stone. It weighs I -don't know how many tons, but a strong man can move it a little, if he -knows just how and where to take hold of it and push. The guide rocked -it for us, and he said that we did it ourselves when we tried, but I -think he flattered us. He helped us to climb on the top of it--not an -easy thing to do at all--and then he rocked it with us sitting on it. -As he led the way back he took us through a narrow passage between two -great rocks and told us that we must each of us make a wish as we passed -through and never tell what it was, and then it would come true. "But we -don't need to ask what the young ladies wish," he said, "they all wish -the same thing." We wondered how many years he had been making that -same joke over and over again. No doubt he must have got some pretty -tips by it, when there were young women and young men both in the party. - -We were going to walk from here to the Land's End, five miles, for it -was one of the places where we had been told that we must walk, so as to -see the scenery. We had already told the driver to go on to the Land's -End and wait there for us. The guide showed us how to go and offered to -go with us, but we thought that we did not need him. "You won't be able -to see the Scillys to-day," he said. "Sometimes you can see them from -the Land's End, but it isn't clear enough to-day. But you can be sure -of a fine day to-morrow. When it is clear enough to see the Scillys it -almost always rains the next day." - -So we felt cheered at missing a sight that we had hoped to see, and went -on our way. All the way the walk was up headlands and down ravines, -with many grand and beautiful pictures--great crags and domes and -pinnacles of rock and deep valleys and gorges and caves, and the sea -always crashing and roaring down below us. - -And when we came to the Land's End, of course that was the best of all. -For there the sea seemed rougher than anywhere else, though it was not a -rough day. It was no new thing for us to stand on a point of rock, with -all the land behind us and nothing but boundless ocean before us. We -did not need to come to the Land's End or to England for that. But -there was something awful and solemn about these towers of stone that -stood here to keep the sea from washing England away, and about the sea -that was working at them while we looked, dashing up against them and -slipping back and dashing up again, as it had been doing for thousands -of years before we had come to look, and as it would do for thousands of -years after we were gone. And after all these ages of work and struggle -the waves seemed to be still angry, still fierce and full of wrath that -the land should resist them so long. "Old rocks," they seemed to say, -"you think that you are firm and steady and strong. But wait--and -wait--there is much time before both of us still. Stand against us as -you will; we shall still clash and beat upon you, and at last, in spite -of all your firmness, we shall wear and wash you away, and we shall -cover you sometime as we covered old Lyonnesse." - -Lyonnesse! That, after all, I believe, is the wonderful thing to think -of at the Land's End. "Yes, now," I said, "we are looking straight out -over Lyonnesse--Tristram's country, the country that is lost. This is -where it began, and it stretched away out there where there is nothing -now but ocean, away out to the Scilly Islands, which we are not to see -to-day. For thirty miles old Lyonnesse reached out from here, and even -now, they say, for all that way, the bottom of the ocean lies at an even -depth, and not like the bottom in other places. And they say, too, that -when the water had covered Lyonnesse for so long that people had almost -forgotten that there ever was any land there, the fishermen used to -think of it again, because they sometimes drew up their hooks with -pieces of doors and windows caught upon them. And nothing more than -these ever came back of a country that had its towns and its fields and -its forests and its people, which were all lost under the water -together. - -"And I remember an old book which says that more than Lyonnesse was -taken away from Cornwall by the sea. For the old book says that St. -Michael's Mount, which we saw this morning, used to have another name, -that meant 'the rock in the wood.' And from this it was thought that -St. Michael's Mount stood in a forest once, and not in the sea, as it -does now. And the book, which was written about three hundred years ago, -says that even then, when the tides were low around St. Michael's Mount, -the stumps and roots of great trees were sometimes seen half buried in -the sand." - -Perhaps this is all nothing but old fable, but the land of Cornwall and -the sea of Cornwall look as if it were true. How could these terrible -waves and tempests tear and beat and surge upon this country, even with -its walls of rock, without taking something away? You can laugh at the -old wives' tales--if it is your way to laugh at such things--it is not -ours--while you are at home, but when you stand at the Land's End and -look out to sea, if you have a bit of the love of a story in you, you -must and you will believe in Lyonnesse. - - - - -[Illustration: The Land's End] - - - *CHAPTER IX* - - *THE SIEGE PERILOUS* - - -It does not matter just where we were when we told and heard these next -few stories. Neither do I need to use quotation marks all through them. -You will understand that we did tell them and hear them somewhere. They -belong to no place. When King Arthur's knights set out from Camelot to -seek the Holy Grail everything seemed at once to grow mysterious and -marvellous and magical. Place and time were unknown and almost -unthought of. Knights rode about without knowing or caring where they -went. Sometimes they found more wonderful adventures than had ever been -thought of before, and sometimes they rode for days and saw no house and -no living thing. Friends met friends and did not know them; fathers -fought with sons, and brothers with brothers. New knights won glory and -knights who were old and tried were put to shame. Common men became -prophets, and so prophets became common. The worst of men gave counsel -to the best of knights, and the knights could scarcely tell whether the -things that they were told to do were the best and the wisest or the -most foolish and the worst. There were signs and omens and visions, and -there were hard trials of courage and of faithfulness. - -There are a hundred stories of what was seen and said and done. They -are all different, and among them all much seems confused and dim and -uncertain. But everywhere and through everything is seen, like a clear -flash of fleeting flame, one perfect knight, the strongest, noblest, -greatest knight who ever came to Arthur's court, the one best knight of -all the world. Others wander and stray and are tempted and overcome and -disheartened, and then there is a gleam of a fire-colored armor, and -there is a swift stroke of a spear that never missed its aim, the wicked -are overthrown, the helpless are rescued, and the knight has passed on -toward his goal of the Holy Grail. - -It all began on the night before the feast of Pentecost, when so many -strange things happened. The King and the Queen and the knights were in -the great hall at Camelot, and a woman, whom no one knew, rode into the -hall on horseback. She dismounted and came before the King and said: -"My lord, tell me which is Sir Lancelot." - -"That is Sir Lancelot," said the King, pointing to where he sat. - -"Sir Lancelot," she said, "I am sent to you by King Pelles. He asks you -to come with me to an abbey in a forest not far from here." - -"And what am I to do there?" Lancelot asked. - -"I am not to tell you that," she said; "I am only to bring you to the -abbey." - -"I will go with you, then," said Lancelot, "if it is to please King -Pelles." - -"Lancelot," said the Queen, "to-morrow is the feast of Pentecost; shall -you not be with us then?" - -"Madame," said the woman, "he shall be back here by dinner-time -to-morrow." - -So Lancelot put on his armor and rode with the woman till they came to -the abbey in the forest. There, when he was unarmed, some nuns came to -him, leading a young man. "Sir Lancelot," one of them said, "this young -squire is the grandson of King Pelles. He is strong and brave and -noble. He has learned much and it is time now for him to be made a -knight. He asks you, and so does King Pelles and so do we, that you will -make him a knight." - -Then Lancelot looked at the young man. He was scarcely more than a boy -in his years but he was tall and strong. Lancelot thought that he had -never seen so beautiful a face besides its beauty there was courage in -it, and freedom and hope and all the rich flush and glow of a bright, -new manhood. And a strange feeling came to Lancelot as he looked, and a -voice seemed to be saying in his ears: "He has come! He has come!" -Lancelot could not have told what it meant. He only felt that there was -something in this young man that made him different from any other he -had ever seen, something without a name, by which he knew that he was -greater and finer and truer than the rest. "To-night, then," said -Lancelot, "let him watch his arms in your chapel, and to-morrow I will -make him a knight." - -And so it was done. The young man watched his arms in the chapel while -the others slept, and in the morning Lancelot made him a knight. Then -Lancelot begged the new knight to come to the court with him, but he -answered: "No, it is not time for me to go to the court, but I shall be -there with you soon." - -"So Lancelot rode back to Camelot alone. And then began the most -wonderful day of all King Arthur's reign. When Lancelot had come and -all the knights were sitting in the hall a squire ran in and went to the -King and said: 'My lord, I have just come up from the river, and down -there a great stone is floating on the water and there is a sword -sticking in it.' - -"That is a wonderful thing, truly," said the King; "we will go and see -it." - -So the King and the Queen and all the knights left the hall and went -down to the river. And there, truly enough, was the stone, floating on -the river, and there was the sword sticking in it, as the squire had -said. And the King saw letters on the stone and he came near and read -them: "No one shall ever draw this sword out of this stone except the -one to whom it belongs, the best knight of the world." - -"Surely," said the King, "I think that the best knights of the world are -in my court; who will try to draw this sword?" and he looked toward -Lancelot. - -"I do not think," said Lancelot, "that the sword is mine, and I will not -try to draw it." - -But many of the other knights tried to draw the sword and could not, and -the King looked at Lancelot again and said: "Will you not try to take -this sword? Surely there is no better knight in the world than you." - -"No," said Lancelot, "it is not for me. Remember, my lord, all the -wonderful things that Merlin told long ago. The best knight of the -world is not among us yet, but I believe that he is coming soon. Let us -all go back to the hall, my lord, and keep our feast and wait for him." - -And back they went to the hall, and they were scarcely in their places -when there came another wonder. An old man came into the hall, leading -a young man by the hand. They saw that he was an old man only by his -figure and by his step and by the end of a white beard which they could -see. For he wore a long, white robe, and a hood hung low down over his -face, so that they could not see it. The young man was dressed all in -flame-colored armor, and he had no shield or sword, but an empty -scabbard hung by his side. They came and stood close to the throne and -closer to the Siege Perilous. Bors sat near them, and it seemed to him -that he knew, just as it had seemed to him once before, long ago, at the -Castle of Carbonek, that this old man was Joseph of Arimathaea, who -would have died hundreds of years ago, but that the power of the Holy -Grail kept him alive. And he knew, too, that the young man was the -beautiful child with the deep eyes and the bright, sweet face and the -hair like gold, whom he had seen at the Castle of Carbonek. Percivale -sat next to Bors, and it seemed to him too that he knew the old man, -though how he could not tell. Next to Bors on the other side was -Lancelot, and what he knew was that the young man was the one whom he -had made a knight that morning at the abbey. - -"King Arthur," said the old man, "I have brought you a new knight, Sir -Galahad. You have waited for him long, for you were told of him before -he was born, and his place at your Round Table was waiting for him -before you yourself were born." - -"He is welcome here," said the King, "and you are welcome too." But -almost before he had spoken the old man was gone from the hall and the -young knight in the flame-colored armor stood before him alone. Yes, -there at last he stood, Galahad, whose name had been spoken with wonder -or with hope or with doubt so many times. Only the best knight of the -world, Merlin had said, should sit in the Siege Perilous, and the best -knight of the world should be Galahad. How many times Arthur had looked -at that seat and wondered why his best knight, Lancelot, could not sit -there, and what the knight could be like who should be better than -Lancelot. And now here he stood--Galahad. - -But there was something else for the best knight of the world to do. -The knights who filled the hall were not thinking then of the Siege -Perilous. They were thinking of the stone floating on the river, and -the sword sticking in it. The King saw them whispering together and -pointing that way and he said to the young man: "If you are indeed that -Galahad whom we have waited for so long, you are more welcome than any -other who has come here since Lancelot, my best knight till now, the son -of my old friend King Ban. It you are that true Galahad who was -promised, then you will be the best of all my knights--better than -Lancelot. Will you come and prove to us whether you are so?" - -Then the King took the young man's hand and led him down to the river -and all the rest followed them to see. And the King said: "Try if you -can draw that sword, for none of my other knights can draw it." - -"See, my lord," said the young man, "I have brought no sword, only this -empty scabbard, for I knew that I should find my sword here." And he -took hold of the sword that stuck in the stone and drew it out and put -it in his scabbard. - -There was no doubt of it now; the knight whom they had waited for had -come. Yet the King's face was sad as he led the way back to the hall, -for it seemed to him that now there could be little to wait for and the -days of the Round Table would not be many more. But other thoughts came -to him a moment later, when the new knight knelt before him to take the -oath that would make him a knight of the Round Table. For then, just -for an instant, it seemed to him that the time had gone back to the -beginning of his reign. There was a look in the young man's eyes that -brought back the day when Lancelot had knelt before him like this and -had sworn this oath and when he had believed that Lancelot would surely -be the one perfect knight. Yes, it was the same clear light that he had -seen for an instant that day in Lancelot's eyes, the glow of something -great and wonderful, he knew not what. But there was more in the face -of this new knight. There was something which told Arthur that, though -he swore that in all things he would be true and loyal to God and to the -King, yet, without the oath, he could never have a thought that would -not be true and loyal. - -And the King scarcely knew whether it was great joy or great sorrow that -made him almost tremble before this boy. And when he took his hand -again they all saw that his face was white as he turned toward the seat -that was next the throne. And there at last in that Siege Perilous were -the letters, more of fire than of gold, as they seemed: "This is the -seat of Galahad." - -Those who could see whispered to those who could not and the word ran -down the hall and then in an instant everyone was still. After all -these years of waiting, after the wonders and the prophecies, would any -one, even Galahad, dare to sit in that seat? They had feared that seat -and had seen it empty so long that they could not believe it, and they -all stood up in their places and strained their eyes and held their -breaths in wonder and dread. And of all who were there Galahad alone -had no fear and no dread. Only for an instant he stood there, with the -eyes of all the rest upon him and his own upon the King's, and then he -sat in the Siege Perilous. - -Every seat at the Round Table was filled. For the first time since -Merlin made that table for Uther Pendragon there were a hundred and -fifty knights around it and no seat was empty. Then of a sudden the hall -grew dark. Thick clouds seemed to have come over the sun and they heard -a great wind outside. Then there was thunder that shook the castle and -almost deafened them. It was over in a moment and through an upper -window there shone one broad beam of sunlight. It slanted down from the -top of the hall to near where Galahad sat, and still the rest of the -hall was dark. And then came the strangest thing of all. They saw a -soft, red glow of light, through the darkness of the hall, and it moved -toward the place where the sunlight fell. They could not see what it -was clearly, for it had a covering of white silk, and the red glow shone -through this and filled the room. And the thing that shone was in the -form of a goblet. It moved, as if someone were carrying it, but they -could not see anyone. It moved till it came where the sun shone upon -it, and then the hall was bright and the knights could see one another. -And it seemed to each of them that the others looked greater and -stronger and more beautiful than he had ever seen them look before. -They knew, all of them, that this that they almost saw, but could not -see, was the Holy Grail. It passed on again, away from the sunlight and -across the hall, and the red glow was gone. The sunlight was gone too, -and then the old light came slowly back and they all saw that the table -had been covered with food. - -At first they were all so full of wonder at the sight that none of them -could speak. Then Gawain, who sat on King Arthur's left, rose and held -up the cross-shaped hilt of his sword. "My lord," he said, "we know that -it was the Holy Grail that passed before us just now. But we did not see -it. So now I make this vow, my lord, that I will leave this court and -seek the Holy Grail, that I may see it more openly than we have all seen -it to-day. I will seek it for a year and a day, if I do not find it -sooner, and if I have not found it then I will come back, believing that -God does not wish that I should see it." - -Then the knight who was next to Gawain held up the cross-shaped hilt of -his sword, as Gawain had done, and made the same vow, that he would seek -the Holy Grail for a year and a day, unless he found it sooner. And so -it went around the table, and they all made the vow, and last of all -Lancelot and Bors and Percivale and Galahad. - -And Arthur had listened to them all and had spoken no word, but his face -was pale and troubled. For he knew that if his knights went away upon -this quest many of them would not come back, and he should never see all -the places at the Round Table full again, as he saw them now. And when -they had all made the vow he said in a low voice to Gawain: "When will -you leave us to go upon this quest?" - -"At once, my lord," said Gawain; "to-morrow." - -"Not so soon as that," said the King. "Let me see all my knights -together for one more day. We will have a tournament to-morrow. You -shall all meet before me once more in one fine field of combat and then -you may go." - -And the knights all saw how sad the King was at their leaving him, and -they were all glad to do as he wished. But the King had another reason -for the tournament that was to be the next day. He did want to see all -his knights together for one last time, but there was more than that. -For here on his right, in the Siege Perilous, sat Galahad. He was the -best knight of all the world, or he could not sit in that seat. Arthur -knew--he could not tell how, but he knew--that when Galahad left the -court to seek the Holy Grail he would never come back. The best knight -of the Round Table, the best knight who had ever been in his court, -would go away forever, and he had never seen him in one knightly combat -and would never know how he could fight, how he could ride, or how he -bore his arms. And this was the reason, more than the other, why Arthur -wished to see one great tournament of all his knights. - -So in the morning the meadow at Camelot was thronged again with the -people who came out to see the tournament, all the more eager because -they had heard of the wonders of the day before and of Galahad, and -because they knew that he would be there in the field. The King sat in -the highest place, with the Queen beside him, and it was with sad faces, -though they were proud too, that they looked down upon their knights -striving together in the tournament. They could scarcely have told -afterward what any other knight did, for it seemed to them all that day -that they saw only one knight. Wherever they looked they saw those -flame-colored arms of Galahad flashing up and down the field. His horse -never faltered, his spear never failed, his arm never grew weary. He -bore no shield, but every spear that touched his armor was shattered, -and when he pointed his own spear at any other knight and charged -against him that knight went down. But the King and the Queen saw that, -while the others were all falling before him, he never came near to -Lancelot or to Bors or to Percivale. He would not joust with them and -so they all three did nobly in the tournament too. And the King was so -filled with the wonder of all that he saw Galahad do that when it was -over he could scarcely speak to him. But he held his hand and looked -long at him and said, in a voice that sounded strange and uncertain: -"Galahad, I have seen the best that a knight can do." - -That was their last night all together in the great hall at Camelot. -After it came a sad morning. The knights were ready early and the King -was ready to see them go, though he could scarcely take the hand of each -and say good-by, so great was his grief at their going. The knights all -mounted together and rode through the streets of Camelot, between the -lines of people who had come out of their houses to see them go, and so -out through the gate and away from the city. And the King and the Queen -stood on a tower of the castle to watch them as long as they could. At -first they could pick out here an armor and there a banner and know that -this was Galahad, this Lancelot, and that Gawain. But when they were -farther off they could not do this any more; they could only see the -big, bright spot upon the road where the morning sunlight struck upon -the armors, and then their eyes were tired with looking and something -came across them so that for a moment they could not see at all. The -bright spot on the road grew smaller and smaller. It flashed and -twinkled and shivered. Was it a cloud of dust that rose now behind the -knights and hid the glimmer of their arms, or was there something in the -King's eyes again so that he could not see it? Once more he saw the -far-off flash, fainter now, and yet again, and then the dust rose and -there was no more to see. And so the noble fellowship of the Round -Table passed away from King Arthur and out of his sight like a setting -star. - - - *[Illustration: "The bright spot on the road grew smaller and smaller" - (missing from book)]* - - - - -[Illustration: "A pasture where a hundred and fifty bulls were feeding"] - - - *CHAPTER X* - - *GAWAIN* - - -All that day the knights of the Round Table rode together, and in the -evening they came to a city where they all lodged for the night. The -next morning they parted and rode different ways. In the days and the -weeks and the months that followed some of them had many and strange -adventures and some of them had but few. I could not possibly tell you, -or even remember for myself, all the wonderful things that happened to -all of them, but I can tell you a part of the things that happened to a -part of them. - -Gawain rode for a long time alone, till at last, at an abbey where he -stopped to spend the night, he found his brother Gareth and his cousin -Uwain. The next day they went on their way together, and as they rode -so they met seven knights, who called to them to stop and to tell who -they were. - -"We are knights of King Arthur's court," they answered, "and we are -seeking for the Holy Grail." - -"Then it is well that we have met you," said one of the seven knights. -"We are from the Castle of Maidens. A knight of King Arthur's court -drove us out of our castle and we have sworn to kill all of King -Arthur's knights whom we meet. We will begin with you." - -Then all seven of them put their spears in rest and charged against -Gawain and Uwain and Gareth. But the three knights of the Round Table -fought so well that they soon beat their seven enemies and wounded them -and drove them away. The three knights parted then and rode different -ways. And in the evening Gawain came to the cell of a hermit and asked -him to let him stay for the night. They talked together and Gawain told -the hermit who he was and that he was seeking the Holy Grail. The hermit -knew, as everybody knew, all that Arthur's famous knights had done, and -he said: "It is useless for you, Sir Gawain, to seek the Holy Grail. -You will never find it. It shows itself only to the purest and the -best. You have not been good enough and sound enough and true enough in -your life ever to see the Holy Grail. Ah, Gawain, Gawain, do not think -that you did such a great thing to-day, you and your two fellows, when -you beat those seven knights from the Castle of Maidens. For one knight -alone had beaten them all only a little while before. They had taken -the Castle of Maidens from the old lord who owned it, and they had -killed him and had held the castle for a long time. They were tyrants -and murderers, and Galahad came and drove them all out and gave the -castle to the daughter of its old lord. Galahad did it alone, and now -you three are proud because you beat the seven cowards. Knights like -Galahad will see the Holy Grail, not knights like you, Gawain." - -In the morning the hermit told Gawain that if he hoped ever to come near -the Holy Grail he ought to do some penance for all the evils of his -life. But Gawain answered: "No; we knights make long journeys and we -fight dangerous battles. Our lives are hard enough without doing any -other penance, and I will do no other." So he rode on his way. - -And after that for weeks and months Gawain rode by lonely ways and -through deep woods and over barren hills, and he met with no adventure -and scarcely with a living man. Then he met another knight of the Round -Table, Sir Ector. He was not the old Sir Ector, Arthur's foster father, -but another, the brother of Lancelot. "I am tired of this quest of the -Holy Grail," said Gawain. "I have ridden for months and I have found no -adventure, and it seems to me that all the people of the country are -dead." - -"It is so with me," said Ector. "I used to find adventures enough, -wherever I went, but there are no more of them now." - -The two went on together for a time and everything seemed waste and -deserted, as it had seemed to each of them before. They came at last to -a chapel that stood by the road. It looked as sad and as deserted as the -rest, and it was falling into ruin, but they left their horses and went -into it and sat down to rest. And while they sat there they both fell -asleep, and Gawain had a strange dream. It seemed to him that he saw a -pasture where a hundred and fifty bulls were feeding. They were all -black but three, and those were white. And while he looked they all -went away, and afterward some of them came back, but many did not come -back. Only one of the white ones came, and the black ones all looked -lean and weak. - -When he awoke he told Ector of his dream, and said: "It seems so strange -to me that I believe it has some meaning, and if we can find some wise -and holy man I shall tell it to him and ask him what it means." - -And as they rode on they met a young squire and Gawain asked him if he -knew of any man such as he wished to find. "Nacien, the hermit," said -the squire, "is a wise and holy man. He was a knight of King Arthur's -many years ago, and they say that he was one of the best of them. His -cell is not far from here." - -He showed them the way, and when they found the hermit Gawain told him -his dream and asked him what it meant. And the hermit answered: "The -pasture that you saw was the Round Table and the bulls were the knights -of the Round Table. They left the pasture, just as the knights went -away to seek the Holy Grail. The three that were white were three -knights who are so true and pure that they will see the Holy Grail at -last, but only one of them will come back. And the other knights, the -black bulls, will never see the Holy Grail, because of the evil in their -lives. Many of them will not come back, but some will come, and they -will be weary and worn with the quest." - -Then Gawain said: "If what you say is true we shall never find the Holy -Grail, for I fear that we must be counted among those who have too much -evil in their lives." - -"Gawain," the hermit answered, "there are a hundred knights of the Round -Table as good as you, who will never see the Holy Grail." - -And Gawain and Ector rode on till they came to a castle where there was -a tournament. The knights of the castle were against a great crowd of -other knights, and Gawain and Ector joined in the tournament against the -knights of the castle. And Gawain and Ector fought so well that it was -plain that their side was winning the day. Then of a sudden they saw a -new knight among those of the castle. They had not seen how he came or -from where. He carried a white shield, with a red cross upon it, and -the rest of his arms were of the color of fire. Gawain charged against -him first. His spear was broken against the white shield, but the other -knight used no spear. He only raised his sword and struck Gawain so -that he cut through his helmet and wounded his head and threw him from -his horse. Ector drew Gawain out of the field and took off his helmet, -and the knight with the white shield charged against more of the knights -who were against those of the castle. And everywhere he overthrew them -till the word was given that the knights of the castle had won the day. -Then he went away again as he had come, and no one knew where. - -The tournament was over and Gawain was taken into the castle and laid -upon a bed. "Ector," he said, "do you know who the knight was who -wounded me?" - -"Yes," said Ector, "I know him. There is only one who could do such -things as I saw him do. It was Galahad. His arms were like Galahad's -too, only when we saw him last he had no shield." - -"Ector," said Gawain, "it is Galahad who will find the Holy Grail. We -are not like him, and we cannot do the things that he can do. We have -gone far enough in this quest. I shall seek the Holy Grail no more." - - - - -[Illustration: "Through woods where there were scarcely any paths to -follow"] - - - *CHAPTER XI* - - *LANCELOT* - - -When the knights of the Round Table parted, Lancelot, like the rest, -rode for a time alone. Many times before now Lancelot had sought -adventures by himself. For many years he had wandered over England and -he thought that he knew the country well. But now, before he had ridden -far, he was in places that seemed strange to him, and soon he could not -tell at all where he was. He crossed rivers and rode over hills and -plains and through woods where there were scarcely any paths to follow. -He saw fewer people than he had been used to see, and many of the houses -that he passed were deserted and ruined. Often wild beasts crossed his -track and he had to fight with them. At night he slept where he could, -sometimes in a ruined house or chapel, sometimes on the ground, with his -horse tied to a tree near him. - -And when he slept he had strange dreams. Often in these dreams he -thought that the Holy Grail came near him. He saw the rosy light shine -through the white covering, for that covering of silk was always over -it, but he could never come close to it. He saw others who were wounded -or sick come to it and touch it and go away again strong and well, but -he had no strength to move or to speak. It came near to him and passed -away and he lay before it helpless. - -When he awoke he would ride on, over more of the hills and plains and -rivers, fight again with the wild beasts and lie down to sleep again as -he had done before. Sometimes he came to a hermit's cell. Then he -stayed all night with the hermit and talked with him of the court, of -the knights, of his long journey, and of the Holy Grail. Sometimes one -of the hermits would say to him: "The Holy Grail is not for such men as -you to see. You have been counted long the best of knights, in your -strength and your deeds, yet there has been evil in your life, too, and -the Holy Grail will not show itself to you in the way that it will to -others." - -Then Lancelot would ride on his way feeling sad. He would remember the -knight in the flame-colored arms, who had done better in that last -tournament that they had than he had ever done. He would remember how -that knight had sat in the Siege Perilous; how his own seat for all -these years had been three places off from the Siege Perilous, and how -those two other knights, Percivale and Bors, had sat nearer to it than -he. And he would think: "This quest is for such knights as those; it is -not for me." - -Then some other wise man would say to him: "Lancelot, the Holy Grail -will show itself to few, but you shall do better in this quest than many -others." And then he rode on his way again with new hope, though he did -not know of what, and with new heart. - -One evening he was riding after the sun had set, and he was thinking -that he must soon find a place to stay for the night. Then he came into -a wood and all at once it was darker around him than it had been out on -the open plain. And before him, then, he saw dimly the form of a knight -coming toward him on a horse. "Sir Knight," he said, "I have ridden in -strange paths for many days and I have met no knight, and I have almost -felt that I was forgetting knightly ways. Will you try one joust with -me?" - -The knight did not answer, but he put his spear in the rest, and -Lancelot did so too. They spurred their horses and rode together with a -crash and Lancelot's spear struck full upon the shield of the other -knight and was broken into splinters. But the other spear held, and it -struck Lancelot's shield and threw him off his horse and he lay upon the -ground. And so the great Lancelot, the glory of King Arthur's court, was -overthrown by the first knight whom he met. The other knight was off -his horse in an instant and Lancelot was on his feet. He drew his sword -half out and then stayed his hand and let the blade slide back again -into the sheath. He bowed his head before the other, who stood before -him, and said: "I know you, Sir Knight. For these many years I have -jousted with all the best knights of the world, and I know the stroke -that every one of them can give. Tristram could never strike any blow -like that of yours, or Gawain or Palamides or Percivale or Bors or -Gareth. I have never felt it before, but I know that there is no other -such certain spear in the world as this of yours, Galahad! Galahad!" - -And the other answered: "I know you, too, for I have heard of you so -long and of your knightly deeds. It is as if I had learned all that I -know of knighthood from you. And it was you, too, who made me a knight, -and I feel toward you, for all these things, as if you were my father, -Lancelot! Lancelot!" - -Then Lancelot said: "Galahad, I feel that it is such knights as you who -will see the Holy Grail, and I feel that it would be better for me to be -with you. May I go with you now, wherever you go, and try to find the -Holy Grail with you?" - -"No, Lancelot," Galahad answered, "no one can go with me yet, but I will -tell you this: since we all parted I have talked with many good and wise -men, and they have told me many things. Of all who are seeking the Holy -Grail only three will see it openly, but of all the rest who seek it you -will be nearer to it than any other." - -Then Galahad mounted his horse again and rode away through the wood, and -it seemed to Lancelot that a pale light shone back upon him for a moment -from the flame-colored armor, and then he was gone. And as soon as -Lancelot was alone a little breeze rustled the tops of the trees above -him. They made only a low, sighing sound at first, and then it grew -louder and clearer, and then it seemed to Lancelot that it grew into a -voice, and he thought that the voice said: "Lancelot, go to the sea and -go into the ship that you find there." - -Then the voice and the rustling of the trees and the wind all died away, -and Lancelot mounted and rode on through the wood. And he had scarcely -started when he came out of the wood and saw the sea before him. Far -out he could see great waves, with white crests that flashed in the -moonlight, but close to him there was a little bay, with a rocky shore, -and a ship lay close to the rocks, so that he could step on board. - -Lancelot could see no one on the ship and it had no sail, but as soon as -he was on board it left the rock and the bay and carried him out to sea. -Then a feeling of strange rest and happiness came over him. He never -knew how long he was in the ship or whether he slept there. But when he -next saw anything clearly it was still night and the moon was still -shining. The water was calm and there was land all around. The ship -came to the shore and stopped, and before him Lancelot saw the gate of a -castle. - -He left the ship and went toward the gate, and there he saw two great -lions guarding it. He drew his sword and kept on toward them, and when -he was near the gate something struck his sword out of his hand. Yet he -felt, he could not tell why, that there was no danger from the lions, -and he went on through the gate. The lions sprang at him as he passed, -but they did not touch him, and he went into the castle. He saw no -people, but he went on from room to room, through open doors, till at -last he came to one that was shut. - -He tried to open the door, but he could not, and then he heard music on -the other side of it. It was like the singing of a great choir, and the -singing or something else seemed to tell Lancelot that the Holy Grail -was in that room where he could not go, and he knelt down before the -door and waited. Then the door opened of itself and a great light shone -out and he could hear the music more clearly. He looked into the -chamber and in the middle of it he saw a table of gold and silver, -inlaid in beautiful shapes, and on the table was the Holy Grail, still -with that white covering of silk. Yet it seemed to Lancelot that the -rosy glow from the Holy Grail that shone through the silk was brighter -and clearer than it had been when he had seen it in the hall at Camelot, -and brighter than it had ever seemed to him in his dreams. An old man -stood beside the table and Lancelot knew that he was the same who had -led Galahad into the hall that day when he had sat in the Siege -Perilous. - -Then, while Lancelot looked, the old man lifted up the Holy Grail, and -at that Lancelot started up and came into the chamber to get nearer to -it. But suddenly it seemed to him that a blast of fire struck him in -the face. The burning air seemed all about him and through him and it -took away his breath and his strength and he fell to the floor. Then he -felt no more pain and he did not know where he was, but he felt hands -that took him up and carried him away and put him in a bed. - -The people of the Castle found that he was not dead and they took care -of him, and it was twenty-four days before he awoke. Then he looked -about him and asked them where he was. "Who are you?" they asked him. - -"I am Lancelot of the Lake," he answered, "and I am seeking the Holy -Grail." - -"This is the Castle of Carbonek," they said, "and King Pelles, the -keeper of the Grail, lives here. You have done well and nobly, Sir -Lancelot, and now you must go back to King Arthur, for you will never -see more of the Holy Grail than you have seen here." - - - - -[Illustration: "He saw the water before him and a ship"] - - - *CHAPTER XII* - - *BORS* - - -Bors left his fellows of the Round Table and rode all day alone. Toward -evening he met a hermit. These Grail-seeking knights were always -meeting hermits. The country seems to have been full of them. And this -one asked Bors to come to his cell and rest there for the night. He had -nothing to give to Bors to eat and drink except bread and water, and -while they were making their supper of these the hermit asked the knight -to tell him who he was and on what journey he was bound. - -So Bors told him how the Holy Grail had come into the hall at Camelot, -but covered, so that no one could see it. And he told him how all the -knights had vowed that they would seek for the Grail and try to see it, -how they had all left Camelot together, and how they had parted now, and -were all riding different ways. Then the hermit said: "Sir Bors, do you -know that this Holy Grail will not be found by any knight who is not -brave and worthy in his deeds and pure and true in his life? Do you -know that it will not show itself except to those who seek for it -faithfully, thinking of nothing else, except such good and noble things -as they can do, and never forgetting it because of any pleasure or of -any gain?" - -And Bors answered: "Yes, I know it." - -"Then, Sir Bors," said the hermit, "will you promise me one thing, to -help you to find the Holy Grail?" - -"What shall I promise you?" said Bors. - -"Promise me," said the hermit, "that you will eat nothing but bread and -that you will drink nothing but water, till you see the Holy Grail." - -"Is it right," said Bors, "for me to promise this? How do you know that -I shall ever see the Holy Grail?" - -"I know," the hermit answered, "that it is such knights as you who will -see it, if they seek it in the right way." - -"Then I will promise," said Bors. - -In the morning Bors left the hermit and went on his way. And after a -time he saw two knights coming toward him, leading a third knight as a -prisoner. They had him bound upon a horse and they were beating him -with thorns. And when they came nearer Bors saw that the knight who was -a prisoner was his brother Lionel. Then, just as he was riding forward -to help his brother, he saw, on the other side of him, a woman, and some -robbers pursuing her. Bors stopped and for an instant did not know what -to do. For, as a good knight, he ought to help the woman, yet he feared -that if he did that his brother would be killed or led away where he -could not help him. - -Yet it was only for a moment that Bors doubted. Then he remembered that -his brother was a knight and that he should be ready always to suffer -whatever came to him, and that the woman needed him more. So he turned -against the robbers and fought with them and drove them away. When he -had done that some knights came up who were the woman's friends, and -they thanked him for saving her and begged him to come with them to the -castle of her father, who was a great lord and lived near by. But Bors -said that he must hasten now to help his brother, and he rode the way -that he had seen his brother and the other two knights go. - -He rode for a long time and saw nothing of them, and then he met a man -dressed like a priest, riding on a black horse. "Knight," said the man, -"where are you riding so fast?" - -"I am trying," he said, "to find my brother, Sir Lionel, for I saw two -knights leading him away as a prisoner, and I must help him." - -"You need not go any farther," said the man, "and you must be brave to -bear what I have to tell you. Your brother is dead. The knights whom -you saw have killed him. Come with me now and I will bring you to a -castle near here, where you can stay for the night, and longer if you -will." - -So Bors rode with him, and as they went along he asked him if he was a -priest. He said that he was, and then Bors asked him if he had done -right to help the woman instead of his brother. "No," the priest -answered, "you did wrong. Your brother has been killed because of what -you did, and that woman was nothing to you." - -Then Bors was sadder than before, and he said no more till they came to -the castle to which the priest was leading him. There a woman, young -and beautiful, the lady of the castle, came down to meet him, followed -by many others, all young and beautiful too. They welcomed him and led -him to the hall, where a feast was spread on the table, and they begged -him to eat and drink, and then to stay with them and join in their games -and their dances and their feasts. But Bors answered: "I am one of the -knights who are seeking the Holy Grail and I must not turn away from my -quest for any pleasures, and I have promised to eat nothing but bread -and to drink nothing but water till I see the Holy Grail." - -"The Holy Grail?" said the priest. "Why are you seeking it? Do you -know why, or shall I tell you? It is because you know that few will -find it. It is because you wish for the glory of being thought better -than other men. Is this a good or a noble wish? I tell you it is a -proud and wicked one. Forget it and stay here with us and be happy and -be like other men." - -And the lady of the castle said: "Sir Bors, I knew that you were coming -here and it was for you that I made this feast. Stay here with us now -or I shall kill myself, and my death will be by your fault, as your -brother's was. Say that you will stay with us, or I will go up to the -top of the castle tower and throw myself down." - -And again Bors did not know what he ought to do. He could not forget -that the hermit had told him that he must not think of pleasures while -he was seeking the Holy Grail, and he could not forget that he had -promised to eat nothing but bread and drink nothing but water till he -should see it. And, as he cast down his eyes in thinking, he saw the -cross-shaped hilt of his sword. And, as if he suddenly knew that that -could help him, he caught it and held it up before him and before them -all. - -And as he held it up he heard a great cry among the women, and the -priest screamed as if an arrow had struck him. And then, too, Bors -heard a great wind sweep over the castle. It was only for an instant, -and in that instant there was a crash of thunder and a blinding flash of -lightning. The next instant the castle and the priest and the women -were all gone. Bors was standing alone on a broad plain, holding up the -cross-shaped hilt of his sword. The only living thing near him was his -own horse. A cold wind was sweeping over the plain. In the west there -was a dull, red glow of sunset and above it there was one pale star. - -Bors mounted his horse and rode away to find a place to stay for the -night. When he had ridden some way he heard a bell and came to an -abbey. He knocked at the gate and a monk came and opened it. When the -monk had let him in, Bors asked him if there was any wise man here who -could tell him the meaning of all the adventures that he had had. "Our -abbot is a wise man," the monk answered. "Perhaps he can tell you." - -So he led Bors to the abbot and Bors told him everything that had -befallen him since he left the knights of the Round Table. "And it has -been so strange," he said, "that I do not know whether all that I have -done has been right or wrong." - -"You have done right, Sir Bors," the abbot answered. "It was right for -you to leave your brother and save the woman from the robbers. Your -brother is a man and a knight and he must take whatever adventure comes -to him. It was your duty to help the woman who needed you, before you -tried to help another knight, even though he was your brother. And your -brother is not dead. Gawain met him and rescued him. The man in the -dress of a priest, who told you that he was dead, was not a priest. He -was a wicked enchanter. He told you that you had done wrong and he took -you to the castle where the feasting was, to make you forget the Holy -Grail. But you were too faithful to your promise and too firm for him, -and I am sure, Sir Bors, that you will be one of those who will see the -Holy Grail." - -Bors went on his way again in the morning and soon he met a man who told -him that there was to be a tournament at a castle not far off. So Bors -went toward the castle, for he thought that at the tournament he might -find his brother or some of his other friends of the Round Table. And -as he came near the castle he saw his brother sitting beside the road, -and his horse standing near. Bors had not felt so glad since he left -Camelot to seek the Holy Grail as he did now to see his brother alive -and well. He got off his horse and went toward him, but Lionel only -started up angrily and got on his horse and made ready his spear. -"Bors," he cried, "you ran away from me to help some strange woman, and -you would have let my enemies kill me. It was the unkindest thing that -ever one brother did to another. Now get on your horse and defend -yourself or I shall kill you where you stand." - -But Bors would not move. He begged his brother not to do so wicked a -thing as to murder him or to make him fight with him, but Lionel would -not listen. When he saw that Bors would not defend himself he drove his -horse against him and tried to throw him down and ride over him. But -Bors caught the horse's bridle, and then Lionel dismounted and drew his -sword and came against him. Then there was nothing for Bors to do but -to draw his own sword and defend himself. But as he lifted his sword he -heard, or it seemed to him that he heard, a strange voice, that rang in -his ears and said: "Bors, do not strike your brother, for if you do you -will kill him." - -And then all at once they could not see each other, for there was a -cloud between them, all of fire, as it seemed, and it scorched their -faces and dazzled their eyes. And Bors heard the voice again, saying: -"Bors, leave this place and go to the sea, for Percivale is there in a -ship waiting for you." - -So Bors turned away and took his horse and rode for a long way, and then -he saw the water before him and a ship, all covered with canopies of -white silk, lying beside the shore. And he went on board the ship, and -as soon as he was there it left the shore and went swiftly out into the -sea. - - - - -[Illustration: "'Knight,' she said, 'what are you doing here?'"] - - - *CHAPTER XIII* - - *PERCIVALE* - - -This was the adventure that Percivale had. When he had parted from his -fellows and was riding alone he met a company of twenty knights. They -stood across his path and asked him who he was and whence he came. "I am -Sir Percivale," he answered, "and I come from the court of King Arthur." - -"Then we will kill you," they cried, "for we are enemies of King Arthur -and of all his knights." - -Then they dropped the points of their spears and rushed upon him, and he -struck down the first that came with his spear. But half a dozen of the -others came upon him all at once, and some of the rest killed his horse, -so that he was thrown down and was helpless among them. Then, when he -thought that his last moment was surely come, he heard the sound of a -horse's hoofs and then a shout, and then he saw the flash of a bright, -flame-colored armor coming toward him. In an instant the knight who -wore it was among them, and he had struck down some of them with his -spear, and then he had drawn his sword and he was laying about him with -it. No one who felt one stroke of that sword stayed to feel another. -Some fell and could not rise, and others turned and fled, and soon there -was none left to do any harm to Percivale. Then the knight in the -flame-colored arms went away too, as fast as his horse could go, and all -that Percivale saw of him was a last glimmer of his armor among the -trees. - -Percivale knew that this was Galahad, and he wished that he could follow -him and go with him on his quest of the Holy Grail. But he had no horse -and Galahad was out of sight, and he could do no more than go as fast as -he could on foot the way that Galahad had gone. And so he went on, not -hoping to overtake Galahad, and scarcely knowing what he did, till night -came on and it grew so dark that he could not see his way, and he was so -weary and so faint that he felt that he could go no farther. Then he -sank down, just where he was, upon the ground, and slept. - -When he awoke it was midnight. The moon was shining, and by the dim -light he saw a girl standing beside him. It was she who had awakened -him. "Knight," she said, "what are you doing here? Have you nothing -better to do than to lie asleep beside the road? Where is your horse?" - -"My horse was killed," he answered, "by some knights who fell upon me -and nearly killed me too. Then I came so far without him and grew so -weary that I sank down and slept here where you have found me." - -"I will give you a horse," the girl said, "if you will take him from -me." - -"There is nothing that I need," said Percivale, "so much as a horse, and -if you can find me one I shall be grateful to you." - -The girl went away and soon she came back leading a great, black horse, -with rich trappings, and she told Percivale to take him. The instant -that Percivale was in the saddle the horse was away like the wind. -Percivale could not stop him or turn him. He went where he liked, and -Percivale was sure that in all his life he had never ridden so fast. -No, nor a tenth part as fast, for sometimes, as this mad horse carried -him along, he saw places that he knew, and within an hour he saw some -that he knew were a day's journey apart. And all at once he heard a dull -roar and saw the ocean before him. The horse was going straight into -it, as it seemed, and when Percivale saw that, he drew his sword and -held it by the blade and struck the horse's neck with the cross-shaped -hilt. Then the horse gave a great leap and threw Percivale off his -back. He fell on the very edge of the water and the horse plunged into -it. And where he disappeared there sprang up a great flame, bright -blue, and it went out and left a thick, black smoke behind it. The wind -blew the smoke away, and there was nothing more to see but the great -waves rolling toward the shore and dashing against the rocks. - -Then the weariness and faintness came upon Percivale once more, and he -lay down there on the rough rocks of the sea-shore and slept again. It -was morning when he awoke. As he looked around him he saw that the -rocks about him were so high that they made a mountain and the water -seemed to be all around it, or nearly so. And as he was looking for a -way to get back to the mainland he saw coming toward him a great -serpent, carrying a young lion in its mouth. An old lion was following, -and it came up and began to fight with the serpent, but it could not -make it drop the young lion. Then Percivale thought that of the two -beasts he liked the lion better, and that he would try to help it. So -he drew his sword and put his shield before him and ran to the serpent -and cut off its head. - -And the old lion went to the cub and found that it was not much hurt, -and then it came to Percivale and licked his hand, as a dog would, and -tried to thank him for saving the cub. After that it carried the cub -away, but in a little while it came back and stayed with Percivale all -day, and at night, when Percivale lay down to sleep, the lion watched -beside him. - -The next morning Percivale saw a ship coming toward the land. It came -close to the rock where he was and he could see no one in it but one old -man, in the dress of a priest. It had been so long since Percivale had -had any friend but the lion that he was glad to see the priest and he -told him who he was and how he had come there, and that he did not know -how to get away from the place. - -"Do not try to find any more adventures now," the priest answered, "but -come into this ship and wait in it for the adventures that will come to -you." - -So Percivale went on board the ship and at once it started out into the -sea. He did not see the priest again and he could not tell where he had -gone, but he could see the lion still standing on the shore and looking -after him, till the ship had gone so far that he could no longer make it -out. And Percivale must have slept again in the ship, though he did not -know how long. But he awoke and saw a man bending over him, and the man -was Bors. - - - - -[Illustration: "'It was King Evelake's shield'"] - - - *CHAPTER XIV* - - *GALAHAD* - - -When Galahad left Camelot he had no shield. He had carried none in the -tournament and he had done better without one than any of the other -knights. He still had none when the knights parted. He rode alone for -four days without any adventure. It was then that he came to an abbey -and went in to spend the night. Another knight of the Round Table had -come there before him, and as they sat talking together the monks told -them of a shield that they had. It had been in the abbey for many -years, they said, and it had been foretold that no one except the best -knight of the world should ever carry it without coming to some harm. - -"I will take that shield to-morrow morning," said the knight, "and see -what comes of it. I do not think myself the best knight of the world, -but I do not fear any adventure that may befall me. And you, Sir -Galahad--if you will, you may wait here for a little while to know if I -come to any harm, and then I am sure that you can bear this shield, if I -cannot." - -"It shall be as you say," said Galahad, "and I will wait to hear from -you." - -In the morning the knight asked for the shield, and the monks brought it -to him. It was white, with a red cross upon it. The knight took it and -rode away with his squire, and Galahad waited. He did not wait long, -for before noon the knight was brought back to the abbey so badly -wounded that they could scarcely tell at first whether he would live or -die. The squire came with him and brought the shield. He brought it -straight to Galahad and said: "Sir Galahad, we met a knight who fought -with my lord and wounded him as you see. Then the knight told me to -bring the shield to you and to say that no one but you ought to carry -it." - -"Then tell me," said Galahad to the monks, "what this shield is and why -no one may use it but me." - -"It was King Evelake's shield," one of the monks answered. "In the time -of Joseph of Arimathaea, Evelake was King of the City of Sarras. He -bore this shield in a great battle that he fought, and it was Joseph who -made this red cross upon it for him. Afterward he came to England with -Joseph. When he died the shield was left here in this abbey and Joseph -foretold that it should never be borne with safety by anyone till the -best knight of the world should come." - -When Galahad heard that, he took the shield and made ready to go on his -way. But first he asked the monks about his fellow of the Round Table, -and they told him that he had been nearly killed, but that they could -cure him. - -I have told you already some of the things that Galahad did. You know -how he overcame both Lancelot and Gawain, how he drove the murderers out -of the Castle of Maidens, and how he saved Percivale from his enemies. -It was after all these things that he was sleeping one night in the cell -of a hermit, and a woman came to the door and called to him. The hermit -opened the door and she said to him: "I must speak to the knight who is -here with you." - -Then the hermit awoke Galahad and told him that there was a woman at the -door who said that she must speak to him. So Galahad went to the door -and she told him that he must put on his armor and come with her. -Galahad did not know who she was or what she wanted of him, but -something made him feel sure that he ought to do what she said. He put -on his armor and rode with her for the rest of the night and all the -next day, and then, as it was getting toward night again, they came to a -castle. - -The lady of the castle welcomed them and told Galahad that he must eat -and sleep a little and then be ready to ride again. It was still night -when they came and woke him, and he put on his armor and rode again with -the woman who had brought him to the castle. It was only a little way -that they rode this time and then they came to the sea-side and saw a -ship, all covered with canopies of white silk. They went on board and -found Percivale and Bors. As soon as Galahad and the woman were in the -ship it left the land and went straight out into the open sea. - -When the three knights had greeted one another and when each had told -the others something of where he had been and what he had done since -they had parted last, Galahad said: "I should never have found you here -if this woman had not brought me and shown me the way, and I am sure -that you must thank her as much as I for bringing us together." - -Then the woman said: "Percivale, do you know who I am?" - -"No," said Percivale, "I do not know you." - -"I am your sister," she said, "whom you have not seen since you first -went to King Arthur's court." - -Then they all stood together, talking and looking out upon the dim sea, -till slowly they began to see it more plainly and the sky grew lighter -and the stars faded away in it, and a faint and then a brighter glow -rose in the east and the day came. When it was fully light Percivale's -sister said: "Come now and let me show you what there is in this ship -that you have not seen." - -She led them to another part of the ship and there they saw a sword in a -scabbard. The hilt of the sword was set with jewels and the scabbard -seemed to be of serpent's skin. It was all rich and beautiful except -the girdle which was fastened to it, and that was of hemp and looked -poor and weak. "Galahad," said Percivale's sister, "this sword is for -you, and I must tell you how long it has been waiting for you. It was -King David's sword, and his son, King Solomon, built this ship and put -this sword in it and said that it should be for the best knight of the -world and for no other. King Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived, -yet he had a wife who in one thing was wiser than he. For she was to -make a girdle for this sword, and she made this poor one of hemp that -you see. When the King saw it he was angry and he told her that such a -sword as this ought to have the best girdle in the world, not the worst. -'That is true, my lord,' she answered, 'but I had nothing that was fit -for the best girdle in the world, and so I have made this one. And this -one shall stay on the sword till it is time for the best knight of the -world to come and take it. Then the sword shall have a new girdle. It -shall be made by another woman, a young maiden, and she shall make it of -what she loves best and is proudest of in all the world.' And when -Solomon had built the ship and put the sword in it, and his wife had put -the girdle of hemp on the sword, they saw the ship, all of itself, move -out to sea, and it passed out of their sight and they never heard of it -again. And ever since King Solomon's time this ship has floated on the -sea, and now I have brought you to it, Galahad, to take this sword which -is yours." - -"This is a wonderful story that you have told us," Galahad said. "How -have you learned these things?" - -"I cannot tell you," she said. "It seems to me that I know them without -learning them. It is the Holy Grail, I think, that has given me the -knowledge of them, but I cannot tell you how; only, when I have seen the -Holy Grail, I have thought that all at once I knew many wonderful things -that I did not know before." - -"The Holy Grail?" said Galahad. "You have seen it then?" - -"Yes," she answered, "many times. You knights go far to seek the Holy -Grail, but it has come to me without my seeking it. Now, Galahad, take -your sword, for soon we must leave this ship." - -"But where is the new girdle for the sword?" said Galahad. "It seems to -me that this old one of hemp will scarcely hold it. And who is the -maiden who is to make the new girdle?" - -"I am she," said Percivale's sister, "and I have made the girdle and -have brought it. It is made of my own hair. It was long and beautiful -once, like fine threads of gold, and I was proud of it and loved it more -than anything else in the world. But when I had seen the Holy Grail and -when I knew of this sword and knew that it was I who must make the new -girdle for it, then I cut off my hair and wove it into a girdle." - -[Illustration: "I CUT OFF MY HAIR AND WOVE IT INTO A GIRDLE."] - -Then she took the girdle out of a casket that she had brought, and it -was indeed like a broad band of soft gold. And she fastened it upon the -sword and bound the sword upon Galahad's side. - -They saw that the ship was coming near the land again and soon it -touched the shore. They all went on shore, and, when they had gone a -little way they saw a great castle before them. When the three knights -and Percivale's sister came near the castle, men came out of it and told -them that they could not pass till they had done the custom of the -castle. And the custom of the castle was that the maiden must give a -silver dish full of her blood to cure a sick lady. The three knights -would have fought the men of the castle and tried to pass by force, but -Percivale's sister would not let them do it. "The lady of the castle -shall have my blood," she said, "and it will cure her." - -"But if you lose so much blood," said Galahad, "you may die yourself." - -"Yes," she answered, "I shall die, but it is no matter for that. All -that I had to live for was to give you the sword that you have, to make -the girdle for it of my hair, and to cure this lady. When I have done -that I shall have done all that I had to do. Now let me tell you what -to do when I am dead. When I am dead, do not bury me here, but put me -in the ship that we have come in. Leave me in it alone and go on your -way. You will see me again sooner than you think, but there is -something still for you to do here. You must go to the Castle of -Carbonek to heal King Pelles's wound. After that you three must bring -the Holy Grail to the City of Sarras. I shall be there as soon as you -and there you must bury me. And two of you will not live long after -that, and you will be buried beside me. For you, Galahad, and you, my -brother Percivale, will stay there with me, and then you, Bors, must -come back to England and tell the King and the rest all that we have -seen and done. Now let us talk of it no more. The Holy Grail has shown -me all that I must do and neither you nor I must try to change it." - -All this, you may be sure, made the three knights very sad, but -Percivale's sister had shown them and had told them so much that was -wonderful that they did not dare to disobey her. They all stayed in the -castle that night. In the morning Percivale's sister gave the silver -dish full of her blood and it cured the lady of the castle, and soon -after that Percivale's sister died. - -The three knights carried her to the shore and put her into the ship -again, as she had told them to do. As soon as they were on the shore -again, the ship started out to sea and they stood and watched it. It -went away from them swiftly and they looked till its canopies of white -silk seemed no more than the wings of a sea-bird resting on the water, -and then, with a last fading flash in the morning sunlight on the edge -of the ocean and the sky, it was gone. Yet still they watched and they -saw a little brown spot of mist rise up where the ship had vanished. It -grew larger and came toward them and spread over the sky and shut off -the water from their eyes and it wrapped them all around. They could -scarcely see the path before them as they turned to go away. The cold, -damp, sad mist cloud was over all the land and the ocean, only before -them there was a pale, silvery shimmer of the sun still shining on the -cloud. - - - - -[Illustration: The Dove with the golden censer] - - - *CHAPTER XV* - - *THE CITY OF SARRAS* - - -The knights went to the castle and found horses, and mounted and rode -toward the Castle of Carbonek. The silvery shimmer of the sun upon the -mist grew brighter. The mist itself grew thinner and lighter and at -last it all melted away into the clear air, and the sun shone warmly -upon the fields and the woods, which the morning mist had left cool and -fresh and dewy. The knights did not speak much to one another. They -were thinking too much of what had passed. And so they rode till late -in the day, and then they saw the Castle of Carbonek before them. - -Everything there was as if they had been expected. The porters opened -the gate for them, King Pelles's men led them to chambers, where they -took off their armor, and then to the great hall, and there they found -places ready for them at the table and the table laid, though with no -food upon it. When they had sat down, King Pelles was brought in and -was placed at the table, too. "Galahad," he said, "no one could be more -glad to see you than I am, for I know that you have come to cure my -wound. I have suffered with it every day for all these many years; yes, -since long before you were born. And all that time I have known that no -one could cure it but you, and so I have waited and waited for you to -grow up and be a knight and go out in the quest of the Holy Grail, for I -knew that it was not till then that you could come to cure me. I have -tried to be patient all these years, but now, Galahad, that you have -come, it seems to me that I could not bear this wound another day." - -When the King had said this, the dove that carried the little golden -censer in its peak flew into the hall, as it had done when Bors was -there before, long ago. The thin smoke floated through the room and it -was filled again with that sweet odor that Bors remembered. Then a door -of the hall opened and an old man--the same whom Bors had seen before, -the same who had brought Galahad to the Siege Perilous--came in. He -carried the Holy Grail itself, and this time there was no covering of -silk upon it. It was not the old rosy glow that came from the cup now. -The blood that was in it shone like one clear, red gem, resting in the -pure crystal of the cup. It shone brighter, the knights thought, than -any light they had ever seen before, yet it did not hurt their eyes when -they looked at it. The beams that came from it made a broad halo of -beautiful colors all about it, and the light that it shed through the -room was like the light of day, only brighter and clearer, and -everything that was seen in it looked finer and more beautiful. - -The old man held the Holy Grail high up above his head for them to see -it better, and then he put it on the little table of gold and silver -that was in the room. Another door of the hall was opened and four boys -came in and brought the spear with the drops of blood flowing from the -point. They came and stood with it before the old man and he looked at -the spear and then he looked at Galahad. Galahad rose from the table -and went to the spear and touched the blood on the point of it with his -fingers. Then he went to the King and touched the wound in his side -with the blood, and at once the wound was healed. The King stood up for -a moment and felt that his strength and his health had come back to him, -and then he sank down again in his place and scarcely moved, but gazed -at the Holy Grail and at the spear and at Galahad. - -"Galahad," said the old man, "you have done now all that you had to do -here. You have seen the Holy Grail and you have healed the King's -wound. To-morrow you must leave this land, and the Holy Grail will -leave it too. Go to-morrow, with your two fellows, to the sea. There -you will find your ship. You must go in it to the City of Sarras and -you must take the Holy Grail with you. When you are there, you will -know what more you have to do." - -The old man lifted the Holy Grail again and went out of the hall with -it, and the boys who carried the spear followed him. The table was -covered with food and wine now and they all ate and drank, and then they -all left the hall and slept till morning. - -In the morning Galahad and Percivale and Bors left the Castle of -Carbonek and went to the shore. And there, as the old man had said, -they found a ship. As soon as they were on board they saw that the Holy -Grail was there before them. It stood on the table of gold and silver -and the covering of white silk was over it again. - -The knights did not know how long they were in that magic ship, or what -way or how far they went. They were moving swiftly always, they slept -and they awoke, and they saw sunlight and moonlight and starlight. The -Holy Grail was always with them and they never felt hunger or cold or -weariness. And while they were in the ship Galahad told Percivale and -Bors that he had prayed that he might leave this world whenever he -wished it, and he knew that his prayer would be answered. And one -morning, just as the sun was rising, they saw a low bank of white mist -far before them, and above the mist they could see the pale, silvery -lines of spires and towers and domes, and they knew that this was the -City of Sarras. The ship brought them quickly nearer and nearer, and as -they came into the harbor they saw another ship going in before them. It -was all covered with white, and they knew that it was the ship that -carried Percivale's sister. - -When they came to the shore they took hold of the table with the Holy -Grail upon it to carry it out of the ship. But it was too heavy for -them and they looked about to find some one to help them. The nearest -man was an old cripple who sat begging. Galahad called to him and told -him to come and help them carry the table. "I cannot help you," he -said; "it is many years since I could even stand, except with crutches." - -"No matter for that," said Galahad, "come and do your best." And the -old cripple came and helped them, and he was as strong and as well as -any man. They carried the table and the Holy Grail to the cathedral and -left them before the altar, and then they came back to the shore and -brought Percivale's sister out of the ship and up to the cathedral too, -and buried her there. - -When the King of Sarras heard of the strange knights who had come and of -the cripple who had been healed, he sent for the knights and asked them -who they were and whence they came. Now this King was a tyrant, and -when Galahad had told him all about the Holy Grail he began to be afraid -of these knights, for he feared that they would have more power over the -people than he had himself. So he sent all three of them to prison. -But as soon as they were in prison the Holy Grail came to them of -itself, and it stayed with them and fed them, as it had fed Joseph of -Arimathaea, when he was in prison. And, like him, they scarcely knew -how long they were there. But when they had been in prison for a year -the King was sick and felt that he was going to die, and then he began -to have worse fears than before. - -So he sent for the three knights again and told them that he had done -wrong in putting them in prison and begged them to forgive him. "We -forgive you," Galahad answered; "you had no power to harm us, for the -Holy Grail was always with us." - -Then the King said to Galahad: "I am sure that I shall die soon and I -wish that you might be King here after me, for I know that my people -could have no better king than you." - -So it was agreed, and soon after that the King died and Galahad was -crowned in his place. When Galahad was King the Holy Grail was put -before the altar in the cathedral again and Galahad had a chest made to -cover it. And every day he and Percivale and Bors went to the cathedral -to pray before it. - -And one day, when Galahad had been King of Sarras for a year, he told -Percivale and Bors that the time had come for him to leave this world, -and they must come with him to the cathedral now for the last time. So -they went to the cathedral together and they saw an old man kneeling at -the altar. He was the same old man whom they had seen so many times -before, who had been made to live so far beyond his time by the power of -the Holy Grail, Joseph of Arimathaea. On the altar before him lay the -spear with the drops of blood flowing from its point. - -The three knights knelt before the altar, Galahad nearer to it than the -others, and they were there for a long time. Then the old man rose and -came to the chest where the Grail was and took it out and held it up -before them, and the light that shone from the blood that was in it, -through the crystal of the cup, was greater and stronger than ever. The -whole cathedral was bright with it. It streamed up among the arches of -the roof and lighted old pictures that were painted there. For years -before they had scarcely been seen, they were so dim with time and with -dust and with the smoke of incense. Now, with the light of the Holy -Grail upon it, the place was again a piece of Heaven, filled with -wonderful forms. There was Elijah, in his chariot of fire; there were -saints and angels; and all about them and among them there were little -stars of gold, that glowed and twinkled in the new brightness like the -stars of the real Heaven. - -The old man set the Grail upon the altar and came to Galahad and touched -his hand and kissed him. Then all at once the church grew dark and -Percivale and Bors could see nothing but the Grail and the spear upon -the altar and the old man who stood before it. He took the Grail and -the spear and then he seemed to rise and to go farther from them, though -they could not see how he went. It seemed to them, too, that Galahad -was with him, and they did not see that the form of Galahad still lay -before them on the steps of the altar. - -In this way they watched for a long time and then Percivale said to -Bors: "Do you not see, far off there in the sky, as it seems, Galahad -himself, with his crown and his royal robes, holding the Holy Grail in -his hands?" - -"I cannot see that," Bors answered; "the window of the choir is open, -but the air outside is growing darker. I see a little cloud that the -setting sun has turned all to crimson and to gold, and that is all." - -After a time Percivale said again: "Bors, do you not see now? He is -farther away, but still I can see the shining of the Holy Grail." - -And Bors answered: "Even the little cloud is gone now, and where it was -a bright star is shining. I can see no more." - -And again Percivale said: "I hear music--trumpets and harps and -voices--and I see Galahad still, and plainer than I saw him before, -holding up the Holy Grail. Do you hear nothing, Bors, and see nothing?" - -"I heard a loud wind," Bors answered. "It passed us and blew against -the window of the choir and shut it. I cannot see the sky any more, but -in the colored glass of the window I see Joseph of Arimathaea, holding -up the Holy Grail, but I cannot see him clearly, it is growing so dark -outside." - -And still, though they did not see it then, the form of Galahad lay -before them on the steps of the altar. And again there was no King of -Sarras. They buried him, Percivale and Bors, in the cathedral, beside -Percivale's sister. And after that Percivale found a cell outside the -city and lived there as a hermit for a time, and then he died. Bors -stayed with him till then, and he buried him in the cathedral, with his -sister and Galahad. And when he had done that Bors left the City of -Sarras and went on his way back toward England, to tell King Arthur the -last of the story of the Holy Grail. - - - - -[Illustration: The Cheesewring] - - - *CHAPTER XVI* - - *STORIES OF STRANGE STONES* - - -What I wanted to find was Dozmare Pool. I had heard about it and I had -read about it, and I wanted to see it. I studied the maps and the -time-tables. We had to go from Penzance to Exeter, and I thought that -if we got off the train at Liskeard we could find a carriage to take us -to Dozmare Pool and back in time to catch another train and get to -Exeter before night. Then it turned out that Helen's mother did not -care about going to Dozmare Pool at all. - -You may never have noticed it, but one of the best ways in the world for -two people to get along together is for each of them to have his own way -always. So it took us less than a minute to settle that Helen's mother -should just stay in the train till it got to Exeter and wait there for -us. Helen was young enough to feel an ambition to see and do as much as -possible, instead of as little as possible, and she said that she would -go to see Dozmare Pool too. And so Helen and I got off the train at -Liskeard and stood on the platform and saw it go on and watched it till -it was out of sight. Then we felt that we were alone in a strange land, -for we knew almost as little about Liskeard as we did about the moon, -and how could we tell that we should be able to get to Dozmare Pool at -all? We left the station and began to look around. We did not have to -look far. Just across the road there was a little hotel called the Stag. -We went in and the landlord did not seem quite so surprised to see us as -some of the hotel keepers we had met before. We asked him if we could -have luncheon and he said we could. Then we asked him if he knew where -Dozmare Pool was. That made him stare a little, but he said he did. -Next we asked him if he could find a carriage and a driver to take us -there. "Yes," he said, "and I suppose you will want to go to the -Cheesewring too." - -"What is the Cheesewring?" - -"It's some very curious stones, sir; visitors almost always go to see -it, sir." - -"Is it near Dozmare Pool?" - -"Oh, it's a matter of three miles, sir." - -"Shall we have time to go to both places and get back so as to catch a -train for Exeter?" - -"Oh, yes, sir; you'll have plenty of time, I think." - -"Very well, then, we will go to the Cheesewring." - -That is the way with hotel keepers in such places. They have certain -sights that they expect everybody to go to see, but they never can -understand why you want to see anything else. And of course it doesn't -really matter whether they understand or not. Still I was willing to -take the landlord's advice. I had read something about the Cheesewring -before and I was glad to find that we had such a good chance to see it. - -When we had finished luncheon the carriage and the driver were ready, -and in a few minutes Liskeard was behind us. The country was of the -same pretty sort that we had seen so many times before, with tall trees, -that hung over the road, and fields and high hedges. They were not -wonderful scenes that we were riding through, but just fresh and bright -and lovely scenes. - -There was a place where, for a short way, we rode along beside a little -brook, and even from the carriage, as we passed, we could see the trout -swimming in it. The driver told us that the boys of a school near-by -often caught the trout by letting down wide-mouthed bottles, with bait -in them, into the water. The fish would go into the bottles and the -boys would pull them up by the strings. This was a way of catching -trout that I had never heard of, but it seemed likely enough that it -might be done, with a stream so full of them as this one was. - -I tried, as usual, to get the driver to tell us stories. "What sort of -place is this Dozmare Pool, where we are going?" I said. "I have heard -that there are some very wonderful stories about it." - -"I can't say, sir," he answered; "I never heard any stories about it in -particular." - -This was just the answer that I expected. It is not at all easy to get -people to tell you the stories about the places where they live, even -when they know them. I don't know why it is. Perhaps they are afraid -of being laughed at, if the stories happen to be a little hard to -believe, and perhaps they feel that the stories belong to them and to -their neighbors, and they do not like to give them to strangers. - -But one of the best ways to get them to tell you a story is to tell them -one. I thought that this way was worth trying, so I said: "I am -surprised at that. I thought everybody about here must know stories -about Dozmare Pool. Why, I was reading only the other day about a giant -named Tregagle, who lived about the pool and had a great deal of -trouble. He was once a wicked steward, I think, who killed his master -and mistress and got the property that belonged to their child, and for -that he was condemned to empty Dozmare Pool with a limpet shell. Of -course he never could do it, but he had to keep working at it forever. -And then, as if that was not enough, the story said that sometimes the -devil used to come after him, and the only way that he could get away -from the devil was to run fifteen miles to the Roche Rocks and put his -head in at the window of a chapel there, and then the devil could not -harm him. And when the devil got tired of waiting and went away, poor -old Tregagle had to come back and go to work again at emptying the pool -with his limpet shell." - -"I never heard of Tregagle," said the driver, "but the way I heard the -story was that it was the devil himself who had to empty the pool with a -limpet shell, and he did it. Then he was condemned to bind the sand and -mike the binds of the sime, and that he couldn't do." - -So the driver did know a story after all. I must tell you just here -that this driver had a very queer way of speaking, as it seemed to us. -I am not quite sure whether it was a Cornish way or not. It was harder -to understand than any other speech that we had heard in Cornwall. -Liskeard is almost on the edge of Devonshire and this man's talk, too, -had something that sounded like London in it. I try to tell you the -things that he said in every-day English, and not just the way he said -them. But I have tried, too, to give you a few words just as they -sounded, to show you what they were like. But I feel that I have not -quite done it. When the driver told us that the devil was condemned to -"bind the sand and mike the binds of the sime," Helen and I stared at -each other and could not make out what he meant at first. But we soon -thought it out. The words that he had tried to say were "bind the sand -and make the binds of the same," and what he meant was, that the devil -was to make the sand into bundles and make ropes out of the sand to bind -them around. Making ropes out of sand has always been counted a hard -thing to do, and it is really no wonder that the devil could not do it. - -After he had told us this one story the driver was much better company, -and I think he tried to tell us all that he could about all that we saw. -"The well of St. Keyne is not far from here," he said. "Perhaps you may -have heard of it, sir. They tell the story about it that when a man and -a woman are married, the one of them that drinks from the well of St. -Keyne first will always be the ruler of the house. And the story tells -how there was a man who was married, and he wanted to be sure to drink -first. So as soon as the marriage was over he left his wife in the -church and ran and drank from the well. But his wife was before him -after all, for she had brought a bottle of the water to church with her. -There was a piece of poetry made about it. I don't remember who did -it." - -"Southey?" I suggested. - -"Yes, sir; I think so, sir." - -The driver showed us two curious stones in a field that we passed and -waited while we went to look at them more closely. They stood on end -and were rather higher than a man's head, as I remember. They were -square at the bottom, but smaller at the top, and one of them had -somewhat the form of a chair. There was some rough carving on the sides. -The driver said that he had heard that some old King of Cornwall was -buried there. Since then I have read more about these stones in a very -old book about Cornwall. The writer does not seem to know much more -than we as to how they came there, but he says that they are called "the -Other Half Stone." I think that you will say that that is as curious a -name as you ever heard. The old writer seems to think so too, and he -does not know anything about the one half stone of which these are "the -other half." But he says that they are just half way between Exeter and -the Land's End. - -The driver decided that he would take us to the Cheesewring before -Dozmare Pool, and by and by he said that we were as near to it as we -could go with the carriage. He pointed it out to us, on a hill, a long -way off, as it seemed. Then he drove along to a poor little village, -where we left the horse and carriage at a house that called itself an -hotel, and from there we walked to the Cheesewring. The way was across -a broad stretch of rough ground and it was not at all easy walking. We -had not gone far before the driver had some more stones to show us. -They were not very large, but there were a good many of them, and they -stood on end, as usual. They had stood in two great circles once, as if -they were little stones trying to look like Stonehenge, but now some of -them had fallen down, and of course that was a part of their game of -Stonehenge too. - -"They call these the Hurlers," said the driver, "and they tell the story -that they were men, who were turned into stone for playing quoits on -Sunday." (He pronounced it "kites.") Then he pointed to two stones -that stood by themselves, a little way from the circles, and said: "I -suppose those two were men who were only looking on, and not playing." - -We resolved that we would never play quoits on Sunday, or so much as -look at anybody playing quoits on Sunday, and then we went on toward the -Cheesewring. We had to climb a little way up the hillside to get to it, -and then we stood almost on the edge of a precipice, looking down into a -great quarry, where there were men at work cutting out stone. The -Cheesewring itself was almost on the edge of the precipice too. It was -a great pile of stones--a great pile, but few stones, for they were huge -ones. They were skilfully fitted and balanced, one upon the other, and -the top one was much the largest of them all, so that the whole pile had -somewhat the shape of a rude anvil. The whole pile was perhaps four -times as high as our heads. I think I have forgotten to say till now -that "Cheesewring" means "cheese-press," and surely a very large and -very stiff cheese might be well flattened out by having that pile of -stones set upon it. - -The puzzle of it, as usual, is how the stones got there. The machinery -that they are using down below there in the quarry to-day would be none -too good to move such stones as these. Yet there they are, and there is -no history of the time when they were put there. "What do you think of -them," I said, "and whoever do you suppose knew how to pile them up -there?" - -"I don't know," Helen answered, "but when there are any big stones -anywhere you generally say that Merlin put them there." - -"Well, I am not going to say so this time, though these stones do -somehow remind me of Merlin. Did I ever tell you what became of him at -last?" - -"No," said Helen, "of course you didn't." - -"Why, here we are," I said, "telling stories about the very end of King -Arthur's reign, and nobody had seen or heard anything of Merlin since -almost the very beginning of it. And do you mean to tell me that I have -never told you what became of him?" - -"Why, you know you never did; what was it?" - -"Well, to be sure, if I have never told you that, we ought not to lose -another minute about it. But you must forget everything that you have -heard lately and go away back, for that is where this story begins. -After Merlin had taken good care of King Vortigern and of King -Pendragon, King Arthur's uncle; and King Uther Pendragon, Arthur's -father; and of King Arthur himself; after he had set him on his throne -and had helped him to win battles and to get his sword Excalibur, what -do you think Merlin did? You would think that he was old enough to know -better, only I believe nobody is ever old enough to know better. He -fell in love. - -"Merlin knew everything, and so he knew that he was going to fall in -love. He knew, too, that because of his falling in love he should go -away from the court and away from the King and away from all the world, -and that after that he should never be of any use again to the King or -to England or to the world. Merlin knew, and yet he could not help it. -Merlin could rule kingdoms and set up and cast down kings, yet there was -one power in the world that he could not rule and could not resist. He -could not save himself from the end that he knew was coming. He told -King Arthur that he should leave him soon and should never see him -again, and King Arthur tried to reason with him and to make him use his -magic against his fate. But Merlin said that no magic could do any -good; in this one thing he was helpless; when the time came he must go, -and the time was coming soon. - -"And who was it, do you suppose, that Merlin was in love with? It was -Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, Lancelot's Fairy Mother. He met her in a -forest over in France, where she had her home. He taught her magic and -he made a splendid palace by magic and filled it with knights and ladies -for her, and there they had feasts and dances and games. One day she -asked him to show her how she could put to sleep any one whom she chose, -so that he could not awake till she should let him awake. And Merlin -knew that it was himself whom she wished to put to sleep so, yet he knew -that it was fate that he should tell her, and so he told her. - -"They used to meet in the forest near a spring that was famous -afterward, for the water of the spring used to bubble up when anything -of iron or copper or brass was thrown into it, and the children who knew -the spring threw pins into it and said: 'Laugh, spring, and I will give -you a pin,' and then the spring would laugh for them. Merlin sat often -beside the spring with Nimue and taught her magic. He taught her so much -that at last there was nobody in the world who knew so much of it as -she, except himself and perhaps King Arthur's sister, Queen -Morgan-le-Fay. - -"Then another time Nimue begged Merlin to teach her how one man or woman -could be shut up by another, so that he never could get away again, so -that no one could ever come to him but the one who had worked the spell, -so that he could never see any but that one, and no one could break the -spell but the one who made it. Then Merlin was sad again, for he knew -that Nimue loved him so much that she wanted to keep him all to herself -and never to let any one else see him or hear of him. And he knew, too, -that she must have her way in this. 'I know,' he said, 'what it is that -you wish, and I love you so much that I know that I must do what you -ask.' - -"'If you know what it is that I wish,' she said, 'you know that I want a -place where we can be together always, only we two, where nobody else -can ever come to us and where I shall never see any one but you and you -will never see anyone but me. Surely, when I love you so much as you -know I do, you should love me enough for that.' - -"And still Merlin was sad, knowing that this was to be the end of all -his work for the King and for the world, but he answered: 'I will do -what you ask. I will make a place where we two can be and no one else -can ever come to us or see us or know of us.' - -"But Nimue said: 'I do not wish it so; you must teach me the magic, so -that I can do it myself. Then I will make the enchantment when I -please.' - -"So Merlin, knowing that it was fate and that there was no other way, -taught her all the charms by which she could do what she wished. He -taught her how to walk about in circles and how to wave her hands and -what words to say. And she learned it and remembered it all. Then they -left France and came over into Cornwall and wandered together about the -hills and the woods. And one day, when they had gone a long way, they -sat down to rest. And Nimue took Merlin's head in her lap and put him to -sleep with the charm that he had taught her. When he was asleep she -rose and walked around him nine times and waved her hands and began to -say the words that he had taught her. And as she worked the charm -Merlin slept more soundly, and then the ground opened and he sank down -into it. She sank down too, and when they were deep enough the ground -closed above them. But still she went on with the charm and great -stones were moved by the magic words and piled themselves high above the -place where they had sunk. - -"When Merlin awoke he knew that the spell was done. He was in a -beautiful place and Nimue was with him. She could go out and come in -when she chose, and she often did so, but he could never go out till the -spell was broken. And nobody could ever break the spell but Nimue, who -had made it. Merlin himself, with all his magic, could not break it, -for it was one of his own spells and the strongest of them, and it was -planned so that it could never be undone by anyone, even the greatest -magician of the world, except the one who had done it. And Nimue never -undid the spell. - -"Now I am not sure where all this happened, and you know I would not -tell you anything that I was not sure of. Some say that it was here in -Cornwall and some say that it was over in France, and that Merlin and -Nimue did not come back to England at all. Some say, too, that there -was another Cornwall in France. But if they did come to England again, -and if the place was in this very Cornwall, then why might not this be -the very place where we are? Here is this great pile of stones and -neither we nor anybody else can tell how they came here or how they -could come here. Why might they not be the very ones that Nimue piled -up over Merlin by the enchantment that he taught her? I don't say that -they are, but I do say that I cannot see why they might not be, so let -us believe that they are." - -Helen looked over the edge of the hill, down into the quarry. "If those -men down there dig out the rock a little more over this way," she said, -"they will let Merlin out, if he is still there." - -"They will do nothing of the sort," I answered; "do you think that -Merlin's charms were worth no more than that? No one can ever let -Merlin out of his prison but Nimue, and she never did and never will. -If those men down there should dig to where Merlin was, you may be sure -that he would sink again, down and down through the earth, so that no -quarriers in the world could ever reach him. Merlin's charms were charms -that were made to last, and Merlin will never be seen again on the earth -as long as Stonehenge is on Salisbury Plain." - - - - -[Illustration: St. Joseph's Chapel, Glastonbury Abbey] - - - *CHAPTER XVII* - - *"AND ON THE MERE THE WAILING DIED AWAY"* - - -It was only a short drive from the place where we had left the carriage -to Dozmare Pool. That is, it was a short drive to the nearest place to -it where we could get with the carriage. The carriage could not go -close to it, any more than it could to the Cheesewring. The driver began -to remember still more about Dozmare Pool, as we got nearer to it. The -water was salt, like the sea, he had heard, and in stormy times it had -great waves like the sea. - -This reminded me of some things that I had heard and read about it -myself. The name "Dozmare," I had been told somewhere, meant "drop of -the sea." I had been told somewhere else that the name was made up of -two Cornish words that meant "come" and "great," and that the name was -given to it because it had tides, like the ocean. Long ago it had no -outlet that anybody could see, but it was said that something that was -thrown onto it was found many miles off, on the seashore. So it was -believed that a passage under ground led from it to the sea. It was -said, too, that it was so deep that no plummet had ever reached its -bottom. - -We came at last to the foot of a steep hill and the driver said that we -could not go any farther with the carriage. He would stay here and -attend to the horse, and we must go straight up this hill and we should -find Dozmare Pool. Up the hill we went, a good, long climb, and when we -got to the top, though we knew what we had come to see, we were -surprised to see it. For all of a sudden there it was before us, the -broad lake on the top of the hill, just where we should expect to find -the downward slope of the other side of the hill. It did not look like -a stormy sea to-day, but a fresh breeze was blowing over it and drove -the little waves before it against the bank, where they made a plashing -noise at our feet. The pool seemed to be at the very top of everything, -except that far away across it we could see a mountain, with two peaks. - -There was one little house near us and no other in sight. Near the -house a man was at work piling up turf, cut in long, square strips, for -winter fires. A little boy was playing about, or trying to help the -man, and a woman was driving a cart that brought the turf from somewhere -down below. We asked the man what mountain that was with the two peaks. - -"Brown Gilly, sir," he said. - -"Is the water of this lake salt?" we asked again. - -"No, sir, it's fresh." - -"Is it good to drink?" - -"We don't drink it ourselves, sir, but it's good for washing and the -cattle drink it." - -"How big is the lake?" - -"It's about a mile and a quarter round, sir." - -"And is there any outlet?" - -"Yes, sir, down at the other end there's one." - -"It was not always there, was it? When was it made?" - -"I couldn't say, sir; it was there before my time." - -We left the man to pile his turf and wonder what strange sort of people -we could be who wanted to know so many useless things. "Well, there is -so much of our story spoiled," I said. "It is not salt and it probably -does not have waves like the ocean, and an outlet has been made for it. -Still, as you stand and look over it, do you not feel that there is -something lonely and solemn and mysterious and magical about it? When -you think of its being here at the top of a hill, instead of down in a -valley, like a common lake, and when you see no higher hill around it, -except that one mountain over there, and when you think of the stories -about it, do you not get a little of what our old friend of the Alice -books calls the 'eerie' feeling? Have you guessed that the reason why I -brought you here was that this was the lake where King Arthur found his -sword Excalibur? Well, it was. And now I have another story to tell you -about it. It is rather a sad story. The most of our stories are getting -to be rather sad now, but there are not many more of them." - -I had told Helen long before how King Arthur got his sword Excalibur. -His sword had been broken in a fight one day, and Merlin led him to the -shore of a little lake--this very lake where we stood now--and out in -the middle of it he had seen an arm rising out of the water. The arm was -covered with white silk and the hand held a sword, the most beautiful -that Arthur had ever seen. Merlin and Arthur went out to it in a boat -and the King took the sword and kept it. That was the wonderful sword -Excalibur. Merlin told Arthur strange things about the sword. No one -else ever knew what they were, and it may be that we do not know, even -yet, of all the wonders of that sword. - -But now for the story. "You know," I said, "that I do not often throw -morals at you in these stories. As a general thing, I hate to see -morals hung up on the ends of stories as much as you do. If the moral -cannot make itself felt as the story goes along, it isn't of much use, -usually, to drag it out and hold it up at the end. But this story has -such a good and sound and useful moral that I can't help pointing it out -to you. But I will put it here at the beginning, instead of at the end, -and have it over with. It is that when a lie has been told about -anybody, no matter how wicked and silly it is, no matter how clearly it -may have been proved to be a lie, it will always stick to him, it will -never be forgotten, and there will always be people who will half -believe it. - -"You remember how once Meliagraunce charged Queen Guinevere with treason -against King Arthur. Everybody knew that Meliagraunce himself was a -traitor and a liar and that he got killed for telling that one lie. -Still it never was forgotten and there were some who never had quite the -trust in the Queen again that they had had before. And since it was -Lancelot who had fought for the Queen then and at other times, they -looked at him just as they did at her, and shook their heads and -whispered to one another that they wondered if Lancelot was quite as -true to the King as he ought to be. There were some who said, too, that -Lancelot and the Queen both cared too much about honors and glory for -themselves and not enough about the honor of the King. And I am afraid -that was not a lie. - -"Still all this thinking and talking counted for little for a long time. -And then there came a time when they counted for much. It was after the -quest of the Holy Grail. Lancelot had come back to the court and Bors -had come back from the City of Sarras, and all had come back who were -ever coming. Then, all at once, as it has always seemed to me, without -any reason, half the people in King Arthur's court went mad. The first -and the worst of them was Mordred, King Arthur's nephew, Gawain's -brother. He was always all but mad with jealousy and envy and hatred of -all who were greater than himself. And now he thought that nothing less -could please him than to overthrow King Arthur and to be King of -England. - -"There are some people who cannot think of any better way of helping -themselves than by doing all the harm that they can to those who stand -in their way. Mordred was of this sort. He looked about him to see who -there was whom he could harm, and he thought of this old lie about the -Queen and of these new doubts about Lancelot. Then he went to the King -and told him that he had found that Lancelot and the Queen were plotting -treason together and forming some plan against the King. If the King -wanted proof of it, Mordred said, let him go hunting the next day, and -while he was gone, Mordred and some others would find Lancelot and the -Queen together. - -"Now Lancelot and the Queen had always been the best of friends and what -in the world was supposed to be proved by their being seen together I am -sure I don't know. But just at this time it seems to me that it was the -King who went mad, and he said that he would do as Mordred advised him. - -"The next day the King went hunting. Now Bors and some of Lancelot's -other friends had heard these whispers about the court and they had told -Lancelot of them. They had decided that it might stop the chatter, -about Lancelot at least, if he were to leave the court for a time. It -happened that Lancelot had meant to go this very day, and so he went to -say good-by to the Queen. Bors knew what a mischief-maker Mordred was; -he had seen that he dif not go to the hunt with the King, and he feared -that something was wrong. He begged Lancelot not to go to see the -Queen, but Lancelot laughed at the notion that there was anything to -fear and went. And Mordred and some other knights whom he had got on -his side were watching, and the minute that Lancelot and the Queen were -together they were upon them. - -"Lancelot had come only to see the Queen and to bid her good-by; he had -not expected any fighting, and so he wore no armor. Mordred and his -knights meant to fall upon Lancelot all at once and kill him or take him -prisoner. But Lancelot was quick enough to shut the door of the room -and keep them out for a few minutes. Then he drew his sword and opened -the door just enough to let one of the knights come in. He struck that -one with his sword and wounded him so that he fell inside the room, and -then he shut the door again. Lancelot quickly took off the armor of the -wounded knight and dressed himself in it. Then he threw the door wide -open and rushed at the crowd of knights striking about him as he went -and wounding more of them. - -"Many as they were they could not stand against Lancelot and he escaped -from them and went back to his friends. I suppose I ought to say just -here that there was scarcely ever a man in the world who had such -friends as Lancelot. There were his brother Ector, his cousins Bors and -Lionel, Lavaine, and many others who were ready to give their very lives -for Lancelot at any time. And now, after this terrible thing had -happened, they all left the city with him, as quickly as they could, and -then they waited near to see what would be done with the Queen. - -"When the King came back Mordred told him about what had happened, in -his own lying way, I suppose. And the King, it seems, had not got over -his fit of madness yet, for surely nobody in his senses could think that -what Mordred had to tell proved anything. But of course we don't know -just how much Mordred lied, and I wonder if the King believed him just -because he was his own nephew. Such things happen sometimes, though for -my own part I don't see why any man should be believed because he is -another man's nephew. Bad men have uncles, as well as good men. But it -seems that the King did believe him, for some reason or other, and did -believe that the Queen and Lancelot were guilty of treason. And he said -that the Queen should have the punishment of treason, and so should -Lancelot, if he could get him. Now the punishment of treason in those -days was burning. - -"Now, mad as the King seems to have been, I no more believe that he -would have the Queen burnt than I believe that he would have himself -burnt. I don't know why he pretended that he would. Perhaps he thought -that he could make her confess something, or perhaps he thought that -Mordred, when he saw how far things were going, would confess that he -was wrong. But the King declared that the punishment of the Queen -should be the next morning and he ordered some of his knights, and among -them Gareth and his brother Gaheris, to be present and see it done. -They and some of the others told the King plainly that they thought that -what he was doing was wrong and that they would have nothing to do with -it. Since he commanded them to be present, they said, they would be -there only to look on, and they would wear no armor. - -"And now it came Lancelot's turn to go mad. For he believed that the -King would really do all that he said. So he resolved that he would -save the Queen. The King himself would have saved her, I am sure, -before any harm could come to her. But Lancelot heard what was to be -done and in the morning he took some of his friends, all fully armed, -and they rode to the place where the Queen was led out for her -punishment. Lancelot and his men dashed through the crowd of King -Arthur's knights, the most of whom wore no armor, laying about them with -their swords, killing some and wounding others, and came to where the -Queen stood. Lancelot lifted her and put her on his horse behind him, -and he and his knights rode away again. They did not stop near the city -this time, but they rode straight to a castle of Lancelot's own, called -Joyous Gard, and there they all shut themselves in and fortified the -town. - -"But in the saving of the Queen another terrible thing had happened. As -Lancelot dashed through the crowd of King Arthur's knights to come where -she was, some of them struck at him, and in return he layed about him -with his sword and could not see who was in his way, and so, not knowing -who they were, he struck Sir Gareth and Sir Gaheris, who wore no armor, -and killed them both. And now it was Gawain who went mad. When he -heard that Lancelot had killed his brothers he would not believe that it -was by accident and he swore that he would always follow Lancelot and -try to find chances to fight with him, till one of them should kill the -other. He urged the King to make war at once upon Lancelot, and the -King and his army marched to Joyous Gard and besieged the castle and the -town. - -"Lancelot had many friends, as I said before, and many of the lords and -knights of the country, when they heard what had happened, thought that -Lancelot was right and came to help him. By the time that the King and -his army came to Joyous Gard Lancelot had a good army of his own there. -But Lancelot did not want to fight the King, and for many days he kept -all his men inside the town. He sent messages to the King and to -Gawain. He told the King that neither he nor the Queen had ever thought -of doing him any wrong, and he begged him to let the Queen come back to -him and to leave off this war. He told Gawain that he had loved his -brother Gareth as if he had been his own brother and that he would as -soon have killed his own brother as Gareth or Gaheris, if he had known -who they were. And the King was so sad at all that had been done that -he wanted to give up the whole war, but Gawain would not hear of it. He -would never forgive Lancelot for killing his brothers, he said, till one -of them should kill the other. - -"Then Lancelot's friends urged him to fight. Gawain would never let the -King give up the war, they said, and it would be best to end it now. -And Lancelot felt that they were right, and at last he yielded and said -that he would go out to battle the next morning. In the morning -Lancelot's army marched out of the city and the army of the King came to -meet it. Lancelot had ordered all his men that whatever they did they -should do no harm to the King or to Gawain. As for himself, he scarcely -fought at all. He rode about the field and saw others fight. He saw -many of his own men wounded and killed, but he had no heart to strike a -blow against King Arthur or any knight of his. At last he saw the King -himself charging against his cousin Bors. Bors met the charge with his -spear and threw King Arthur from his horse. When Lancelot saw that he -rode to where the King was and got off his horse. 'Here, my lord,' he -said, 'take this horse; you and your knights fight against me and have -no mercy, but I cannot fight against my King or see him overthrown and -not try to help him.' - -"And the King took Lancelot's horse and rode away from the field and -called all his men away too, and Lancelot's men went back to the town. - -"The next day Lancelot sent messengers to King Arthur again to ask him -to let the Queen come back, to promise that she should not be harmed, -and to end the war. And the King would have done everything that -Lancelot asked, but again Gawain would not hear of it. 'Let the Queen -come back if you like,' said Gawain; 'that is nothing to me. But I will -not forgive Lancelot for killing my brothers and I will always follow -him and fight with him till I kill him or he kills me.' - -"You know I told you long ago of the old story that Gawain could speak -so well that nobody could ever refuse him anything that he asked. I -think that must have been why the King let him have his own way all -through this war with Lancelot. I am sure that the King himself must -have got back his senses now, and I almost think, after all, that he -never really believed that the Queen or Lancelot could wish to do any -wrong to him. How could he let her come back at all if he believed -that? And he did let her come back, but still Gawain was firm against -Lancelot, and the King would not make peace with him till Gawain wished -it. - -"When Lancelot had sent the Queen back to King Arthur he thought that it -was of no use to stay in England any longer, so he took all his knights -and his army with him and crossed over into France. He went to Benwick, -his father's old city and his own city now, because his father was dead -long ago. And soon King Arthur and Gawain followed him with their army, -for Gawain still vowed that he would go where Lancelot went and would -not leave him till one of them had killed the other. In these last -dreadful days of King Arthur's reign it seems as if no one ever missed a -chance of making a mistake, and now Arthur made another. For when he -went over to France he left Mordred in his place to rule England till he -came back, and he left the Queen in Mordred's care too. - -"So the King and Gawain and their army came to Benwick and besieged it, -as they had besieged Joyous Gard. Lancelot sent a message to them -again. He would do anything if they would end the war and not make him -fight against the King and his old friend. He would give up his city to -them, if they would take it, and let all the world think that he was -beaten, when he was not beaten at all, or that he was a coward and did -not dare to fight. Still Gawain would be content with nothing but that -Lancelot must fight with him. But he sent back word that if Lancelot -alone would come out and fight with him alone, till one of them should -kill the other, that one fight should end the war. - -"When this message was brought to Lancelot his friends told him that it -was of no use any longer to hope for peace. Gawain would never yield, -and it must be as he said at last. It would be better for Lancelot to -fight with him now than to wait. Lancelot knew that they were right, -and he sent word that the next morning he would meet Gawain outside the -city and fight with him. - -"They met the next morning, in the space between the city walls and King -Arthur's army. Both the knights were thrown from their horses at the -first charge, and then it was the old story of a sword fight that I have -told you so many times before. But Gawain had the gift of growing -stronger every day, from nine o'clock till noon, and then he had three -times his natural strength. This had been given to him by a magician -long ago, and nobody knew that he had it except himself and King Arthur. -Lancelot knew nothing about it, but he had not been fighting long before -he knew that there was something strange about Gawain's fighting. He -felt him growing so strong that he scarcely tried to strike at Gawain at -all, but used all his strength in defending himself. And so for a long -time neither of them was much harmed, but when noon came, all at once -Lancelot felt that Gawain had grown weaker. Then he said: 'Gawain, I do -not know with what magic you have fought till now. But, whatever it -was, I feel now that it has left you and you are like any other man. -Now I must begin to fight.' - -"Then he struck Gawain a great blow on the head and wounded him, so that -he fell, and Lancelot stood still beside him, resting on his sword. -'Why do you stop your fight?' Gawain cried. 'You have beaten me; finish -it now and kill me.' - -"'You know,' said Lancelot, 'that I cannot kill any knight who is -wounded and helpless, and least of all you, who have been my friend so -long. Our fight is over.' - -"'Kill me and make an end to it,' Gawain said again, 'or as soon as I am -cured of this wound I shall come and fight you again.' - -"'If I must fight with you again," said Lancelot, 'I shall be ready; I -can do no more now.' - -"So Gawain was carried back to his tent and was kept there for many -days, while his wound was healing. And as soon as he was strong enough -he sent word to Lancelot that he must fight him again. There is no need -of making a long story of it. Gawain and Lancelot fought again and the -fight ended exactly as the first one had done. Lancelot wounded Gawain -in the very same place where he had wounded him before, and Gawain was -carried back to his tent, vowing that he would still fight with Lancelot -as soon as his wound should heal. - -"And what do you suppose had been going on in England all this time? -You might almost guess. You would think that Mordred could not possibly -keep out of mischief so long, and you would be quite right. King Arthur -had not had much more than time to get to Benwick before Mordred began -to tell people that the King was dead. He showed some letters, which he -had written himself, but he pretended that they had come from France, -and they said that the King had been killed in a battle against -Lancelot. Of course the only thing to do in such a case was to crown -Mordred himself as King, and Mordred took care that it should be done in -a hurry. Then, to make everything as sure as possible, he gave notice -that he was going to marry Queen Guinevere. Of course he did not -trouble himself to ask Queen Guinevere whether or not it suited her to -be married to him. He had begun to have his own way and he was resolved -to go on. The Queen saw that it would not do any good to pretend that -she did not want to be married to him, so she let Mordred think that -there was nothing that would please her better than to be his wife. But -she said that if she was to be married she should have to go to London -to get some new gowns. Mordred saw nothing wrong about that and he let -her go. Then, as soon as she got to London, she shut herself up in the -Tower and found men who were friendly to her to guard it, and waited for -Mordred to come and try to get her out of it. - -"He came, you may be sure, as soon as he heard where she was, and he -laid siege to the Tower, but it was so strong, and Queen Guinevere's men -fought so well, that he could not take it. He kept up the siege till he -heard that King Arthur and all his men were coming back from France and -Lancelot and his men were coming with them. When he heard that he drew -his army away from London and marched to Dover to meet the King and to -keep him from getting England away from him. - -"It was true that the King and his men were coming back from France, but -it was not true that Lancelot was coming. Lancelot did not know why -King Arthur and his army had so suddenly left Benwick. It was because -the King had heard of the mischief that Mordred had done and of the more -mischief that he was trying to do. Even Gawain could not ask the King -to make war upon Lancelot any longer, when England itself was likely to -be lost. Gawain had been acting in a mad fashion enough for a long time, -but the news from England brought him back to his senses. His wound was -nearly healed and he was beginning again to want to fight with Lancelot, -but now he saw all at once what harm his wild anger against Lancelot had -done. He was filled with shame and grief at the thought of it. 'It is -I,' he said to the King, 'who have done all this. I see it now. It is -Lancelot who has always been your truest and best friend, and it is I -who have been your enemy. I fear that I have done too much for you to -forgive, but there is hope still, for I know that Lancelot will still be -your friend. Send for him; tell him that I was wrong in everything--that -I confess it--and ask him to go with you and help you to win back -England from Mordred.' - -"If the King had ever doubted Lancelot he doubted him no longer now. -Gawain, who had been against him so long, was for him now. But the King -looked sadly at Gawain and shook his head. 'Gawain, Gawain,' he said, -'we have gone too far. We have wronged Lancelot too much. We cannot -ask him to help us now. We must fight our battles and win them or lose -them by ourselves.' - -"So the King and Gawain and their army left Lancelot and Benwick and -crossed into England. As soon as they landed at Dover Mordred met them -and there was a hard battle. Many were killed and wounded on both sides -and at last Mordred was driven back. But when the battle was over -Gawain had been wounded again just where Lancelot had wounded him twice -before. - -"And this time he felt that he could not live. Then Gawain thought: 'If -the King could not ask Lancelot to help him, yet surely I can ask him, -now that I am dying. It was I who wronged him and I who was his enemy. -But when he comes I shall not be here any more, and I know that he -always loved the King and that he loves him still.' - -"And Gawain told those who were about him to bring him pen and paper, -and he wrote a letter to Lancelot. The letter said: 'Sir Lancelot, I am -dying from a wound that I got in battle to-day, just where you wounded -me twice. I have been blind and deaf and mad all this while. I would -not see or hear the truth, and the truth is, Lancelot, that it is you -who have been always the King's friend and that it is I who, in these -last days, have been his enemy. My pride and my selfishness and my -anger have almost ruined the King, but it may be that your true love and -your strength can save him yet. Come and help him, Lancelot. I have -given you cause to hate me, but do not stay away from the King for that, -for when you come to him I shall be dead.' - -"This letter Gawain gave to a messenger and ordered him to cross with it -to France and to ride as fast as he could to Benwick and give it to -Lancelot. And a little while after that Gawain died. - -"The next day King Arthur marched against Mordred. Mordred, with his -army, fell back before him and day after day the King pushed him farther -and farther into the West, till at last the two armies were here in -Cornwall. They had both been gathering strength as they marched, for -many knights and many other men joined them as they passed through the -country. Some joined Mordred because they were friends to Lancelot, not -knowing, they were so little and so narrow themselves, that Lancelot was -great enough to be the King's friend still. - -"At last Mordred and his army halted and would retreat no farther. Then -it seemed that the great battle must come the next day. But that night -King Arthur had a dream. He dreamed that Gawain came and stood before -him, and Gawain said: 'My lord, do not fight with Mordred to-morrow. If -you fight with him to-morrow you will be killed. But put off the battle -for a little while and Lancelot and all his knights and all his men will -come to help you.' - -"In the morning, when the King awoke, he sent messengers to Mordred to -ask him to meet him between the lines of the two armies and agree upon a -truce. So it was arranged that Arthur and Mordred should each bring -fourteen knights and that they should meet half-way between the two -armies. Then Arthur said to his knights whom he left behind: 'I do not -trust Mordred. I fear that he will try some treachery. So watch us -when we meet and while we talk, and if you see any sword drawn among the -men on either side, do not wait for any more, but charge forward and -begin the battle.' And Mordred, before he went to meet the King, gave -just the same command to his knights who stayed behind. - -"All the knights who went with the King and with Mordred were told that -this was to be a peaceful meeting and that no sword must be drawn. But -after the King and Mordred had met and while they were talking, a little -snake came out from under a bush and stung the foot of one of the -knights. The knight forgot the order that had been given and drew his -sword to kill the snake. But the men of the armies were too far away to -see the snake and to know why the sword was drawn. They saw only the -flash of the drawn sword and that was the signal of battle. It was of -no use for Arthur or for Mordred to try to stop them or to delay the -battle then. The trumpets blew, the knights charged forward, the two -great waves of horses and men broke upon each other with a harsh rattle -and jangle and clash of arms all along the field, and the battle was -joined. - -[Illustration: "The two great waves broke upon each other"] - -"In all his long reign, King Arthur had never fought such a battle as -this before. There were thousands of men on each side and they were all -men who had learned to fight in King Arthur's own battles and -tournaments. They were men who had learned from him to fight and to -fight and to go on fighting and never to stop till they had won. With -men like that on both sides there was only one way that the battle could -end. The battle went on all day. Slowly the knights on each side grew -fewer and fewer and all who saw them knew that the fight would go on -till there was none at all on one side or the other. Arthur's men were -faithful to him to their last breath, and Mordred's men felt that they -should be ruined if they were beaten. Once Arthur saw one of his old -knights surrounded by enemies, and the old knight's son was close beside -the King. The King and those around him had as much fighting as they -could do, but Arthur said to the young knight: 'Do you not see your -father there in danger? Why do you not go to help him?' - -"And the young knight answered: 'My lord, my father told me this morning -to stay beside you all day and to let nothing draw me away from you. My -father is a good knight and he must fight for himself.' And the old -knight was killed, and afterward the son was killed, too. - -"When the evening came there were few left to fight. It may be that -some had run away, but the most were dead or wounded. King Arthur stood -with only two of his knights beside him. They were Sir Lucan and Sir -Bedivere. The King looked all about him and saw only one other man -near. And that was Mordred. The King spoke under his breath: 'The end -is come, I fear, for all of us, but before I die that man there shall -die, who has brought this end to all of us.' - -"Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere tried to hold him back. 'My lord,' said Sir -Bedivere, 'do not try to fight any more with him to-day, or he may kill -you. Remember what Gawain said to you in your dream. Mordred has no -friends left now. Leave him for to-night, and to-morrow we can do -justice upon him.' - -"'No,' said the King, 'that traitor shall not live any longer, and I -will kill him myself.' - -"Arthur had his sword Excalibur in his hand. He rushed upon Mordred -with it and struck him one blow upon the head, and Mordred fell down -dead. But Arthur had been so eager against Mordred that he had not -thought to defend himself. Mordred had struck too at the same time and -had struck well and Arthur had a great wound on his head. Lucan and -Bedivere went to him and he tried to stand, but he could not. 'You must -help me,' he said, 'to some place of shelter; I cannot help myself any -more.' - -"They tried to lift him up, but Lucan, who had been wounded in the -battle, suddenly fell down beside the King and died. Then Arthur said: -'Bedivere, you are the last one left to me and there is only a little -more that you can do. Take my sword Excalibur and go up this hill here -before us. At the top of it there is a lake. Throw my sword into the -lake, as far out into the middle of it as you can, and then come back -and tell me what you see.' - -"Bedivere took the sword and climbed the hill and came to this very spot -where we are standing. But on the way he looked at the sword and at the -jewels in the hilt and he thought: 'It would be wrong to throw away this -beautiful sword. I will hide it here, instead of throwing it into the -lake. Then, if the King is cured of his wound, he will be glad to have -his sword again, and if he dies, someone else can have it.' - -"So he hid the sword among the reeds that grew by the side of the lake -and went back to the King. 'Did you throw my sword into the lake?' the -King asked. - -"'Yes, my lord,' said Bedivere. - -"'And what did you see or hear?' said the King. - -"'Nothing,' said Bedivere, 'but the water and the wind.' - -"'Then you did not throw it in,' the King answered. 'Go back now and -throw it in, as I told you, and come back and tell me what you see.' - -"Then Bedivere went up the hill again to the lake and took the sword out -from where he had hidden it. He held it up in the moonlight and saw the -shining of the rich jewels and the gleam of the long blade and again he -thought: 'It would be a sin to lose such a wonderful thing as this. The -King is wounded and weak and he is wandering in his mind, or else he -would not tell me to do it. I will tell him again that I have thrown it -in.' - -"He hid the sword again and went back to the King, and the King said: -'Did you throw my sword into the lake?' - -"'Yes, my lord,' said Bedivere, 'I threw it in.' - -"'And what did you see or hear?' said Arthur. - -"'I saw nothing but the water,' said Bedivere, 'and I heard nothing but -the wind and the waves.' - -"'Oh, Bedivere,' said Arthur, 'you are the last of my knights and you -will not obey me. Go now once more and throw my sword as far as you can -out into the lake. And if you do not obey me this time, when you come -again, wounded as I am, I will rise up and kill you, if I can, with my -hands.' - -"Then Bedivere went as fast as he could up the hill again and found the -sword and took it and swung it above his head and threw it as far as he -could out over the lake. He watched it as it whirled through the air, -and when it was near the water he saw an arm, covered with white silk, -come up out of the water. The hand caught the sword as it fell and -brandished it three times in a circle, and then the hand and the arm -went down under the water, and Bedivere went back and told the King. -'And now, Bedivere,' said Arthur, 'help me to go to the lake too.' - -"But the King could not stand at all, so Bedivere took him on his back -and carried him up the hill to the side of the lake. And there they saw -a boat lying close to the shore. It was filled with women, all dressed -in black, and three, who stood in the midst of them, were queens and -wore crowns. 'Put me in the boat,' said Arthur, and Bedivere carried -him to the boat and the three queens received him, and all the women in -the boat wept when they saw him. The three queens laid him down and one -of them took his head in her lap and said: 'My dear brother, why did you -wait so long? You should have come here to us as soon as you had this -wound.' - -"And this woman was King Arthur's sister, Queen Morgan-le-Fay. I don't -know when or why she had ceased to be his enemy and had become his -friend, but she was his friend now and she did all that she could to -help him and to cure his wound. - -"Then Bedivere saw that the boat was moving from the shore, and he -cried: 'My lord--my King--where shall I go and what shall I do without -you? Let me go with you where you go and die with you, if you are to -die.' - -"But Arthur answered: 'Do not be grieved for me, Bedivere, but go your -own way. Perhaps you may hear of me again, but now I can do no more for -you or for my people. I am going to the Valley of Avalon, to be cured -of my wound, and some time, perhaps, when my wound is well, I shall come -again.' - -"Then the boat moved farther and farther away along the lake. The King -did not speak again, but Bedivere could hear Queen Morgan-le-Fay -speaking softly to him, and he could hear the other women weeping. Only -for a little while he could hear them, and then he strained his eyes to -see the boat as long as he could. But the light was dim and soon the -dark shape of the boat mixed with the dark shadows and was lost. - -"And so King Arthur floated away to Avalon. You know that Avalon was -Glastonbury, and you do not see, perhaps, how any boat could go from -this mountain lake, all shut in by the land, out to the sea and inland -again to that island with the marsh around it. You must think of the -magic of Queen Morgan-le-Fay. Where she wanted her boat to go I am sure -that water-ways would open of themselves to let her pass. A ship with -her upon it would go as fast and as far as she would have it go. And -then, one of the old stories says, they had a pilot who knew all the -seas and all the stars of the heavens. - -"Sir Bedivere looked after the boat till it had been gone from his sight -for a long time. Then he turned away from the lake, went down the hill, -and wandered away through the woods. He did not know where he was going -and he did not care. He scarcely saw what places he passed. He was -thinking of his King who had been taken away from him. He thought of -the bright old days when Arthur won his crown in the battles with the -rebel Kings, when his own knights learned to love his strength and his -truth and his nobleness. He thought of the happy days when the greatest -knights of the world gathered at the Round Table in Camelot. He thought -of how they had helped the King to bring peace and plenty and content to -the land. He thought of the sad later days and of these last days of -all and he wished that he might have died before they came. He could -not think at all yet of what he was still to do or how he was to live -without his King. - -"So, deep in these sad thoughts, he went on and on, stopped now and -then, where he could, to eat or drink, because he knew he must, or lay -down in the forest to sleep, but never thought and never knew how long -he had been on the way or how weary he was. At last he heard a bell and -saw an abbey before him. He went into the chapel and saw a man kneeling -upon a tomb. The man rose and came to meet him. He was the abbot. -'Sir,' said Bedivere, 'whose tomb is that where I saw you praying?' - -"'I do not know,' said the abbot. 'Last night a great company of ladies -came here and brought a dead man and begged me to bury him. And I -buried him in that tomb there before the altar, but they did not tell me -who he was.' - -"'Then I will tell you,' said Bedivere. 'If a company of ladies brought -him, it was King Arthur.' - -"Then Bedivere asked the hermit to let him stay there and live with him. -And he stayed for a long time there in the Abbey of Glastonbury, and -visited the poor and the sick, and at last he became a priest. - -"And that was all that was known of how King Arthur passed away from the -battle, of how he came to Avalon, and of how he was buried. The abbot -did not know who the man was whom he had buried, till Bedivere told him, -and Bedivere thought that he was King Arthur only because a company of -ladies had brought him. But Arthur himself had told Bedivere that he -was going to Avalon to be cured of his wound, and that some time he -might come again. And so, on a stone over the grave at Glastonbury, -they put the words: - - -*hic jacet Arthurus, -Rex quondam Rexque futurus.* - -That is Latin and it means: 'Here lies Arthur, King that was and King -that shall be.' And so it was long believed that some time King Arthur -would come back to conquer the foes of England and to save the people. -Some said that he was taken away in the boat to some happy island, to be -cured of his wound and to wait for the time when England should need him -most. Some said that he was sleeping down under the ground, with his -knights, at Caerleon-upon-Usk, and others that he was in the enchanted -castle on the hill at Camelot. Some believed that he was a raven, flying -around the Cornish coast, and some that he was dead like other men, and -in his grave in the Abbey of Glastonbury." - - - - -[Illustration: The Choir, Glastonbury Abbey] - - - *CHAPTER XVIII* - - *THE ABBESS AND THE MONK* - - -We did get back to Glastonbury at last, and this time we did not miss -seeing the abbey. We spent some time in tracing it all out from its -ruins. It was a great and beautiful church in its time. Now it has -been crumbling and falling for many years. Worse than that, the people -of the country about here, when they wanted stone for building, instead -of finding new stone, used to come and take some from the old abbey. -But, after all that time and men could do to it, much of it still -stands, and it is full of that sad, sweet beauty and stateliness that -nothing but a ruin ever has. The walls of St. Joseph's chapel still -remain, all covered with ivy, there is a good deal of the choir left, -and there are two of the great, tall piers that held the tower. Then, -some way off, there is the abbot's kitchen, still all but perfect. - -We found the place, or thought we did, where Joseph of Arimathaea first -built his little church of wood and woven twigs. We tried to find the -spot where King Arthur was buried. That is not easy, but we hit upon a -place at last where we thought it must have been. When Henry II was -King a search was made for King Arthur's grave by his order. They found -it, they said, and Henry had a monument put over it. The monument is -gone now, probably carried away, like so much of the abbey, to build -stables, or something else just as noble and important, and there is -nothing left to show where it stood. If we were talking of history -instead of stories I might have something to say about this one of Henry -II. But, as it is, it may as well stand with the rest of them. - -"There is one more story," I said, "that I must tell you while we are -here among these ruins. Then I shall have told you all that I set out -to tell, and we shall have made the journey that we set out to make. - -"When the letter that Gawain wrote was brought to Lancelot he lost no -time in calling his knights and his army together and starting toward -England to help King Arthur. If the King could only have delayed that -last great battle, as he tried to do, Lancelot would have been with him -and all would have been well. But when Lancelot landed at Dover the -people told him that he had come too late. They told him of the battle -that had been fought there, in which Gawain was killed, and of the -greater battle that had been fought afterward far away in the West. All -that they could tell him of the King was that he was gone. Some said -that he was dead, and some that he had been carried away to Fairyland, -where he would live till his people needed him. - -"Then Lancelot asked: 'Where is the Queen?' - -"'She shut herself up in the Tower of London,' some one answered, 'to -save herself from Mordred. Then, when Mordred left London and came here -to meet the King, she left the Tower, too, and they say that she went to -some abbey and is living with the nuns.' - -"Then Lancelot told Bors and the other knights who were with him to wait -at Dover while he went to find the Queen. He rode alone through the -country, asking at all the abbeys that he found, and at last he came to -Almesbury, the place that is now called Amesbury, where we went, you -know, on our way to Stonehenge. And at the abbey there he saw the Queen -walking in the cloister. She saw him too and came to meet him. - -"'I have come,' Lancelot said, 'to take you from this place. The King -is gone from us now, and we shall never see him in this world again. -Come with me now to my own city. While the King was with us I did not -care whether I had a city. I thought it grander and nobler to be his -knight than to be King of all the world but England. You know, my -Queen, that I am King of Benwick. Come with me now and be my Queen -still, more my Queen than ever, the Queen of Benwick. It is a little -place, but my people love me, and they will love you, too.' - -"'Lancelot,' said the Queen, 'we must not think of such things--I must -not. You must go back and rule your people well and make them -happy--yes, and be happy yourself, if you can--but I must stay here and -try to do a little good to the poor, and fast and pray, so that God will -forgive me and so that he will forgive you and let us see our Arthur in -another world, since we cannot in this. For, Lancelot, do you know that -it is because of us--because of me and of you--that our Arthur has gone -from us?' - -"'No, no,' said Lancelot, 'it is not true. I will not let you say such -things of yourself, even though you say them of me. We did nothing that -was wrong, you and I. They charged us with some plot--I do not know -what it was, and they did not know themselves. Then I saved you and I -saved myself, as it was right that I should do. The King made war on -me. I made no war on him. I only guarded my knights and my people. I -would not even have fought with Gawain, only he would have it so. And -when I heard that the King needed me here in England I came back to help -him, and it was too late. But it was the traitors who brought all this -death and ruin.' - -"'It was not that we did any wrong, Lancelot,' said the Queen, 'it was -that we did not do all that was right. You would rather be Arthur's -knight, you said, than to be King of all the world but England. Ah, -yes, but what of England? Did you never wish, even in your heart, that -you were King of that? Arthur had noble thoughts for the good of his -country and of his people, and you swore to be faithful in everything to -him and to help him. And so your thoughts, Lancelot, should have been -all for the King and for his people, and so should mine. And were they -so? Did you never forget these things and work and fight for your own -name and your own glory, instead of for the glory of the King and for -the good of England? You fought, too, many times, for my name and for -my glory, and I was foolish and let you do it, when my thoughts, too, -should have been all for him and for England. But here alone, since we -were all parted, I have had time to think, and I have seen more clearly -than I ever saw before. Lancelot, it is not the great sins of the -wicked people that bring ruin to the world; it is the follies and the -failings of those who should be most true and most faithful, and so help -and save the world, but do not do it. We were the nearest to the King, I -his Queen and you his greatest knight. We should have been as strong -and as firm in our faithfulness to him as he was to himself. If we ever -had selfish and vain thoughts, thoughts that were not for the King, for -a single hour, it was a worse wrong in us than the wrongs that those -poor, weak knights did when they let Mordred persuade them and lead them -against the King. Do you not know why you could not see the Holy Grail, -as Galahad and Percivale and Bors saw it? This was why. And they could -see it because in every thought and wish they were true to what they and -all of the Round Table swore to the King. And so, Lancelot, my own best -knight, as there is work for you to do among your people, go and do it, -but I must stay here and do a little good, if I can, and pray for you -and for myself, so that some time we may be nearer to the King than we -have ever been.' - -"'If you are right,' said Lancelot, 'and you must be right--if you are -right in staying here and doing what you say that you will do, then it -is right for me, too. I will not go back to France. I will find some -peaceful place and some good man, some hermit perhaps, and ask him to -let me stay with him and do as you are doing. Pray for me sometimes, my -Queen, and I will pray for you always.' - -"Now I can guess just what you think of all this. You think that -Lancelot had not done any wrong at all and that the Queen was a great -deal too hard on him. But I know that the Queen was right. Think over -all that she said again and you will know it too. The Queen and -Lancelot had stood next to the King for all these years. They had been -proud of him and proud that they were so near to him, and if they had -been steadfast in all that they did and said and thought, nothing could -ever have harmed him or his country while they all lived. But sometimes -they were weak and thoughtless, and then the King was left to work -alone. Though this was all that they had done amiss, it was enough. - -"So Lancelot left the Queen and went on his way. And Guinevere stayed -there at Almesbury and lived with the nuns. She never left the abbey -except to walk a little way among the fields, in the woods, and along -the river that we saw when we were at Amesbury, or, more often, to carry -help or comfort to the poor or the sick. - -"After she had been with the nuns for a time she became one of them, and -no one among them worked more than she for the people near who needed -help, and no one among them was loved more than she. And no one, even -of those who knew her best, could tell whether she was happy. But they -all knew that she was always gentle and patient, that she never said -that her work was hard, that she never seemed to wish for her old life, -and that the sick people watched for her and the poor people prayed for -her. And when the old abbess died they were all sure that no one could -take her place so well as Guinevere. And so, for what was left of her -life, Guinevere was abbess at Almesbury. - -"When Lancelot rode away from Almesbury he felt that it was nothing to -him where he went. He felt that he hated courts and tournaments and -battle-fields now, and he wished only to find some place away from the -busy and noisy world, where he could live as the Queen was living. And -so he wandered here to Glastonbury. And when he found Bedivere here, -when Bedivere had told him all about the great battle, and when he had -shown him the grave in the chapel where he believed that King Arthur was -buried, then Lancelot begged the abbot to let him stay here and be a -monk with the rest of them as long as he lived. And the abbot and -Bedivere were both glad to have him stay. So Lancelot, too, lived his -life among his brother monks and among the poor and the sick, and they -all learned to love him, as, long ago, all the good knights in Arthur's -court had learned to love him. - -"Bors and his fellows waited for Lancelot at Dover for a long time. At -last Bors sent the army back to France, with all the knights except a -few who were the best friends of Lancelot. With these he set out -through England to search for him. They searched for a long time and at -last they found him. And when they saw that he was a monk they said -that they would all stay at Glastonbury and be monks too. - -"When Lancelot had been at Glastonbury for a long time he had a dream -one night. He dreamed that an angel stood beside him and said to him: -'Lancelot, take all your fellows here who were knights of the Round -Table to-morrow and go to Almesbury. When you come there the abbess, -Queen Guinevere, will be dead. Bring her here and bury her in the -chapel beside the King.' And twice more that same night Lancelot had -this dream. - -"In the morning Lancelot told the abbot of his dream, and the abbot said -that it would be best for him to take his fellows with him and go to -Almesbury, as he had been told to do. So they all set out, and when they -came to the abbey at Almesbury the nuns knew who they were and why they -had come, without being told. For they said: 'Our abbess died not an -hour ago, and she told us that after she was dead the monk who used to -be Sir Lancelot of the Lake would come for her and would bury her at -Glastonbury, beside the King. She had been told of it in a dream.' - -"So Lancelot and his fellows took the body of the Queen back with them -to Glastonbury. There they made another grave before the altar in the -chapel, beside the grave of King Arthur, and buried Queen Guinevere in -it. - -"And after this was done Lancelot would scarcely leave that chapel. He -was there for nearly all of every day and much of every night, kneeling -over the graves of the King and the Queen and praying. He would eat -scarcely anything and he slept but little. And so he grew thin and pale -and weak. The abbot and his friends could not comfort him or make him -eat, and at last he told them that he should live only a little longer. -'When I am dead,' he said, 'take me and bury me in the chapel of my own -old castle of Joyous Gard. I would far rather lie here in your chapel, -near my King and my Queen, but years ago I made a vow that I would be -buried in Joyous Gard, and I must keep that vow, so take me there.' - -"That night the abbot awoke some of the monks by laughing aloud in his -sleep. They went to the abbot's bed and he awoke and said: 'I have had -the most beautiful dream that I have ever had in my life.' - -"'What was it?' said Bors. - -"'I dreamed,' the abbot said, 'that I saw Lancelot in the midst of a -great company of angels. More angels there were than I ever saw of men -in an army. Some of them lifted Lancelot up and they all rose to -Heaven. I could see Lancelot's face as they went, and it was full of -peace and gladness. They came near the gates of Heaven and the gates -were opened for them and they all passed in. And as they passed I could -see the great light that shone out and I could hear voices singing, and -the gates were closed and then I awoke.' - -"Then they all went to Lancelot's bed. He did not awake when they came -to him, as the abbot had done. He lay still and his face was full of -peace and gladness and he was dead. - -"They took him the next day, all his friends and the abbot with them, -and they journeyed slowly till they came to Joyous Gard. There they -buried him and then they journeyed slowly back again to Glastonbury. -They did not talk much as they went, but now and then they spoke a -little, sadly, as people will at such times, of the older and happier -days. To Bors and to some of the others it seemed only a little while -since a hundred and fifty knights sat at the Round Table in the hall at -Camelot. Here were some of the knights of the Round Table still, but the -glory of it had passed away with the King and Galahad and Gawain and -Lancelot." - - - - -[Illustration: "On toward the gold and the purple in the west"] - - - *CHAPTER XIX* - - *"REXQUE FUTURUS"* - - -We were at sea on our way home. We had left Southampton, where Arthur -embarked when he went to fight the Emperor of Rome, and all day we had -made our swift way west through the British Channel. When we came up on -deck after dinner we had just passed the Scilly Islands. Dark and rough -and hard they stood up out of the sea behind us, and a pale mist was -just beginning to wrap them around and hide them a little from sight. -Before us all the air was clear. The sun was just setting and was -filling the sky with a dozen lovely hues of rose and violet and turning -the water into tossing and tumbling gold. - -"See," I said, "there are the Scilly Islands. They are all that is left -of that lost land of Lyonnesse, Tristram's country, that used to reach -from here back to the Land's End. The rest of it is sunk deep down -under the water. This is all of Lyonnesse that we can ever see." - -Helen did not seem to care very greatly even for this. She was thinking -of the last of our stories. "Was King Arthur really buried," she said, -"there in the Abbey of Glastonbury?" - -"It is not easy to answer that," I said. "It seems to me that I have -read enough books about King Arthur to fill this ship, yet I never could -see that the writers of them had settled among themselves whether he was -buried there or not. If we care to believe that he was, I think we may -as well believe it." - -"But do you believe it?" - -"Yes, I believe it." - -"Then he never came back, the way he said he would, and the way the -people believed he would?" - -"No, he never came back." - -"And he never will come back, the way the stories said?" - -"Oh, yes, I think he will." - -For a few minutes Helen watched the water that was whirling by the side -of the ship and I looked at the colors of the sea and the sky, that were -growing brighter still. Then she said: "But if King Arthur really died -and really was buried at Glastonbury and the three Queens didn't cure -his wound at all, how can he come back?" - -"I don't know whether I can make you see it quite as I do," I said, "but -I will try. You know what it was that King Arthur tried to do. I have -told you all these stories very badly, if you do not. He tried to save -his people from the harms and the wrongs that they suffered. He tried -to make all of them, the rich and the poor, the lords and the common -people, good and brave and strong, true and gentle and noble. And he -did make them better and happier than they were before. But the time -had not come for all that he wished. After he passed away things got to -be as bad almost, as they had been before. Some people, here in our own -time, think that the world is not growing any better. That is because -they look back only a few years, perhaps a hundred, and they do not see -any change. There has been a change, though they do not see it. But -they would see it, if they would look back to those fearful old days -before Arthur came, yes, or half way back, for there were days then that -were not much better. They would see then how selfish and how cruel men -were and what wicked and heartless things they would do for a little -power or a little gain. - -"This was what Arthur tried to change, and he did change it partly, for -a little while. But it was too soon to change it altogether. When he -was gone everything soon came to be nearly as it was before. Yet it was -never quite the same again, perhaps. Other good men came, not with the -strength of Arthur, yet with a strength of their own. And they passed -away too and left England and the world a little better than they had -found them. Slowly and slowly, yet surely and surely, men have thought -more, learned more, worked more, and so, slowly and slowly, yet surely -and surely, they have grown wiser and juster and stronger, and so, too, -they have grown freer and better and happier. - -"The men of England and of our own country and of all the world are not -yet what Arthur would have had them. They are still far from it, -perhaps, yet they are nearer to it, and they are always getting nearer -still. The way is long and it seems hopeless, sometimes, but it is not -hopeless. And in some great, good time, far off, when this England and -our own country and all the world come to be as just and noble and happy -as Arthur tried to make his people--then cannot men say: 'King Arthur is -not dead any more; he has come back and is among us again, for it is his -will that guides us and it is his law that rules us now?' Do you see -now how Arthur did not die, but only passed away, to come again? And do -you see how he may come again, even though they buried him there at -Glastonbury?" - -"I don't know," Helen said, after she had thought for a minute. "I -don't think I quite understand it, and any way, I would rather you would -tell stories than talk like that." - -But I had no more stories to tell just then, and so we only stood and -watched the water and the sky, while the ship carried us along, farther -and farther away from the dim, dark rocks, with the fog around them, and -on toward the gold and the purple in the west. - - - - - * * * * * * * * - - - - - *Charles Scribner's Sons'* - - *New and Standard Books for - Young Readers for 1897-98...* - - -*MRS. BURNETT'S FAMOUS JUVENILES* - -An entirely new edition of Mrs. Burnett's famous juveniles from new -plates, with all the original illustrations. Bound in a beautiful new -cloth binding designed by R. B. Birch, and sold at very much reduced -prices. - -LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY - -TWO LITTLE PILGRIMS' PROGRESS - -SARA CREWE and LITTLE SAINT ELIZABETH AND OTHER STORIES (in one vol.) - -PICCINO AND OTHER CHILD STORIES - -GIOVANNI AND THE OTHER - - _Five Volumes, 12mo, each, $1.25_ - - - The original editions can still be supplied at the former prices: - -LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY. Beautifully illustrated by REGINALD B. BIRCH. -Square 8vo, $2.00. - -TWO LITTLE PILGRIMS' PROGRESS. A STORY OF THE CITY BEAUTIFUL. By Mrs. -FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT. Illustrated by REGINALD B. BIRCH. Uniform with -"Fauntleroy," etc. Square 8vo, $1.50. - -SARA CREWE; OR, WHAT HAPPENED AT MISS MINCHIN'S. Richly and fully -illustrated by REGINALD B. BIRCH. Square 8vo, $1.00. - -LITTLE SAINT ELIZABETH, AND OTHER STORIES. With 12 full-page drawings -by REGINALD B. BIRCH. Square 8vo, $1.50. - -GIOVANNI AND THE OTHER: CHILDREN WHO HAVE MADE STORIES. With 9 -full-page illustrations by REGINALD B. BIRCH. Square 8vo, $1.50. - -PICCINO, AND OTHER CHILD STORIES. Fully illustrated by REGINALD B. -BIRCH. Square 8vo, $1.50. - - - * * * * * - - - *G. A. HENTY'S POPULAR STORIES* - - New Volumes for 1897-98. Each, crown 8vo, handsomely illustrated, - $1.50. - - -Mr. Henty, the most popular writer of Books of Adventure in England, -adds three new volumes to his list this fall--books that will delight -thousands of boys on this side who have become his ardent admirers. - - -WITH FREDERICK THE GREAT. A TALE OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. With 12 -full-page illustrations. 12mo, $1.50. - -This story, more than any other of Mr. Henty's, follows closely the -historic lines, and no better description of the memorable battles of -Rossbach, Leuthen, Prague, Zorndorf, Hochkirch, and Torgau can be found -anywhere than is given in this volume. Through the historic part there -runs the record of the daring and hazardous adventures of the hero, so -that the charm of romance is given to the whole narrative. It is one of -the most important volumes Mr. Henty has written. - - -A MARCH ON LONDON. A STORY OF WAT TYLER'S RISING. With 8 full-page -illustrations by W. H. MARGETSON. 12mo, $1.50. - -This book weaves together, in a most interesting way, the story of Wat -Tyler's rebellion under King Richard, the civil war in Flanders which -occurred soon after, and the ill-planned attack upon the French led by -the Bishop of Norfolk. The whole story is singularly interesting, -covering as it does a period of history which is but little known and -which is well worth narrating. - - -WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA. A STORY OF THE PENINSULAR WAR. With 12 -full-page illustrations by WAL. PAGET. 12mo, $1.50. - -A bright Irish lad, Terence O'Connor, is living with his widowed father, -Captain O'Connor of the Mayo Fusiliers, with the regiment, at the time -when the Peninsular War against Napoleon began. Under the command of Sir -John Moore, he shared in the same marching and sharp fighting which that -expedition experienced up to the battle of Corunna. By his bravery and -great usefulness, in spite of his youth, he received a commission as -colonel in the Portuguese army, and during the remainder of the war -rendered great services, being mentioned twice in the general orders of -the Duke of Wellington. The whole story is full of exciting military -experiences and gives a most careful and accurate account of the conduct -of the campaigns. - - - * * * * * - - - *MR. HENTY'S OTHER BOOKS* - -Each volume with numerous illustrations; handsomely bound. Olivine -edges. 12mo. $1.50. - -"Mr. Henty's books never fail to interest boy readers. Among writers of -stories of adventure he stands in the very first rank."--_Academy_, -London. - -"No country nor epoch of history is there which Mr. Henty does not know, -and what is really remarkable is that he always writes well and -interestingly. Boys like stirring adventures, and Mr. Henty is a master -of this method of composition."--_New York Times_. - - -AT AGINCOURT. A TALE OF THE WHITE HOODS OF PARIS. With 12 full-page -illustrations by WAL. PAGET. - -COCHRANE THE DAUNTLESS. A TALE OF THE EXPLOITS OF LORD COCHRANE IN -SOUTH AMERICAN WATERS. With 12 full-page illustrations by W. H. -MARGETSON. - -ON THE IRRAWADDY. A STORY OF THE FIRST BURMESE WAR. With 8 full-page -illustrations by W. H. OVEREND. - -THROUGH RUSSIAN SNOWS. A STORY OF NAPOLEON'S RETREAT FROM MOSCOW. With -8 full-page illustrations by W. H. OVEREND. - -A KNIGHT OF THE WHITE CROSS. A TALE OF THE SIEGE OF RHODES. With 12 -full-page illustrations by RALPH PEACOCK. - -THE TIGER OF MYSORE. A STORY OF THE WAR WITH TIPPOO SAID. With 12 -full-page illustrations by W. H. MARGETSON. - -IN THE HEART OF THE ROCKIES. A STORY OF ADVENTURE IN COLORADO. - -WHEN LONDON BURNED. A STORY OF RESTORATION TIMES AND THE GREAT FIRE. - -WULF THE SAXON. A STORY OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. - -ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S EVE. A TALE OF THE HUGUENOT WARS. - -THROUGH THE SIKH WAR. A TALE OF THE CONQUEST OF THE PUNJAUB. - -A JACOBITE EXILE. BEING THE ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG ENGLISHMAN IN THE -SERVICE OF CHARLES XII. OF SWEDEN. - -CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST. A STORY OF ESCAPE FROM SIBERIA. - -BERIC THE BRITON. A STORY OF THE ROMAN INVASION. - -IN GREEK WATERS. A STORY OF THE GRECIAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE -[1821-1827]. - -THE DASH FOR KHARTOUM. A TALE OF THE NILE EXPEDITION. - -REDSKIN AND COWBOY. A TALE OF THE WESTERN PLAINS. - -HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. A TALE OF THE SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR. - - - * * * * * - - - *SOME OF THE NEWEST BOOKS* - - -WILL SHAKESPEARE'S LITTLE LAD. By IMOGEN CLARK. With illustrations and -cover design by R. B. Birch. 12mo, $1.50. - -A story, full of warm color and brisk movement, of Stratford life in -Shakespeare's day, the local atmosphere being reflected with rare -fidelity, and the hero, the poet's son, being drawn with sympathy and -charm. - - -CHILD POEMS. By EUGENE FIELD. With an introduction by KENNETH GRAHAME -and profusely illustrated by CHARLES ROBINSON. Uniform with Robert Louis -Stevenson's "Child's Garden of Verses," also illustrated by Charles -Robinson. 12mo, $1.50. - - -THE STEVENSON SONG BOOK. VERSES FROM "A CHILD'S GARDEN," by ROBERT -LOUIS STEVENSON. With music by various composers. A companion volume to -the Field-DeKoven song book printed last year. Large 8vo, $2.00. - - -AN OLD-FIELD SCHOOL GIRL. By MARION HARLAND. With 8 full-page -illustrations. 12mo, $1.25. - - -LORDS OF THE WORLD. By ALFRED J. CHURCH. A STORY OF THE FALL OF -CARTHAGE AND CORINTH. With 12 full-page illustrations by RALPH PEACOCK. -12mo, $1.50. - -The scene of this story centres in the overthrow and destruction of -Carthage by the Romans. The story is full of valuable historical -details and the interest never flags. - - -HEROES OF OUR NAVY. By MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL. Illustrated. 12mo. In -press. - -Never has this entertaining writer been more felicitous than in the -present volume. - - -THE LAST CRUISE OF THE MOHAWK. By W. J. HENDERSON. Illustrated by -HARRY EDWARDS. 12mo, $1.25. - -The book is crowded with dramatic incident--mutiny, shipwreck, -Farragut's great fight in Mobile Bay--and the narrative is as simple as -the events and characters are entertaining. - - - * * * * * - - - *KIRK MUNROE'S STIRRING TALES* - - - _*THE WHITE CONQUEROR SERIES*_ - - -WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE -THE WHITE CONQUERORS -AT WAR WITH PONTIAC -THROUGH SWAMP AND GLADE - -Each, illustrated, 12mo, $1.25. The complete set, 4 vols., in a box, -$5.00. - - - _*JUST PUBLISHED*_ - -WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE; OR, FIGHTING FOR THE LONE STAR FLAG. A TALE OF -TEXAS. With 8 full-page illustrations by VICTOR PERARD. - -The story is of the Texas revolution in 1835, when American Texans under -Sam Houston, Bowie, Crockett, and Travis, fought for relief from the -intolerable tyranny of the Mexican Santa Ana. The hero, Rex Hardin, son -of a Texas ranchman, and graduate of an American military school, takes -a prominent part in the heroic defense of the Alamo, the terrible scenes -at Golead, and the final triumph at San Jacinto. The historical side of -the story has been carefully studied and its localities rendered -familiar by a special trip to Texas undertaken by the author for that -purpose within a year. - - - *PREVIOUS VOLUMES* - - -THROUGH SWAMP AND GLADE. A TALE OF THE SEMINOLE WAR. With 8 full-page -illustrations by VICTOR PERARD. 12mo, $1.25. - -In this new story Mr. Munroe opens to view an exceedingly interesting -period of American history--the period of the Seminole War in Florida. -Coacoochee, the hero of the story, is a young Indian of noble birth, the -son of Philip, the chieftain of the Seminoles. He is a boy at the time -of the beginning of the Seminole troubles and grows up to lead his tribe -in the long struggle which resulted in the Indians being driven from the -north of Florida down to the distant southern wilderness. It is full of -strange adventure, of stirring incident and rapid action, and it is a -true and faithful picture of a period of history little known to young -readers. - - -AT WAR WITH PONTIAC; OR, THE TOTEM OF THE BEAR. A TALE OF REDCOAT AND -REDSKIN. With 8 full-page illustrations by J. FINNEMORE. 12mo, $1.25. - -A story of old days in America when Detroit was a frontier town and the -shores of Lake Erie were held by hostile Indians, under Pontiac. The -hero, Donald Hester, goes in search of his sister Edith, who has been -captured by the Indians. Strange and terrible are his experiences; for -he is wounded, taken prisoner, condemned to be burned, and contrives to -escape. In the end there is peace between Pontiac and the English, and -all things terminate happily for the hero. One dares not skip a page of -this entralling story. - - -THE WHITE CONQUERORS. A TALE OF TOLTEC AND AZTEC. With 8 full-page -illustrations by W. S. STACEY. 12mo. $1.25. - -This story deals with the Conquest of Mexico by Cortes and his -Spaniards, the "White Conquerors," who, after many deeds of valor, -pushed their way into the great Aztec kingdom and established their -power in the wondrous city where Montezuma reigned in barbaric splendor. - - - * * * * * - - - *BOOKS BY WILLIAM HENRY FROST* - - - _*JUST PUBLISHED*_ - - -THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. Illustrated and cover designed by S. R. -BURLEIGH. 12mo, $1.50. - -Mr. Frost's volumes of folk-lore stories have achieved a deserved -popularity, and this last one, dealing with the ever-fascinating theme -of the Round Table and its knights, is equal to either of his earlier -books. - - - *MR. FROST'S FORMER BOOKS* - - -THE COURT OF KING ARTHUR. STORIES FROM THE LAND OF THE ROUND TABLE. -Illustrated by S. R. BURLEIGH. 12mo, $1.50. - -Mr. Frost has had the happy idea of making a journey to the different -places connected with the Arthurian romances by history or legend, and -of relating the ever new Round Table Tales on their sites, to the same -little girl, now somewhat older, to whom he told his charming Wagner -stories. - - -THE WAGNER STORY BOOK. FIRELIGHT TALES OF THE GREAT MUSIC DRAMAS. -Illustrated by SIDNEY R. BURLEIGH. 12mo, $1.50. - -"A successful attempt to make the romantic themes of the music drama -intelligible to young readers. The author has full command of his -subject, and the style is easy, graceful, and simple."--_Boston Beacon_. - - - * * * * * - - - *ROBERT GRANT'S TWO BOOKS FOR BOYS* - - -JACK HALL; OR, THE SCHOOL DAYS OF AN AMERICAN BOY. Illustrated by F. G. -ATTWOOD. 12mo, $1.25. - -"A better book for boys has never been written. It is pure, clean, and -healthy and has throughout a vigorous action that holds the reader -breathlessly."--_Boston Herald_. - - -JACK IN THE BUSH; OR, A SUMMER ON A SALMON RIVER. Illustrated by F. T. -MERRILL. 12mo, $1.25. - -"A clever book for boys. It is the story of the camp life of a lot of -boys, and is destined to please every boy reader. It is attractively -illustrated."--_Detroit Free Press_. - - - * * * * * - - - *THE KANTER GIRLS* - - -By MARY L. B. BRANCH. Illustrated by HELEN M. ARMSTRONG. Square 12mo. -$1.50. - -The adventures of Jane and Prue, two small sisters, among different -peoples of the imaginative world--dryads, snow-children, Kobolds, -etc.--aided by their invisible rings, their magic boat, and their -wonderful birds, are described by the author with great naturalness and -a true gift for story-telling. The numerous illustrations are very -attractive, and in thorough sympathy with the text. - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE -*** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46176 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a -registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, -unless you receive specific permission. 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