{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_21865/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_21865","id":"gutenberg_21865","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21865","summary":null,"tags":["Arthur, King -- Juvenile literature","Category: British Literature","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore"],"text":"Produced by Greg Weeks, Irma Spehar and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: King Arthur and His Knights]\n\n[Illustration: _King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table_]\n\n\n\n\n                    KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS\n\n                        By Maude L. Radford\n\n                          Illustrated by\n                         Walter J. Enright\n\n                   [Illustration: The Holy Grail]\n\n                     Rand, M^cNally & Company\n                    CHICAGO . NEW YORK . LONDON\n\n                        _Copyright_, 1903,\n                        By MAUDE L. RADFORD\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] TABLE OF CONTENTS\n\n                                                    PAGE\n_A List of Illustrations_                             8\n\nHow Arthur Became King                               11\n\nThe Good Sword Excalibur                             29\n\nThe Great Feast and What Followed                    35\n\nArthur's Court and the Order of the Round Table      49\n\nKing Arthur and the Princess Guinevere               64\n\nThe Coming of Gareth                                 73\n\nThe Story of Sir Gareth and Lynette                  85\n\nSir Ivaine                                           99\n\nSir Balin                                           120\n\nSir Geraint and Enid                                131\n\nArthur and Sir Accalon                              142\n\nHow Arthur Fought with a Giant                      153\n\nHow Arthur Fought with Rome                         160\n\nThe Knight with the Badly Made Coat                 171\n\nSir Lancelot and Sir Brune                          177\n\nThe Adventure of King Pellenore                     193\n\nSir Lancelot and His Friends                        199\n\nHow Sir Lancelot Saved the Queen                    213\n\nSir Lancelot and Elaine                             226\n\nThe Search for the Holy Grail                       243\n\nThe Death of Arthur                                 260\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] A LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n                                                            PAGE\n\n_King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table_        Frontispiece\n\n_\"All about him old oaks stood like giant guardians\"_        10\n\n_\"He hardly more than touched the sword\"_                    25\n\n_Arthur and the Lady of the Lake_                            31\n\n_King Bors and King Ban_                                     41\n\n_\"Arthur saw Guinevere bending over the wall\"_               65\n\n_\"Gareth rode at him fiercely\"_                              93\n\n_\"He dismounted and poured water into the fountain\"_        105\n\n_\"They fought till their breath failed\"_                    129\n\n_\"King Arthur raising his hand for silence\"_                167\n\n_\"The king touched him lightly with his sword\"_             175\n\n_\"He pushed him until he was but a step from the edge\"_     191\n\n_\"He struck so fiercely the bottom fell out\"_               209\n\n_\"She staid near it all day long in the turret\"_            231\n\n_\"And across it slowly moved the Holy Grail\"_               253\n\n\n\n\n                                TO\n                         DWIGHT AND ROGER\n\n                   [Illustration: The Holy Grail]\n\n\n\n\n                     King Arthur and His Knights\n\n[Illustration: _\"All about him old oaks stood like giant\nguardians\"_]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] HOW ARTHUR BECAME KING\n\n\nOnce upon a time, a thousand years before Columbus discovered\nAmerica, and when Rome was still the greatest city in the world,\nthere lived a brave and beautiful youth whose name was Arthur.\nHis home was in England, near London; and he lived with the good\nknight Sir Hector, whom he always called father.\n\nThey dwelt in a great square castle of gray stone, with a round\ntower at each corner. It was built about a courtyard, and was\nsurrounded by a moat, across which was a drawbridge that could be\nraised or lowered. When it was raised the castle was practically\na little island and very hard for enemies to attack.\n\nOn one side of the moat was a large wood, and here Arthur spent a\ngreat deal of his time. He liked to lie under the trees and gaze\nup at the blue of the sky. All about him old oaks stood like\ngiant guardians watching sturdily over the soil where they had\ngrown for centuries. Arthur could look between the trunks and see\nrabbits and squirrels whisking about. Sometimes a herd of brown\ndeer with shy dark eyes would pass, holding their graceful heads\nhigh in the air; sometimes a flock of pheasants with brilliant\nplumage rose from the bushes. Again there was no sound except the\ntapping of a bright-crested woodpecker, and no motion but the\nfluttering of leaves and the trembling of violets half buried in\ngreen moss.\n\nAt times, when it was dim and silent in the wood, Arthur would\nhear bursts of merry laughter, the tinkling of bells, and the\njingling of spurs. Then he would know that knights and ladies\nwere riding down the road which ran beside the trees. Soon the\nknights would appear on horses, brown, black, and white, with\ngaily ornamented saddles, and bridles from which hung silver\nbells. Often the saddles were made of ivory or ebony, set with\nrubies or emeralds. The knights wore helmets laced with slender\ngold chains, and coats of mail made of tiny links of steel, so\nfine and light that all together hardly weighed more than a coat\nof cloth. Usually the legs of the knights were sheathed in steel\narmor; and their spurs were steel, or even gold. The ladies sat\non horses with long trappings of silk, purple, white, or scarlet,\nwith ornamented saddles and swinging bells. The robes of the\nladies were very beautiful, being made of velvet or silk trimmed\nwith ermine. Arthur liked to watch them, flashing by; crimson,\nand gold, and blue, and rose-colored. Better still, he liked to\nsee the pretty happy faces of the ladies, and hear their gay\nvoices. In those troublous times, however, the roads were so\ninsecure that such companies did not often pass.\n\nSometimes the knights and ladies came to visit Sir Hector. Then\nArthur would hurry from the forest to the castle. Sir Hector\nwould stand on the lowered drawbridge to greet his guests, and\nwould lead them, with many expressions of pleasure, into the\ncourtyard. Then he would take a huge hammer hanging from a post,\nand beat with it on a table which stood in a corner of the\ncourtyard. Immediately from all parts of the castle the squires\nand servants would come running to take the horses of the knights\nand ladies. Sir Hector's wife and daughters would then appear,\nand with their own hands remove the armor of the knights. They\nwould offer them golden basins of water, and towels for washing,\nand after that put velvet mantles upon their shoulders. Then the\nguests would be brought to the supper table.\n\nBut Arthur did not spend all his time dreaming in the woods or\ngazing at knights and ladies. For many hours of the day he\npracticed feats of arms in the courtyard. It was the custom in\nEngland to train boys of noble birth to be knights. As soon as\nthey were old enough they were taught to ride. Later on, they\nlived much among the ladies and maidens, learning gentle manners.\nUnder the care of the knights, they learned to hunt, to carry a\nlance properly, and to use the sword; and having gained this\nskill, they were made squires if they had shown themselves to be\nof good character.\n\nThen, day by day, the squires practiced at the quintain. This was\nan upright post, on the top of which turned a crosspiece, having\non one end a broad board, and on the other a bag of sand. The\nobject was to ride up at full gallop, strike the board with a\nlong lance, and get away without being hit by the sand bag.\n\nBesides this, the squires had services to do for the knights, in\norder that they might learn to be useful in as many ways as\npossible, and to be always humble. For instance, they took care\nof the armor of the knights, carried letters and messages for\nthem, accompanied them at joustings and tournaments, being ready\nwith extra weapons or assistance; and in the castle they helped\nto serve the guests at table. After months of such service, they\nwent through a beautiful ceremony and were made knights. In the\ncountry round about, Arthur, of all the squires, was the most\nfamous for his skill in the use of the lance and the sword, for\nhis keenness in the hunt, and for his courtesy to all people.\n\nNow, at this time there was no ruler in England. The powerful\nUther of Wales, who had governed England, was dead, and all the\nstrong lords of the country were struggling to be king in his\nplace. This gave rise to a great deal of quarreling and\nbloodshed.\n\nThere was in the land a wise magician named Merlin. He was so old\nthat his beard was as white as snow, but his eyes were as clear\nas a little child's. He was very sorry to see all the fighting\nthat was going on, because he feared that it would do serious\nharm to the kingdom.\n\nIn those days the great and good men who ruled in the church had\npower almost equal to that of the monarch. The kings and the\ngreat lords listened to their advice, and gave them much land,\nand money for themselves and for the poor. So Merlin went to the\nArchbishop of Canterbury, the churchman who in all England was\nthe most beloved, and said:\n\n\"Sir, it is my advice that you send to all the great lords of the\nrealm and bid them come to London by Christmas to choose a king.\"\n\nThe archbishop did as Merlin advised, and at Christmas all the\ngreat lords came to London. The largest church in the city stood\nnot far from the north bank of the Thames. A churchyard\nsurrounded it, filled with yew trees, the trunks of which were\nknotted with age. The powerful lords rode up in their clanking\narmor to the gate, where they dismounted, and giving their horses\ninto the care of their squires, reverently entered the church.\n\nThere were so many of them that they quite filled the nave and\nside-aisles of the building. The good archbishop, from where he\nstood in the chancel, looked down on them all. Just behind him\nwas the altar covered with a cloth of crimson and gold, and\nsurmounted by a golden crucifix and ten burning candles. In front\nof him, kneeling under the gray arches which spanned the church,\nwere the greatest men in the kingdom. He looked at their stern\nbronzed faces, their heavy beards, their broad shoulders, and\ntheir glittering armor, and prayed God to make the best man in\nthe land king.\n\nThen began the service. At the close of the first prayer some of\nthe knights looked out of the window, and there in the churchyard\nthey saw a great square stone. In the middle of it was an anvil\nof steel a foot high, and fixed therein was a beautiful sword. On\nthe sword was some writing set in with gold which said:\n\n\"Whosoever pulls this sword out of this stone and anvil is the\nreal king of all England.\"\n\nThe knights who read this told the archbishop, but he said:\n\n\"I command you all to keep within the church and still pray to\nGod. No man is to touch the sword until all the prayers are\nsaid.\"\n\nAfter the service was over, the lords went into the churchyard.\nThey each pulled at the sword, but none could stir it.\n\n\"The king is not here,\" said the archbishop, \"but God will make\nhim known. Meantime, let ten good knights keep watch over this\nsword.\"\n\nThe knights were soon chosen, and then the archbishop said that\non a fixed day every man in the kingdom should try to pull the\nsword out of the anvil. He ordered that on New Year's day all the\npeople should be brought together for a great tournament to be\nheld on the south bank of the Thames, near London bridge. After a\nfew days spent in jousting among the knights, each man should\nmake the trial to find out whether or not he was to be king.\n\nThe brave youth Arthur did not know of the contest that was to be\nmade for the sword. Sir Hector told him that he was to go to a\ntournament, but he did not tell him the reason for holding the\ntournament. So Arthur rode to London with Sir Hector; and Sir\nKay, who was Sir Hector's oldest son, was with them.\n\nSir Hector and Sir Kay rode soberly in front. They were tall,\nstalwart men and rode black horses, their dark figures making\nshadows on the light snow that had fallen. Arthur, riding behind\nthem, felt exhilarated by the crisp winter air which caused the\nblood to dance in his veins. Sometimes he stood up in his saddle\nand flicked with his sword the dead leaves on the oaks. Again he\nmade his horse crush the thin crust of ice that had formed in\ntiny pools on the road. He was so happy in the thought of the\ntournament he was to see, that he could have sung for joy.\n\nThe road was not very wide, for few carts passed upon it, but it\nhad been well worn by riders. Sometimes it wound through a bit of\nthick woods; again it rose up over a gently rolling hill. From\nthe hilltops the riders could see London far in the distance. It\nlooked at first like a gray haze; then, as the three came nearer,\nthe buildings, large and small, grew plain to the sight. The\ncastles and huts, barns and sheds, smithies, shops and mills,\nstood out in the keen sunlight. A high wall surrounded them,\nwhile on one side flowed the river Thames.\n\nAfter they had entered the city, and had passed the churchyard,\nand had almost reached London bridge, Sir Kay discovered that he\nhad left his sword at home.\n\n\"Will you go back for it?\" he asked Arthur.\n\n\"That I will,\" said Arthur, glad of the chance to ride longer in\nthe delightful air.\n\nBut when he reached their dwelling, he could not get in. The\ndrawbridge was raised, and he could not make the warden hear his\ncalling. Then Arthur was disturbed and said to himself:\n\n\"I will hasten to the churchyard we passed, and take the\nbeautiful sword which I saw in the stone. It does not seem to\nbelong to anyone, and my brother Kay must have a weapon.\"\n\nSo he rode on till he reached the churchyard, dismounted, and\ntied his horse to a sapling. The ten knights who guarded the\nsword had gone away to see the combats in the tournament. Arthur\nran up and pulled lightly but eagerly at the sword. It came at\nonce from the anvil. He hurried to Sir Kay, who was waiting for\nhim on London bridge. Sir Kay knew that the weapon was the one\nthat had been fixed fast in the stone, but he said nothing to\nArthur, and the two soon overtook Sir Hector, who had ridden\nslowly to the field where the tournament was taking place. Sir\nKay immediately told his father what had happened.\n\nThe good knight at once spoke with great respect to Arthur.\n\n\"Sir,\" he said, \"you must be the king of this land.\"\n\n\"What mean you, sir?\" asked Arthur.\n\nSir Hector told the wondering youth the reason why he was\ndestined to be king. Then he said:\n\n\"Can you put this sword back in its place and pull it out again?\"\n\n\"Easily,\" replied Arthur.\n\nThe three returned to the great stone, and Arthur put back the\nsword. Sir Hector tried to take it out, but failed.\n\n\"Now, you try,\" he said to Sir Kay.\n\nBut Sir Kay, in spite of great efforts, also failed. Then Arthur,\nat Sir Hector's bidding, tried, and at once pulled forth the\nsword. At that Sir Hector and Sir Kay knelt before Arthur.\n\n\"Alas,\" said Arthur, raising them from the ground, \"my own dear\nfather and my brother, why do you kneel to me?\"\n\n\"Nay, my lord Arthur,\" said Sir Hector, \"I am not your father.\nYou are of higher blood than I am. Long ago, when you were a\nlittle baby, Merlin brought you to me to take care of, telling me\nthat you were to be the king.\"\n\n\"Then whose son am I?\" cried Arthur.\n\n\"There are two stories: the one that Merlin tells, and the one\nthat old Bleys, the master of Merlin, tells. Merlin brought you\nto me, saying that you were the son of King Uther and Yguerne his\nwife. But because the king was dead and the lords powerful and\njealous, he told me to guard you in secrecy lest your life be\ntaken. I did not know whether the story was true or false then,\nbut you were a helpless child, and Merlin was a wise sage, and so\nI took you and brought you up as my own.\"\n\nArthur was so astonished that he did not ask to hear the tale\nthat Bleys told. He stood gazing at Sir Hector, who said:\n\n\"And now, my gracious lord, will you be good to me and mine when\nyou are king?\"\n\n\"I will, indeed,\" replied Arthur, \"for I am more beholden to you\nthan to any one else in the world, and also to my good lady and\nfoster mother, your wife, who has reared me as if I were her own\nchild. If it be God's will that I shall sometime become king, ask\nof me then what you will.\"\n\n\"Sir,\" said Sir Hector, \"I ask that you make my son Sir Kay, your\nfoster brother, the steward of all your lands.\"\n\n\"That shall be done,\" said Arthur, \"and more. He shall have that\noffice as long as I live.\"\n\nThen the three went to the Archbishop of Canterbury and related\nto him the story of Merlin and all that had occurred. At his\nrequest they told no one else.\n\nAt the command of the archbishop on Twelfth day, which is the\nsixth of January, all the great lords assembled in the churchyard.\nEach tried to draw forth the sword, and each failed. Then the\nuntitled people came and tried. Everyone failed until at last\nArthur stepped forward. He hardly more than touched the sword\nwhen it came away in his hand.\n\nAt this many of the great lords were angry.\n\n[Illustration: _\"He hardly more than touched the sword\"_]\n\n\"He is but a boy,\" they said, \"and not of high blood.\"\n\nThey refused to believe the story of his birth told by Merlin and\nSir Hector. And because of all the quarreling, it was decided to\nhave another trial at Candlemas, which fell in the month of\nFebruary. Again Arthur was victorious. Then the great lords\ndecreed that there should be another trial at Easter, and again\nArthur succeeded. Next they decided to have a final trial at the\nfeast of the Pentecost, which fell in May.\n\nMeanwhile, Merlin advised the archbishop to see that Arthur had a\nbodyguard. So the archbishop selected several knights whom the\nformer king, Uther, had trusted. These were Sir Ulfius and Sir\nBrastias and Sir Bedivere; Sir Geraint and Sir Hector and Sir Kay\nwere also chosen. These brave men formed a bodyguard for Arthur\nuntil the feast of the Pentecost.\n\nAt this time Arthur again drew out the sword from the anvil. Then\nthe common people, who had so far let the lords have their will,\ncried out:\n\n\"We will have Arthur for our king, and we will have no more\ndelay, for we see that it is God's will that he shall be our\nruler.\"\n\nThen all the people knelt down, high and low, rich and poor, and\nbegged Arthur's pardon for the delay he had undergone. Arthur\nforgave them, and taking his sword, reverently placed it on the\ngreat altar beside which the archbishop stood. This was a sign\nthat he meant to dedicate himself and his sword to God.\n\nAfterward the crowning was held, and all the brave men and fair\nladies in the land were present. The lords wore beautiful robes\nof velvet and ermine, with gold and jewels on their breast-plates.\nThe ladies' robes were of purple and white and scarlet and gold\nand blue, and they wore many pearls and rubies and diamonds, so\nthat all the place where they were assembled was glowing with\nlight and color.\n\nBut Arthur, who wore a plain white robe, did not think of the\nbeauty and richness. He was very grave, knowing that he was about\nto take a solemn oath. He bowed his head, while the archbishop\nset upon it the golden crown, which gleamed with jewels. Then he\nstood up before his people, and vowed that he would be a good\nking and always do justice. All the people uncovered their heads\nand vowed to serve and obey him; and when he smiled kindly on\nthem as he rode slowly through the throng, they threw up their\ncaps and shouted joyfully: \"Long live King Arthur! Long live the\nKing!\"\n\nKing Arthur chose worthy men for his officers, making Sir Kay\nsteward as he had promised; Sir Ulfius he made chamberlain, and\nSir Brastias warden. Arthur gave offices also to Sir Hector and\nSir Bedivere and Sir Geraint.\n\nAfter his crowning the king set about righting all the wrongs\nthat had been done since the death of King Uther. He gave back\nthe lands and money that had been taken from widows and orphans,\nand would permit no unkindness to any of his subjects. Thus, at\nthe very beginning of his reign, his people began to call him\n\n=\"Good King Arthur\"=\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] THE GOOD SWORD EXCALIBUR\n\n\nSoon after the crowning of King Arthur, he was journeying through\nthe land with Merlin, the wise old magician, when they met a\nknight who challenged Arthur to a combat. The two fought, and at\nlast the knight wounded Arthur severely. In the end the king was\nvictorious, but he had lost so much blood that he could go no\nfarther. Merlin took him to a good hermit who healed his wound in\nthree days. Then the king departed with Merlin, and as they were\nslowly riding along he said:\n\n\"I am still weak from the blood I have lost, and my sword is\nbroken.\"\n\n\"Do not fear,\" said Merlin. \"You shall lose no more blood and\nyou shall have a good sword. Ride on trustfully with me.\"\n\nThey rode in silence until they came to a lake, large and quiet,\nand as beautiful in color as a pearl. While Arthur was looking at\nits beauty, he became suddenly aware of three tall women, with\nfair, sweet faces, standing on the bank.\n\n\"Who are they?\" the king asked.\n\n\"Three queens who shall help you at your worst need,\" answered\nMerlin. \"Now look out upon the lake again.\"\n\nArthur turned his eyes upon the lake and saw that in the distance\na slight mist had arisen. Through it the figure of a lady glided\nover the surface of the water. Her robe appeared to be made of\nwaves which streamed away in flowing curves from her body. Her\nhead and shoulders seemed wrapped in foam tinted with the colors\nof the rainbow, and her arms glittered with sparkles which came\nfrom bubbles of water. She was so wonderful that Arthur looked at\nher for some time before he asked softly:\n\n\"Who is she?\"\n\n[Illustration: _Arthur and the Lady of the Lake_]\n\n\"She is the Lady of the Lake,\" said Merlin. \"She lives in a rock\nin the middle of the lake. See, she is coming toward us. Look at\nwhat is beyond her in the water.\"\n\nArthur looked and saw rising above the surface of the water an\narm clothed in pure white. This arm held a huge cross-hilted\nsword, so brilliant that Arthur's eyes were dazzled.\n\nWhen the Lady of the Lake approached nearer, he said:\n\n\"Damsel, what sword is that? I wish it were mine, for I have\nnone.\"\n\nThe lady smiled, saying:\n\n\"Step into yonder boat, row to the sword, and take it, together\nwith the scabbard.\"\n\nSo Arthur entered a little boat that was tied to the shore, and\nrowed out to the sword. As he took it and the scabbard, all\ngleaming with jewels, the hand and arm vanished into the water.\nAnd when Arthur looked about, the three queens and the Lady of\nthe Lake were also gone.\n\nAs Arthur, still gazing at the sword, rowed to shore, Merlin said\nto him:\n\n\"My lord Arthur, which pleases you more, sword or scabbard?\"\n\n\"In truth, the sword,\" replied the king.\n\n\"Let me assure you,\" said Merlin, smiling gravely, \"that the\nscabbard is worth ten of the sword. While you have it with you\nyou shall never lose blood, no, no matter how sorely you are\nwounded. So see that you guard it well.\"\n\nThe king, who was looking at the sword, sighed.\n\n\"There is writing on the sword,\" he said.\n\n\"True, my lord, written in the oldest tongue in the world.\"\n\n\"_Take me_ on one side,\" said Arthur, \"and _Cast me away_ on the\nother. I am glad to take the sword, but it saddens me to think of\ncasting it away.\"\n\nMerlin's face grew sad, too. He was so wise that he knew what was\ngoing to happen in the future, and he was well aware that when\nthe time came to cast the sword away, much evil would have\nbefallen the good King Arthur. But he knew that the time was yet\nvery far off; so he said:\n\n\"You have taken the sword. Now use it to make justice and right\nprevail in all the land. Do not think of casting it away until\nyou must.\"\n\nArthur grew joyful again as he felt the strength of the good\nsword in his hand, and the two rode cheerfully forward through\nthe country.\n\n[Illustration: The Shield]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] THE GREAT FEAST & WHAT FOLLOWED\n\n\nAlthough Arthur had been crowned king, he was by no means sure\nthat all the nobles of the land would accept him as ruler. In\naccordance with the custom of the time, he gave a feast in order\nto find out who were his friends and who his enemies. All who\ncame to the feast would, he supposed, consent to be his\nfollowers.\n\nHe chose the largest hall in London, and had the walls hung with\nrich cloths. Upon the floor, strewn with rushes, were placed\ntrestles, and across these, boards were laid. Upon them fine\nwhite linen was spread, and golden saltcellars, wine-bowls, and\nwater-jugs set about.\n\nWhen the guests assembled there were so many that Arthur was\ndelighted, for he thought they were all his friends. He sat at\nthe head of one table, and Sir Hector sat at the head of the\nother. Arthur wore a gold crown on his head, but it was no\nbrighter than his hair, and the blue turquoises with which it was\nset were no bluer than his eyes. From his shoulders to the ground\nhung a magnificent red robe with gold dragons embroidered upon\nit.\n\nThe cooks and squires came in from the kitchen carrying food,\ntheir ruddy faces beaming from the heat of the fires. First of\nall, sixty boars' heads were borne in on silver platters. Then\nfollowed, on golden dishes, peacocks and plovers which had been\nso skillfully cooked that their bright colors were preserved.\nAfter the guests had eaten all they cared for of this food, tiny\nroasted pigs were brought in, and set on all fours upon the\ntables. By this time, all the gold and silver goblets which had\nbeen filled with wine needed refilling. Then the squires carried\nin beautiful white swans on silver platters, and roasted cranes\nand curlews on plates that glowed like the sun. After that came\nrabbits stewed in sweet sauce, and hams and curries. The last\ncourse consisted of tarts and preserves, dates and figs and\npomegranates.\n\nThe supper began about five o'clock, and the guests ate and drank\ninto the night. Although it was past Easter time, the weather was\na little cold, and so upon the stone flagging between the two\nlong tables the king ordered fires to be lighted. The bright\nflames darted up, flashing on the gold threads woven in the\nhangings of the walls, and on the steel armor of the lords, and\ngleaming on the jewels set in the gold and silver goblets which\nthe squires were carrying about. At one side sat a band of\nmusicians singing of the glories of King Arthur, and of the\nfolk-tales of his ancestors and people, accompanying themselves\non their harps.\n\nAfter the guests had risen from the tables and gone to their\ncamps, Arthur sent messengers to them with rich gifts of horses\nand furs and gold. But most of the lords received the messengers\nscornfully.\n\n\"Take back these gifts to the beardless boy who has come of low\nblood,\" they said; \"we do not want them. We have come here to\ngive him gifts of hard blows with our hard swords.\"\n\nThe messengers were astonished to hear these things spoken of\ntheir good king. Nevertheless, they told Arthur all that had been\nsaid to them. He sent no answer back, but he called together all\nthe lords whom he was sure were loyal to him, and asked their\nadvice. They said to him:\n\n\"We cannot give you advice, but we can fight.\"\n\n\"You speak well, my lords,\" answered Arthur, \"and I thank you for\nyour courage. Will you take the advice of Merlin? You know that\nhe has done much for me, and he is very wise.\"\n\nThe lords and barons answered that they would do whatever Merlin\nadvised. When Merlin came to the council hall he said:\n\n\"I warn you that your enemies are very strong. They have added to\ntheir numbers so that now you have against you eleven mighty\nkings.\"\n\nAt this the lords looked dismayed.\n\n\"Unless our lord Arthur has more men than he can find in his own\nrealm,\" said Merlin, \"he will be overcome and slain. Therefore I\ngive you this counsel. There are two brothers across the sea;\nboth are monarchs and both very strong. One is King Ban of\nBenwick, and the other is King Bors of Gaul. Now these two have\nan enemy, also a powerful ruler. Therefore, send to the brothers,\nKing Bors and King Ban who are now both in Benwick, and say to\nthem that if they will help Arthur in his war against the eleven\nkings, Arthur will help them against their common enemy.\"\n\n\"That is very good counsel,\" said the king and the lords.\n\nSo they chose Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias as messengers, and\nthese two hurried away, hopeful of success. When they reached the\ntown in Benwick where King Bors and King Ban were, knights came\nforth to receive them and to hear their message. As soon as it\nwas learned from whom they had come they were led into the\npresence of the brothers. Both were very large men. King Bors\nwas dark, and was dressed in black armor. King Ban was dark, too;\nthe colors that he wore on his shield were green and gold. He was\nthe father of Sir Lancelot, the knight who afterwards became the\nmost powerful of the followers of Arthur.\n\nThe two kings received Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias with much\nfavor.\n\n\"Tell King Arthur,\" they said, \"that we will come to him as\nquickly as we can.\"\n\nThen they gave splendid gifts to Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias, who\nhurried back to Arthur with the message.\n\nIn a short time King Bors and King Ban arrived with ten thousand\nof their soldiers, and as Arthur had ten thousand, they felt\ncertain of victory. They went into Wales, a country which\nArthur's followers knew well, and waited confidently for the\nenemy.\n\nThe eleven kings collected a great host of sixty thousand men,\nfifty thousand on horseback and ten thousand on foot. They\nmarched towards the place where Arthur was, and set up their camp\nnear a wood about a mile distant. When Merlin knew this, he said\nto Arthur and the two kings:\n\n[Illustration: _King Bors and King Ban_]\n\n\"This is my advice: Set upon your enemies at midnight when they\nare unprepared, and then you will have the advantage.\"\n\nSo Arthur and the two royal brothers and the twenty thousand\nsoldiers crept up to where the eleven kings and their men lay.\nThey took a road circling round the wood. Moving with great\ncaution, they drew nearer and nearer until they could see first\nthe camp fires in a circle around the white tents; and then,\nagainst the flashing flames, the dark figures of the men who were\nkeeping guard. Sometimes they were afraid that the noise they\nmade would alarm their enemies, but on account of a heavy\nwindstorm, they were unheard. When his men were quite near,\nArthur gave the word of command. The whole army uttered a great\nshout, and ran forward in companies upon their enemies. In a few\nminutes they had knocked down most of the tents, and killed many\nsoldiers.\n\nIt was a dreadful thing to be attacked in the dark without\nwarning. But the eleven kings were brave men, even though they\nwere so unjust to Arthur in trying to take his kingdom from him,\nand made a good fight. Perhaps they would have made a better one\nif they had known how few the men were under Arthur.\n\nBefore day dawned, Merlin told Arthur to draw back his troops.\nThis he did, leaving about ten thousand of the enemy dead behind\nhim. He, however, had not lost very many men.\n\nAt daybreak Arthur and his followers saw that the lay of the land\ncould be used to their advantage. Between them and the enemy was\na narrow road, bounded on one side by a lake, and on the other\nside by a dense wood. One part of this wood, however, was thin\nenough to allow men to hide in it.\n\n\"Now,\" said Merlin, \"let King Bors and King Ban take their\nsoldiers and hide in the wood for a long time. Then, my lord\nArthur, stand up before the enemy with your men.\"\n\n\"Why shall we do this?\" asked Arthur.\n\n\"Because,\" said the wise old man, \"when the eleven kings see how\nfew in number your troops are, they will let you proceed down the\npassage. They will think that if you march close to them they can\novercome you. But you can fill up this narrow road with more and\nmore men from the wood. Then the enemy cannot surround you.\"\n\n\"That seems very good,\" said Arthur.\n\n\"And at last,\" continued Merlin, \"when the eleven kings are\nweary, let King Bors and King Ban come forth. Then surely the\ncourage of our enemies will fail.\"\n\nThe plan was carried out. Arthur's men marched down the passage.\nThe green wood was on one side, and on the other was the lake,\nthe water of which was so clear that it reflected the bodies of\nthe soldiers with their shields and helmets. The sun shone on\ntheir armor. The little birds in the woods sang as they passed.\nBut the men were thinking of nothing but the expected battle.\n\nWhen they had come close to the enemy, they saw the eleven kings\nall in a row, mounted on big handsome horses. Their fifty\nthousand men were behind them. Suddenly these rode forward and\nthe battle began.\n\nIt was a fierce fight. In a very short time the field was covered\nwith overthrown men and horses. Broken shields and helmets lay on\nthe ground, and many of the knights who had been fighting on\nhorseback were unhorsed, and were fighting on foot. Arthur\ngalloped here and there among his enemies, conquering with his\ntrusty sword all with whom he fought. The woods and the water\nrang with his sword strokes. The noise drowned the sweet songs of\nthe birds, but still they sang, and flew about gaily, all unaware\nof the grim death-struggle going on beneath them.\n\nFinally the time arrived for bringing forward King Bors and his\nmen. The great dark king went thundering down upon his enemies.\nWhen the King of Orkney saw him coming, he cried:\n\n\"Oh, we are in great danger! I see King Bors, one of the best and\nbravest kings in the world, and he is helping our enemy.\"\n\nThen the other kings were astonished, for they did not know that\nArthur had sent outside his country for help.\n\n\"But we will fight on,\" they said, \"no matter how powerful he\nis.\"\n\nWhile they were still fighting, but with great loss of courage,\nthey heard the loud sounds made by the hoofs of other tramping\nhorses, and King Ban rode down on them, followed by his men. His\nblack brows were frowning, and his green and gold colors\nglittered in the sun.\n\n\"Alas, alas!\" cried the King of Orkney, \"now in truth are we\nlost, for here is another king, no less great than his brother\nBors. But we must neither flee nor yield.\"\n\nThe eleven kings, being agreed to this, continued the battle,\nthough so many of their men were killed that the King of Orkney\nwept. When he saw some of his men running away, he wept still\nmore, for he thought it was better to die than to be a coward.\n\nThough they did not intend to run away, the eleven kings thought\nit would be wise to retreat to a little copse near by. It was\nlate and they were tired and wished to rest before fighting\nagain. King Bors and King Ban could not help admiring these\nrulers.\n\n\"In truth,\" said King Ban, \"they are the bravest men I ever saw.\nI would they were your friends.\"\n\n\"Indeed, so would I,\" replied Arthur; \"but I have no hope of\nthat, for they are determined to destroy me, and so we must fight\non.\"\n\nAt this moment Merlin rode up on his great black horse.\n\n\"Have you not done enough?\" he cried to Arthur. \"Of their sixty\nthousand men there are left but fifteen thousand. It is time to\nstop, I say. If you fight on, they will win the day. The tide\nwill turn against you.\"\n\nArthur hesitated and Merlin said:\n\n\"The eleven kings have a great trouble coming of which they are\nignorant. The Saracens have landed in their countries to the\nnumber of over forty thousand. So your enemies will have so much\nfighting to do that they will not attack you again for three\nyears.\"\n\nThen Arthur was glad, for it had grieved him deeply to fight so\nlong and to lose his good soldiers.\n\n\"We will fight no more,\" he said.\n\n\"That is well,\" replied Merlin. \"Now give presents to your\nsoldiers, for to-day they have proved themselves equal to the\nbest fighters in the world.\"\n\n\"True, indeed!\" exclaimed King Bors and King Ban.\n\nSo Arthur gave gifts to his own men; and a great deal of gold to\nthe brother kings, both for themselves and for their soldiers.\nAnd the two kings went home rejoicing.\n\n[Illustration: The Two Horses]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] ARTHUR'S COURT & THE ORDER OF THE ROUND TABLE\n\n\nAfter Arthur had proved his prowess in his contest with the\neleven kings, he decided to establish his Court and the Order of\nthe Round Table. The place he chose was the city of Camelot in\nWales, which had a good situation, being built upon a hill. He\ncalled the wise Merlin and ordered him to make a great palace on\nthe summit of the hill. Through his powers of enchantment, Merlin\nwas able to do this very quickly, and within a week the king and\nhis personal attendants were settled in the palace.\n\nThe main part consisted of a great Assembly Hall built of white\nmarble, the roof of which seemed to be upheld by pillars of green\nand red porphyry, and was surmounted by magnificent towers. The\noutside walls of the hall were covered with beautiful rows of\nsculpture. The lowest row represented wild beasts slaying men.\nThe second row represented men slaying wild beasts. The third\nrepresented warriors who were peaceful, good men. The fourth\nshowed men with growing wings. Over all was a winged statue with\nthe face of Arthur. Merlin meant to show by means of the first\nrow that formerly evil in men was greater than good; by the\nsecond that men began to conquer the evil in themselves, which in\ntime caused them to become really good, noble, and peace-loving\nmen, as in the third row. And finally, through the refining\ninfluence of Good King Arthur and his wise helpers, men would\ngrow to be almost as perfect as the angels.\n\nThe main doorway was in the shape of an arch, upheld by pillars\nof dark yellow marble. The hall was lighted by fourteen great\nwindows, through which the light streamed in soft colors upon the\nmarble floors. Between these windows, and along the cornices,\nwere beautiful decorations. There were carvings in white marble\nof birds and beasts and twining vines. There was mosaic work of\nblack and yellow and pink marble and of lapis lazuli, as blue as\na lake when the clear sun shines full upon its surface. Under the\nwindows were many stone shields, beneath each of which was the\nname of a knight. Some shields were blazoned with gold, some were\ncarved, and some were blank. The walls were hung with beautiful\ntapestries which had been woven by the ladies of the land for\nArthur's new palace. On each had been pictured some episode from\nthe life of King Arthur; the drawing of the magic sword from the\nanvil, the finding of the good sword Excalibur, his deeds of\njustice and acts of kindness, and his many battles and wars.\n\nThe two wings of the palace contained the dining hall and kitchen\nand the living apartments of all the members of the court who\nmade their home with the king. The dining hall was only a little\nless beautiful than Arthur's great Assembly Hall. The walls were\nhung with cloths of scarlet and gold. The deep fireplace was\nsupported by four bronze pillars. In the middle of the room were\nlong tables made of oak boards set on ivory trestles. At a\nbanquet the walls were hung with garlands of flowers or festoons\nof branches.\n\nThe great kitchen had stone walls and stone flagging. The\nfireplace was so large that there was room for a whole ox to be\nroasted, and above hung cranes from which half a dozen kettles\ncould be suspended, and pots of such a size that pigs could be\nboiled whole in them. All about the walls were cupboards. Some\nwere full of plates of wood, iron, steel, silver, and gold, and\nflagons, cups, bowls, and saltcellars of gold and silver. Others\nwere used for the storing of cold meats and fruits. There were\nseveral tables on which the cooked food was cut, and benches upon\nwhich the cooks rested when they were tired of serving the hungry\neaters.\n\nWell might they have grown tired.\n\nSupper, the most important meal of the day, lasted from three\nuntil six, and often longer. But the cooks, and the little\nscullion boys who washed the pots and pans, and the attendants\nwho carried in the food to the dining hall, all wore contentment\nand happiness on their faces as they hurried about with their\nlong blouses tucked out of harm's way; for to serve King Arthur\nand his guests was considered a real privilege.\n\nThe sleeping rooms were furnished with chests, and chairs, and\nbeds spread with fine linen and with ermine-lined covers.\nHangings of various colors were upon the walls. On the floors\nwere strewn rushes, and among them was thrown mint which gave\nforth an agreeable odor.\n\nAfter Arthur, his officers, and his servants had been in the\npalace a few days, the king formally established his Court. He\ninvited all the knights who cared to do so to come with their\nfamilies and retinues and live with him. Some preferred to remain\nin their own castles, but others gladly went to live with the\nking. Soon all were comfortably settled.\n\nThe king's officers were very important members of Arthur's\ncourt. First of these came the Archbishop of Canterbury, who\nheld the highest place in the king's regard. It was his duty to\nconduct the church services for Arthur and his followers, and to\nchristen, marry, and bury the people of Camelot. Next, Sir Ulfius\nas chamberlain superintended the care of the king's rooms. Sir\nBrastias, who was warden, superintended the servants. Sir Kay,\nwho was steward, had charge of all the food and the kitchen. Sir\nHector, as treasurer, took care of the king's gold and rendered\nthe accounts. Sir Geraint managed all the tournaments and outdoor\nsports of the knights and squires. There were other officers to\nhelp these, and all did their work faithfully and lovingly.\n\nThe knights whom Arthur chose to be members of his Round Table\nwere mostly selected from these officers. As members of this\norder there were one hundred and fifty of the knights who had\nshown themselves especially brave in battle and who were devoted\nfollowers of the king. Next to being king, the greatest honor\nwhich could fall to a warrior was to be made a member of the\nRound Table, for all who belonged to the order were dedicated to\nthe service of God and mankind. There is no glory greater than\nsuch a dedication.\n\nIn his great hall Arthur had placed a huge table, made round in\nshape so that there should be neither head nor foot, a higher\nplace nor a lower place. Arthur wished all who sat there to be\nequals. These chosen knights were to give him council in times of\npeace and of war.\n\nIt was a solemn hour when the knights took their places. The\nArchbishop of Canterbury blessed them and their seats. Then each\none came to Arthur, who stood at the top of the Assembly Hall,\nand did him homage. Next they took their vows. They promised to\nbe brave and good, never false, or mean, or cruel. If anyone with\nwhom they fought begged for mercy, they would show him mercy. And\nthey vowed never to fight for a wrong cause or for money. Each\nyear at the feast of the Pentecost they were to repeat these\nvows.\n\nOther members of Arthur's Court were old, brave knights who could\nno longer fight, but who liked to be near the king and his\nwarriors, and gave the wisdom of age and experience to his\ncouncils; young, ambitious, and promising knights who had had but\nlittle real experience in battle; and faithful squires who had\nhad no real experience at all. Boys from six to fourteen years\nwere pages. There were others who transformed Arthur's Court to a\nplace of grace and beauty,--the mothers, wives, sisters, and\ndaughters of the warriors.\n\nAlthough they did not help in the councils of war, these ladies\nwere of great assistance in training the knights to be tender and\ncourteous. They taught the little pages good manners and\nunselfishness. They assisted the knights in removing their armor\nwhen they came in tired from riding or fighting. They sat with\nArthur and the knights in the evening in the dining-hall, singing\nor playing upon harps, or listening to the tales that were told.\nWhen the knights were away the ladies stayed in their own\nchambers, hearing wise readings from the Archbishop of Canterbury,\nor other learned men, listening to Merlin's words of wisdom, and\nembroidering the beautiful hangings and cushions which were to\nadorn the palace.\n\nIt was a month before Arthur's Court was established, and during\nthat time the city of Camelot was a scene of continual merriment.\nThe people of the place were glad that the king had come, for\nthat meant much gain for them. Those of them who did not live in\nthe palace had their houses or shops on the streets which wound\nabout the foot of the hill. Many of the shops belonged to\narmorers, who had armor of all sorts for any one who would buy.\nThey were glad in their turn to buy the swords of famous knights\nwhich had been used in great battles, for such weapons they could\nalways sell again at a good price. These shopkeepers and the\nservants and the squires and the warriors all united to make the\ncity of Camelot a beautiful one, for the sake of their king. The\nstreets were kept strewn with rushes and flowers. Rich awnings\nand silken draperies were hung from the houses.\n\nAll day long processions passed, made up of the followers of all\nthose lords who gave allegiance to the king. They carried the\nbanners of their masters, crimson, white, or scarlet, gold,\nsilver, or azure, making the streets glow with color. The\nmarching squires wore ornamented blouses, drawn in at the waist,\nlong silk stockings, and shoes of embroidered leather. The bowmen\nwere dressed in green kirtles, rather shorter than those of the\nsquires, and wore dark woolen hose; they carried their bows and\narrows slung across their shoulders. The servants were dressed in\nmuch the same way, except that their blouses were longer and of\nvarious colors. Many knights rode in the processions, their long\nplumes waving in the wind, their armor shining, and their falcons\nperched upon their wrists.\n\nAll day long, too, bands of musicians played on flutes and\ntimbrels and tabors and harps; bands of young men and women sang\nsongs in praise of the king; story-tellers went about relating\nold tales of famous heroes. The young men showed their strength\nby tumbling and wrestling, and their grace by dancing; the young\nwomen also danced.\n\nThe wise Merlin often passed along the streets, walking silently\namong the merry throngs of people. Sometimes the little Dagonet\ndanced at his side, Dagonet the king's jester, a tiny man who\nmade merriment for the Court with his witty sayings. He always\nwore a tight-fitting red blouse and a peaked cap ornamented with\nbells, and he carried a mock scepter in the shape of a carved\nivory stick.\n\nWhenever Arthur appeared before his people, church-bells were\njoyously rung and trumpets were sounded. The king, as he rode,\ndistributed presents to the poor people:--capes, coats, and\nmantles of serge, and bushels of pence. In a dining-hall at the\npalace, feasts were held on those days for them, and they were\nalso open for all the people who might come.\n\nWhen the weather was beautiful, tables were placed on the sward\noutside the palace, and those who cared to, ate under the shade\nof the trees, listening to the music of the blackbirds, whose\nsinging was almost as loud as that of the chorus of damsels who\nsang in the palace. Every hour the servants carried in and out\ngreat quarters of venison, roasted pheasants and herons, and\nyoung hawks, ducks, and geese, all on silver platters. Curries\nand stews and tarts were innumerable. In the midst of the sward a\nsilver fountain had been set from which flowed sweet wine. Even\nthe great feasts of the year, which were held at Christmas, upon\nthe day of the Passover, at Pentecost, upon Ascension day, and\nupon St. John's day, were not as wonderful as these feasts, when\nthe king held holiday with his people.\n\nOn these days of merriment, when the people were not eating or\ndrinking or marching in processions, they were at the tournament\nfield, watching the combats. Here the best of Arthur's knights,\nmounted on strong horses and wearing heavy armor, were ranged on\ntwo sides of the field. Behind each row was a pavilion filled\nwith ladies. Four heralds stood ready to blow the trumpets which\ngave the signal for the combats. Each herald wore crimson silk\nstockings and crimson velvet kirtles, tight at the waist, and\nreaching half-way to the knee.\n\nWhen it was time to begin the heralds blew the trumpets, the\nladies bent over eagerly, and the knights spurred their horses\nforward, riding with their lances in rest. In a moment clouds of\ndust arose, circling up as high as the plumes on the knights'\nhelmets, and their lances crashed against each other's shields.\nMany of the lances broke. Sometimes the shock of contact\noverthrew a knight. But no one was hurt, for the good King Arthur\nhad ordered that the combats should be friendly.\n\nWhen the jousting had lasted for several hours, those knights who\nhad shown themselves the stronger, received prizes from the\nladies. The prizes were suits of armor ornamented with gold, and\nswords with jeweled hilts. The knight who, of all, was the\nstrongest, chose the lady whom he considered most beautiful, and\ncrowned her \"The Queen of Love and Beauty.\"\n\nDuring the month of feasting, Arthur made knights of some of the\nsquires. A young squire was first obliged to show his skill in\ntilting at the quintain. Then his father presented him with\nfalcons and sparrowhawks for hunting, and arms and robes. He also\ngave robes and arms to his son's companions, and, to their\nmothers and sisters, furs and embroidered robes, and belts of\ngold. Finally he gave money to the singers and players, and\nservants, and to the poor people of Camelot.\n\nAt about sunset the young squire went into the church, where the\nArchbishop of Canterbury held a solemn service. The youth took\nthe armor which he had chosen, and placed it on the floor in\nfront of the altar. He was then left alone, and all night long he\nprayed fervently to God to give him strength to be a noble and\ntrue knight. In the morning the king came to the church, attended\nby his nobles and by the archbishop. The squire laid his sword on\nthe altar, thus signifying his devotion to Christ and his\ndetermination to lead a holy life. King Arthur bound the sword\nand spurs on the young man, and, taking Excalibur, he smote him\nlightly on the shoulder with it, saying, \"Be thou a true and\nfaithful knight.\"\n\nThen the squire took a solemn oath to protect all who were in\ndistress, to do right, to be a pure knight, and to have faith in\nGod. After that the Archbishop of Canterbury preached a solemn\nsermon.\n\nWhen the month of feasting and holiday was ended, the members of\nthe Court returned to their usual habits of life. The Knights of\nthe Round Table went forth to right wrongs and to enforce the\nlaw. All who were in distress came to the king for help. And to\nthe whole country Arthur's Court was famous as a place where\nunkindness was never done, and where truth, justice, and love\nreigned.\n\n[Illustration: The Shield and the Sword]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] KING ARTHUR & THE PRINCESS GUINEVERE\n\n\nAfter Arthur had been established in his Court for some time, his\nneighbor, Leodogran, the king of Cameliard, asked him for help in\na battle. To this Arthur cheerfully consented, and gathered his\nwarrior men about him.\n\nIt chanced, as he and his men were marching past the castle of\nLeodogran to meet the enemy, the king's daughter, Guinevere, who\nwas the most beautiful lady in all that land, stood on the castle\nwall to watch her father's allies pass. Now she did not know, of\nall the knights who rode by, which was Arthur. Many wore gold and\njewels on their armor, while the king's armor was plain.\n\n[Illustration: _\"Arthur saw Guinevere bending over the wall\"_]\n\nBut Arthur saw her bending over the wall. She was slender and\ngraceful; her black hair fell in two long heavy braids over each\nshoulder; her eyes were large and black. And Arthur felt a warm\nlove spring from his heart for her, and said to himself:\n\n\"If I win this battle for Leodogran, I shall ask him to give me\nthe princess Guinevere for wife.\"\n\nHis love for Guinevere made him fight even more bravely than\nusual, and he soon won the battle. After he had returned to\nCamelot, he told his knights that he wished to marry the\nprincess. They were very glad, because they, too, had seen her\nand thought her the most beautiful lady they had ever beheld.\n\nThen Arthur said:\n\n\"I will send my three good knights, Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias\nand Sir Bedivere, to King Leodogran to ask for Guinevere.\"\n\nThe three knights set forth gayly, feeling certain that King\nLeodogran would be glad to marry his daughter to their great\nArthur. When, however, they came to the castle of Leodogran with\ntheir request, the king hesitated. He bade them wait for a little\nwhile in the room adjoining his large hall. Then he said to\nhimself:\n\n\"Arthur has helped me, indeed. I know, too, that he is powerful.\nBut I hear strange stories of his birth. There are people who say\nthat he is not a king's son. However great he is, I cannot give\nhim my only daughter unless he is really a true king, born of\nroyal blood.\"\n\nHe called the oldest knight in his kingdom and said to him:\n\n\"Do you know anything about Arthur's birth?\"\n\nThe old man looked very wise and said:\n\n\"There are two men who do know; the younger of them is twice as\nold as I am. They are Merlin, and Bleys, the master of Merlin.\nBleys has written down the secret of Arthur's birth in a book.\"\n\nThen King Leodogran laughed a little and said:\n\n\"My friend, your words have not helped me much. If Arthur had\nnot helped me in my time of need more than you have helped me\nnow, I should have been lost indeed. Go and call Sir Ulfius and\nSir Brastias and Sir Bedivere.\"\n\nSo the old man brought in the three knights, and Leodogran said\nto them:\n\n\"I hear strange tales of your king's birth. Some say that he is\nindeed the son of the late King Uther, but others say that he is\nthe son of Sir Hector. Do you believe that he is Uther's son?\"\n\nThey said \"Yes,\" and then told King Leodogran that Sir Hector had\nbrought up King Arthur as his son, for fear that those who wanted\nthe throne would kill the child; and that Arthur was undoubtedly\nUther's son.\n\nStill King Leodogran could not make up his mind. He bade the\nthree lords remain with him for a few days.\n\nMeanwhile the beautiful Queen Bellicent came to the Court, and\nLeodogran asked her advice.\n\n\"Do you think Arthur is a great king?\" he asked. \"Will he always\nbe great?\"\n\n\"He is very great,\" said the queen. \"And all his people love him.\nPerhaps he has not many lords, but their deep love makes up for\ntheir small number.\"\n\n\"That may be true,\" replied the king.\n\n\"Besides that,\" added the queen, \"they are good men. As you know,\nthe Knights of the Round Table are bound by vows to be kind and\ntrue and merciful and helpful.\"\n\n\"I have heard it,\" said the king.\n\n\"Moreover,\" went on Queen Bellicent, \"Arthur has powerful\nfriends: Merlin, the magician, and the Lady of the Lake, who gave\nhim his sword Excalibur, and the three fair queens, who will help\nhim when he needs help most.\"\n\n\"Yes, yes,\" said King Leodogran, \"if all this is true, Arthur\nmust prevail over his enemies. But is he the son of King Uther\nand Queen Yguerne? You are the daughter of Queen Yguerne by an\nearlier marriage, and, therefore, Arthur's half-sister if Arthur\nis really Uther's son. You ought surely to know the truth.\"\n\nBellicent waited a little while, and then said:\n\n\"King Leodogran, I do not know what the truth is. There are two\nstories: the story Merlin tells and the story Bleys tells.\nMerlin says that Arthur is Uther's son, and indeed I should like\nto believe it.\"\n\n\"But you are not sure?\" asked the king.\n\n\"I am not sure. For my mother Yguerne was dark, and King Uther\nwas dark. Their hair and eyes were black like mine. Yet Arthur's\nhair is as bright as gold. Besides, there is the story of old\nBleys.\"\n\n\"What is his story?\"\n\n\"He says that Uther died, weeping because he had no heir. Then\nBleys and Merlin, who were present at his death, passed together\nout of the castle. It was a stormy night, and as they walked\nalong by the lake they were forced by the roar of the tempest to\nlook out upon the waves, whipped by the wind.\n\n\"Suddenly they saw a ship on the water. It had the shape of a\nwinged dragon. All over its decks stood a multitude of people\nshining like gold. Then the ship vanished, and a number of great\nwaves began to roll in towards shore. The ninth of these waves\nseemed as large as half the sea. It was murmuring with strange\nvoices and rippling with flames. In the midst of the flames was a\nlittle fair-haired baby who was borne to Merlin's feet. Merlin\nstooped and picked it up, and cried, 'The King! Here is an heir\nfor Uther!' This, King Leodogran, is the story Bleys told me\nbefore he died.\"\n\nKing Leodogran wondered very much. Then he said:\n\n\"But did you not question Merlin about this?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" answered Queen Bellicent. \"I asked him if this story of\nBleys was true. He would only answer me with a riddle.\"\n\nAs King Leodogran was still silent, she said:\n\n\"Do not fear to give your daughter to Arthur, for he will be the\ngreatest king the world has ever seen.\"\n\nLeodogran felt less doubtful. While he was thinking, he fell\nasleep and had a dream. He saw in his dream a field covered with\nmist and smoke, and a phantom king standing in the cloud. He\nheard a voice which said, \"This is not our king; this is not the\nson of Uther.\" But suddenly the mist disappeared and the king\nstood out in heaven, crowned.\n\nKing Leodogran took this dream for a good sign. He called the\nthree knights, Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias and Sir Bedivere, and\nsaid to them:\n\n\"Say to your king that I will give him Guinevere for his wife.\"\n\nSo the three hastily returned to King Arthur, who was overjoyed\nwith their message.\n\nIn the month of May he sent Sir Lancelot, the son of King Ban,\nfor Guinevere. When she came, the Archbishop of Canterbury\nmarried them. And he blessed them and said that they, with the\nhelp of the Knights of the Round Table, must do much good for the\nland.\n\n[Illustration: The Knight with the Sword]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] THE COMING of GARETH\n\n\nThe beautiful Queen Bellicent had many sons, all of whom had gone\nout in the world except the youngest. His name was Gareth. His\ntwo brothers, Gawain and Modred, were with the good King Arthur,\nand Gareth longed to join them. His mother, however, would not\nlet him go.\n\n\"You are not yet a man,\" she said. \"You are only a child. Stay a\nlittle longer with me.\"\n\nSo Gareth stayed. One day he came to his mother and said:\n\n\"Mother, may I tell you a story?\"\n\n\"Gladly,\" she replied.\n\n\"Then, mother, once there was a golden egg which a royal eagle\nhad laid, away up in a tree. It was so high up that it could\nhardly be seen. But a youth, who though poor was brave, saw it,\nand longed for it. He knew that if he could get it, it would\nbring wealth and prosperity to him. So he tried to climb. One who\nloved him stopped him, saying, 'You will fall and be killed if\nyou try to reach that height.' Therefore the poor boy did not\nclimb, and so did not fall; but he pined away with longing till\nhis heart broke and he died.\"\n\nQueen Bellicent answered:\n\n\"If the person who held him back had loved him, that person would\nhave climbed, and found the egg, and given it to the youth.\"\n\n\"That could not be,\" said Gareth. \"Mother, suppose the egg were\nnot gold, but steel, the same steel that Arthur's sword Excalibur\nis made of.\"\n\nThe queen grew pale, for she now understood his meaning.\n\nBut Gareth spoke on:\n\n\"Dear mother, the gold egg is the glory to be won at Arthur's\nCourt; I am the poor youth, and you are the one who holds me\nback. Mother, let me go!\"\n\nThen Bellicent wept, and she said:\n\n\"Oh, my son, do not leave me. You love me more than Gawain and\nModred. You are all I have left in the world.\"\n\nBut Gareth replied:\n\n\"Mother, I waste my strength here.\"\n\n\"No, no,\" she said. \"You shall hunt; you shall follow the deer\nand the fox, and so grow strong. Then I will find you a beautiful\nwife, and we shall all live together till I die.\"\n\nGareth shook his head.\n\n\"No, mother. I do not want a wife until I have proved myself to\nbe a worthy and brave knight. I wish to follow Arthur, my good\nking and uncle.\"\n\n\"Perhaps he is not the true king and your uncle,\" Bellicent said.\n\"At least wait a little till he has shown himself to be the\ngreatest king in the world. Stay with me.\"\n\n\"Nay, mother,\" he said. \"I must go.\"\n\nThen the queen thought of a plan which she hoped would soon make\nhim willing to stay home.\n\n\"If I let you go, my son, you must make me a promise. The promise\nwill prove your love to me.\"\n\n\"I will make a hundred promises,\" cried young Gareth, \"if you\nwill only let me go.\"\n\n\"Then,\" she said, \"you must go in disguise to the court of\nArthur. You must hire yourself out as a kitchen boy. You shall\nwash the pots and pans for a whole year and tell no one that you\nare the son of a queen.\"\n\nQueen Bellicent was sure that Gareth would not wish to make such\na promise. He was silent a long, long time. He had hoped to take\npart at once with the Knights of the Round Table in great deeds.\nAt last he said:\n\n\"I may be a kitchen boy and still be noble in heart and mind.\nBesides, I can look on at the tournaments. I shall see King\nArthur and Sir Lancelot and Sir Kay. Yes, mother, I will go.\"\n\nQueen Bellicent was very sad. All the days before Gareth's\ndeparture her eyes followed him until he felt that he could not\nbear to see her grieve longer. So in the middle of the night he\nrose quietly and woke two of his faithful servants. They dressed\nthemselves like plowmen and started towards Camelot.\n\nIt was Easter time and the young grass was a bright green. The\nbirds were beginning their chirping, although it was not yet\nlight. As the dawn came, they saw the early morning mist sweeping\nover the mountain and forest near Arthur's city of Camelot.\nSometimes the mist drew away and showed in the distance the\ntowers gleaming like silver.\n\nOne of the servants said:\n\n\"Let us go no farther, my lord Gareth. I am afraid. That is a\nfairy city.\"\n\nThe second said:\n\n\"Yes, lord, let us turn back. I have heard that Arthur is not the\nreal king, but a changeling brought from fairyland in a great\nwave all flame. He has done all his deeds with the help of\nMerlin's enchantment.\"\n\nThe first one spoke again:\n\n\"Lord Gareth, that is no real city. It is a vision.\"\n\nBut Gareth laughed and said:\n\n\"Arthur is real flesh and blood, a brave man, and a just king.\nCome with me to the gate of his city, and do not be afraid.\"\n\nWhen they reached the gate of the city, they stared in amazement.\nIt was made of silver and mother-of-pearl. In the center was\ncarved the figure of the Lady of the Lake, with her arms\noutstretched in the form of a cross. In one hand she held a\nsword, and in the other a censer. On both sides of her figure was\ncarved the story of the wars of King Arthur. Above all were the\nfigures of the three queens who were to help Arthur in time of\nneed.\n\nThe three looked till their eyes were dazzled. Then they heard a\npeal of music, and the gate slowly opened. An old man with a long\ngray beard came out to greet them, and returning led them up past\nthe gardens and groves and roofs and towers of Camelot to\nArthur's great palace on the summit of the hill.\n\nGareth hardly thought of the splendors of the palace. He\napproached the arched doorway of the Assembly Hall, thinking\nonly as his heart beat quickly, that at last he was to see the\ngood King Arthur. Even before he entered he heard the voice of\nthe king. For it was one of the days when Arthur was giving\njudgment to his people.\n\nThe king sat on a throne made of gold and ivory and ebony. On its\narms and back were carved great dragons. Arthur wore a gold crown\nwhich was not brighter than his own beautiful hair and beard. His\nblue eyes were as calm and clear as the sky in summer time. His\ntrusty knights stood about him on each side of the throne. The\ntallest of these, who had a worn, browned face, and piercing dark\neyes, under frowning brows, must be, Gareth knew, the famous\nknight, Sir Lancelot.\n\nAs Gareth entered, a widow came forward and cried to Arthur:\n\n\"Hear me, oh, King! Your father, King Uther, took away a field\nfrom my husband, who is now dead. The king promised us gold, but\nhe gave us no gold, nor would he return our field.\"\n\nThen Arthur said:\n\n\"Which would you rather have, the gold or the field?\"\n\nThe woman wept, saying:\n\n\"Oh, King, my dead husband loved the field. Give it back to me.\"\n\n\"You shall have your field again,\" said Arthur, \"and besides I\nwill give you three times the amount of gold it is worth to pay\nyou for the years King Uther had it.\"\n\nGareth thought that Arthur was indeed a just king. And while this\nwas passing through his mind, another widow came forward and\ncried:\n\n\"Hear me, oh, King! Heretofore you have been my enemy. You killed\nmy husband with your own hands. It is hard for me to ask justice\nor favor of you. Yet I must. My husband's brother took my son and\nhad him slain, and has now stolen his land. So I ask you for a\nknight who will do battle and get my son's land for me, and\nrevenge me for his death.\"\n\nThen a good knight stepped forward and said:\n\n\"Sir King, I am her kinsman. Let me do battle for her and right\nher wrongs.\"\n\nBut Sir Kay, Arthur's foster brother, said:\n\n\"Lord Arthur, do not help a woman who has called you her enemy in\nyour own hall.\"\n\n\"Sir Kay,\" replied Arthur, \"I am here to help all those who need\nhelp in my land. This woman loved her lord, and I killed him\nbecause he rebelled against me. Let her kinsman go and do battle\nagainst the man who has wronged her. Bring him here, and I shall\njudge him. If he is guilty he shall suffer.\"\n\nWhile Gareth was still listening to the king's words, a messenger\nentered from Mark, the king of Cornwall. He carried a wonderful\ngold cloth which he laid at Arthur's feet, saying:\n\n\"My lord, King Mark sends you this as a sign that he is your true\nfriend.\"\n\nBut Arthur said:\n\n\"Take back the cloth. When I fight with kings who are worthy men,\nafter I have conquered them I give them back their lands, and\nmake them my subject-kings and Knights of the Round Table. But\nMark is not fit to be a king. He is cruel and false. I will not\ncall him friend.\"\n\nThe messenger stepped back in alarm. Arthur said to him kindly:\n\n\"It is not your fault that Mark is unworthy. Stay in this city\nuntil you are refreshed and then go back home in safety.\"\n\nWhile the king judged other cases, Gareth looked around the great\nhall. Underneath the fourteen windows he saw three rows of stone\nshields, and under each shield was the name of a knight. If a\nknight had done one great deed, there was carving on his shield;\nif he had done two or more, there were gold markings. If he had\ndone none, the shield was blank. Gareth saw that Sir Lancelot's\nshield and Sir Kay's glittered with gold. He looked for the\nshields of his brothers, Sir Gawain and Sir Modred. Sir Gawain's\nwas marked with gold, but Sir Modred's was blank.\n\nMeanwhile, Arthur had judged all the cases. Then Gareth came\nforward timidly and said:\n\n\"Lord King, you see my poor clothes; give me leave to serve for\ntwelve months in your kitchen without telling my name. After that\nI will fight.\"\n\n\"You are a fair youth,\" Arthur replied, \"and you deserve a better\ngift. However, since this is all you ask, I will put you under\nthe care of Sir Kay, who is master of the kitchen.\"\n\nSir Kay looked at Gareth with scorn.\n\n\"This youth has come from some place where he did not get enough\nto eat,\" he said, \"and so he thinks of nothing but food. Yet if\nhe wants food, he shall have it, provided he does his work well.\"\n\nSir Lancelot, who stood near by, said:\n\n\"Sir Kay, you understand dogs and horses well, but not men. Look\nat this youth's face; see his broad forehead and honest eyes, and\nbeautiful hands. I believe he is of noble birth, and you should\ntreat him well.\"\n\n\"Perhaps he is a traitor,\" Sir Kay said. \"Perhaps he will poison\nKing Arthur's food. Yet I believe he is too stupid to be a\ntraitor. If he were not stupid, or if he were noble, he would\nhave asked for a different gift. He would have asked for a horse\nand armor. Let him go to my kitchen.\"\n\nSo Gareth went to the kitchen. And there he worked faithfully at\nhard tasks, such as cutting wood and drawing water. Sir Lancelot\nspoke to him kindly whenever he passed him, but Sir Kay was\nalways very strict and severe. Sometimes Gareth grew discouraged\nand wished his mother had not exacted such a promise of him.\n\nWhenever there was a tournament he was happy. He liked to watch\nthe horses prancing, and the brave knights riding, with the sun\nshining on their helmets and lances. And he would say to himself:\n\n\"Only wait till the twelve months have passed, and then I shall\nask King Arthur to let me do some brave deed. Perhaps some one\nwill come to the hall and demand to have a wrong righted. Then I\nwill beg the king to let me do that act of justice.\"\n\nSuch thoughts kept him cheerful. And indeed, before many weeks,\nhis chance came for doing a great deed.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] THE STORY OF SIR GARETH & LYNETTE\n\n\nGareth served in the kitchen of the king only one month, for his\nmother became sorry for the promise she had asked of him, and\nsent armor for him to Arthur's Court, with a letter to the king\ntelling who the youth was. With great joy Gareth then went to\nArthur and said:\n\n\"My lord, I can fight as well as my brother Gawain. At home we\nhave proved it. Then make me a knight,--in secret, for I do not\nwant the other knights to know my name. Make me a knight, and\ngive me permission to right the first wrong that we hear of.\"\n\nThe king said gravely:\n\n\"You know all that my knights must promise?\"\n\n\"Yes, my lord Arthur. I am willing to promise all.\"\n\n\"I will make you my knight in secret, since you wish it,\" Arthur\nsaid, \"except that I must tell Sir Lancelot. He is my dearest\nknight, and I keep no secrets from him.\"\n\nGareth said that he would be glad to have Sir Lancelot know.\nAccordingly the king spoke to Sir Lancelot about Gareth.\n\n\"I have promised him that he may right the first wrong we hear\nof,\" said Arthur, \"but as he has not yet proved what he can do, I\nwant you to take a horse and follow him when he sets forth. Cover\nup the great lions on your shield so that he will not know who\nyou are.\" Sir Lancelot agreed. Then Gareth was secretly made a\nknight.\n\nThat same day a beautiful young damsel came into Arthur's hall.\nShe had cheeks as pink as apple blossoms, and very sharp eyes.\n\n\"Who are you, damsel?\" asked the king, \"and what do you need?\"\n\n\"My name is Lynette,\" she said, \"and I am of noble blood. I need\na knight to fight for my sister Lyonors, a lady, also noble,\nrich, and most beautiful.\"\n\n\"Why must she have a knight?\" questioned Arthur.\n\n\"My Lord King, she lives in Castle Perilous. Around this castle a\nriver circles three times, and there are three passing-places,\none over each circle of the river. Three knights, who are\nbrothers, keep a constant guard over these passing-places. A\nfourth knight, also a brother, clad in black armor, stands guard\nin front of my sister's castle. We have never seen this knight's\nface or heard his voice, but his brothers tell us he is the most\npowerful and daring knight in the world. All these four keep my\nsister a prisoner.\"\n\n\"And why?\"\n\n\"Because they want her to marry one of them so that they can have\nher great wealth. She refuses, but they say that they will have\ntheir way. In the meantime, they demand that you send Sir\nLancelot to fight with them. They hope to overthrow Sir Lancelot,\nthus proving themselves the greatest warriors in the land. But I\nbelieve that Sir Lancelot could overthrow them; therefore, I\nhave come for him.\"\n\nArthur remembered his promise to Sir Gareth, and did not speak of\nSir Lancelot, but asked:\n\n\"Tell me what these four knights, your enemies, are like.\"\n\n\"The three I have talked to are vain and foolish knights, my\nlord,\" answered the damsel. \"They have no law, and they\nacknowledge no king. Yet they are very strong, and therefore am I\ncome for Sir Lancelot.\"\n\nThen Sir Gareth rose up, crying:\n\n\"Sir King, give me this adventure.\"\n\nAt this, Sir Kay started up in anger, but Gareth continued:\n\n\"My king, you know that I am but your kitchen boy, yet I have\ngrown so strong on your meat and drink that I can overthrow an\nhundred such knights.\"\n\nThe king looked at him a moment, and said:\n\n\"Go, then.\"\n\nAt this all the knights were amazed. The damsel's face flushed\nwith anger.\n\n\"Shame, King!\" she cried. \"I asked you for your chief knight,\nand you give me a kitchen boy!\"\n\nThen, before any one could prevent, she ran from the hall,\nmounted her horse, and rode out of the city gate. Gareth\nfollowed, and at the doorway found a noble war horse which the\nking had ordered to be given him. Near by were the two faithful\nservants who had followed him from his mother's home. They held\nhis armor. Gareth put it on, seized his lance and shield, jumped\nupon his horse, and rode off joyfully.\n\nSir Kay, who was watching, said to Sir Lancelot:\n\n\"Why does the king send my kitchen lad to fight? I will go after\nthe boy and put him to his pots and pans again.\"\n\n\"Sir Kay, do not attempt to do that,\" said Sir Lancelot.\n\"Remember that the king commanded him to go.\"\n\nBut Sir Kay leaped on his horse and followed Gareth.\n\nMeanwhile, Sir Gareth overtook the damsel and said:\n\n\"Lady, I am to right your wrong. Lead and I follow.\"\n\nBut she cried:\n\n\"Go back! I smell kitchen grease when you are near. Go back! your\nmaster has come for you.\"\n\nGareth looked behind and saw that Sir Kay was riding up to him.\nWhen Sir Kay was within hearing distance, he shouted:\n\n\"Come back with me to the kitchen.\"\n\n\"I will not,\" said Gareth.\n\nThen Sir Kay rode fiercely at the youth. Gareth, however, struck\nhim from his horse, and then turned to the damsel, saying:\n\n\"Lead on; I follow.\"\n\nShe rode for a long time in silence, with Gareth a few paces\nbehind her. At last she stopped and said:\n\n\"You have overthrown your master, you kitchen boy, but I do not\nlike you any better for it. I still smell the kitchen grease.\"\n\nSir Gareth said, very gently:\n\n\"You may speak to me as you will, but I shall not leave you till\nI have righted your wrong.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" she said, scornfully, \"you talk like a noble knight, but\nyou are not one,\" and she again galloped in front of him.\n\nPresently, as they passed a thick wood, a man broke out of it and\nspoke to them:\n\n\"Help! help! they are drowning my lord!\"\n\n\"Follow! I lead!\" shouted Gareth to the damsel, and rushed into\nthe wood. There he found six men trying to drown a seventh.\nGareth attacked them with such vigor that they fled. When the\nrescued man had recovered, he thanked Gareth warmly.\n\n\"I am the lord of the castle yonder,\" he said, \"and these are my\nenemies. You came in time.\"\n\nThen he begged Gareth and the lady to stay all night in his\ncastle. They agreed, and he led the way. He took them into his\nlarge hall and was about to seat them side by side at a dining\ntable. But the damsel said in scorn:\n\n\"This is a kitchen boy, and I will not sit by him.\"\n\nThe lord looked surprised. He took Gareth to another table and\nsat beside him. After they had eaten, he said:\n\n\"You may be a kitchen boy, or the damsel may be out of her mind,\nbut whichever is the case, you are a good fighter and you have\nsaved my life.\"\n\nThe next morning Gareth and the damsel set forth. They rode for a\nwhile in silence, and then she said:\n\n\"Sir Kitchen Boy, although you are so low, I would like to save\nyour life. Soon we are coming to one who will overthrow you; so\nturn back.\"\n\nBut Gareth refused. In a little while they came to the first\ncircle of the river. The passing-place was spanned by a bridge.\nOn the farther side of the bridge was a beautiful pavilion,\ndraped in silk of gold and crimson colors. In front of it passed\na warrior without armor.\n\n\"Damsel,\" he cried, \"is this the knight you have brought from\nArthur's Court to fight with me?\"\n\n\"Ah!\" she said, \"the king scorns you so much that he has sent a\nkitchen boy to fight with you. Take care that he does not fall on\nyou before you are armed, for he is a knave.\"\n\n[Illustration: _\"Gareth rode at him fiercely\"_]\n\nThe warrior went inside his tent for his armor, and the damsel\nsaid to Gareth:\n\n\"Are you afraid?\"\n\n\"Damsel,\" he said, \"I am not afraid. I would rather fight twenty\ntimes than hear you speak so unkindly of me. Yet your cruel words\nhave put strength into my arm. I shall fight well.\"\n\nThen the knight came forth all in armor, and he said:\n\n\"Youth, you are a kitchen boy. Go back to your king; you are not\nfit to fight with me.\"\n\nGareth rode at him fiercely, saying:\n\n\"I am of nobler blood than you.\"\n\nHe fought so well that soon his enemy was overcome. Then Gareth\nsaid:\n\n\"Go to Arthur's Court and say that his kitchen boy sent you.\"\n\nWhen the knight had departed, Gareth rode on, with the damsel in\nadvance. After a little while she stopped her horse, and when he\nhad caught up with her, she said:\n\n\"Youth, I do not smell the kitchen grease so much as I did.\"\n\nThen she galloped off, laughing over her shoulder, while Gareth\nfollowed her, a little more slowly.\n\nWhen they reached the second circle of the river, the damsel\nsaid:\n\n\"Here is the brother of the knight you overthrew. He is stronger\nthan the first. You had better go home, kitchen boy.\"\n\nGareth answered nothing. Out of the tent by the bridge which\ncrossed the second circle of water, came a knight, clad in armor\nwhich glowed like the sun. Lynette shouted to him:\n\n\"I bring a kitchen boy who has overthrown your brother.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" shouted the knight, and rode fiercely at Sir Gareth.\n\nThe two fought for a long time. The warrior was strong, but Sir\nGareth was stronger, and at last overthrew him, and sent him back\nto Arthur's Court.\n\nThe damsel Lynette had ridden far ahead of him. When he came near\nher, she said:\n\n\"The knight's horse slipped, and that is why you overcame him.\nAnd now are you ready to fight with the third knight, for there\nhe stands?\"\n\nAt the third and innermost circle of the river stood the third\nknight, clad not in armor, but in hardened skins. Sir Gareth saw\nthat he was more powerful than his brothers. The two at once\nbegan to fight on the bridge, but Sir Gareth's sword could not\npierce the hard skins. Again and again he tried and failed. He\ngrew tired, and began to fear that he should be conquered. But\nall at once, when his strokes were becoming feeble, Lynette cried\nout to him:\n\n\"Well done, good knight! You are no kitchen boy, but a brave\nlord. Strike for me! Do not lose. You are worthy to be a Knight\nof the Round Table.\"\n\nWhen Sir Gareth heard this, he was so encouraged that he made a\nfinal great effort and threw his enemy over the bridge into the\nwater. Then he turned to Lynette, saying:\n\n\"Lead; I follow.\"\n\nBut Lynette, proud now of her valiant escort, and humbled and\nashamed at her misjudging of him, said:\n\n\"No, we shall ride side by side. I am very sorry I called you a\nkitchen boy, for I know that you are a noble knight.\"\n\nThey rode happily side by side till dusk, when they came in sight\nof Castle Perilous. Just as they were about to cross the moat, a\nknight overtook them. It was Sir Lancelot, who had been delayed\nbecause he had stopped to help Sir Kay after Sir Gareth had\nthrown him from his horse.\n\nThe great knight, as he rode up to the two in the twilight,\nseeing only the shields which Sir Gareth had taken from the three\nknights, thought the young man was an enemy, and attacked him.\nSir Lancelot was so strong that he soon overcame the youth.\n\nAs he fell, Lynette cried out in shame and sorrow, and Sir Gareth\nsaid:\n\n\"Oh, I am thrown.\"\n\nSir Lancelot knew Sir Gareth's voice, and raised him up, saying:\n\n\"I am Lancelot, and I am sorry to have overthrown you, my\nfriend.\"\n\nSir Gareth said that it was no dishonor to be beaten by Sir\nLancelot. Then the three rode into the castle, and there they\nmet the fourth knight, who was all covered with black armor.\n\nSir Lancelot wished to fight with him, but Sir Gareth would not\npermit it.\n\n\"This must be my adventure,\" he said.\n\nSir Gareth rode at the knight, expecting to meet a very strong\nman, but he easily unhorsed him. His enemy cried:\n\n\"Oh spare my life; I am not a knight.\"\n\nThen he took off his helmet and showed the face of a young boy.\n\n\"My three brothers made me pretend to be a fierce knight,\" he\nexplained. \"They thought it would make people more afraid if they\nbelieved we were four strong knights.\"\n\nSir Lancelot and Sir Gareth laughed heartily, and so did Lynette.\nThey took the boy into the castle, where Lynette's sister,\nLyonors, who was now freed from her money-loving captors, greeted\nthem with much joy. She put before them a great feast, and this\ntime Sir Gareth and Lynette sat side by side. Afterwards a\nmarriage was made between them, and they went to live with King\nArthur in Camelot.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] SIR IVAINE\n\n\nAmong Arthur's Knights of the Round Table was one who was a\nmixture of good and bad, as indeed most people are. His name was\nSir Ivaine; brave, kind-hearted, and merry; but at the same time\nfickle, sometimes forgetful of his promises, and inclined to make\nlight of serious things.\n\nOne night, in the early spring, the knights and ladies of\nArthur's Court were sitting in the dining-hall. The king and\nGuinevere had withdrawn, but were expected to return. Supper had\nbeen served, and the last course, consisting of pomegranate seeds\nand dates, had just been carried off. A fire had been built in\nthe deep hearth, and the four bronze pillars in front were\nlighted by the flames. Four little pages in blue and white\nvelvet kirtles sat on stools watching the fire, and perhaps\ndreaming of the days when they, too, should be warriors and have\nadventures.\n\nSir Ivaine was telling of his experience with the Black Knight.\n\n\"It was when I was very young,\" he said; \"indeed, I had just been\nmade a knight. Some one told me of the wicked Black Knight who\nlived, and still lives, in a wood a long way from here. Knowing\nthat he did much evil, I determined to kill him. I rode to the\nwood where he lived, and in which I found a marble platform. In\nthe middle of it was a sunken space holding a fountain. I walked\nto this, and following the directions of some writing which was\non the stone, picked up a cup that lay at hand, and filling it\nwith water, poured it into the fountain.\n\n\"Then a great storm of wind and rain arose, and when it was at\nits height the Black Knight rode up and began to attack me. We\nfought for a little while, but he easily overthrew me. Thinking\nme dead, he rode back, leaving me on the ground. But after a\ntime I was able to mount my horse, and went back to my mother's\ncastle.\"\n\nAt this moment the king and the queen entered, unperceived by any\none except Sir Ivaine. The young man, who was always polite,\nsprang to his feet; then the other knights rose. Sir Kay, who was\nnot always sweet-tempered, said to Sir Ivaine:\n\n\"We all know that you are very polite, but you have more courtesy\nthan bravery.\"\n\nAt that Sir Ivaine said:\n\n\"I was almost a boy when the Black Knight overthrew me, but I\ncould conquer him now.\"\n\n\"It is very easy to say that after you have eaten,\" said Sir Kay.\n\"Almost any knight feels brave and self-satisfied when he has had\na good supper of venison.\"\n\nThe king asked what the conversation was about, and Sir Ivaine\nrepeated the story of his adventure, adding:\n\n\"And, Sir King, I crave your permission to set forth to-morrow to\nslay this Black Knight who is a pest in the land.\"\n\n\"I have heard of this man,\" said the king, \"and have often\nthought of sending some one to punish him. But he lives far away,\nand it has been necessary heretofore to right first the wrongs\nnearest home. Yet now his evil deeds and persecutions must cease.\nTo-morrow a company of us will set forth and conquer him and all\nhis people.\"\n\nThe king named some half-dozen of his knights, Sir Ivaine among\nthem, who were to undertake this adventure.\n\nSir Ivaine was displeased; he thought that the adventure should\nbe his alone. So he rose in the middle of the night and stole\naway unattended, determined to go in advance of the others and\nkill the Black Knight. It did not occur to him that in proving\nhimself brave, he was also proving himself disobedient.\n\nHe rode forth in the darkness, humming merrily to himself. At\ndaybreak he reached a valley, and as he went through it, saw a\ngreat serpent fighting with a lion. Sir Ivaine stopped to watch\nthis curious combat. At first the two fighters seemed evenly\nmatched, but soon the huge serpent wrapped all its folds about\nthe lion and began squeezing it to death. When Sir Ivaine saw\nthis, he drew his sword and killed the serpent.\n\nWhen the lion was free, it bounded up to Sir Ivaine, and he was\nafraid that it meant to kill him; but it fawned at his feet like\na spaniel. He stroked it, and put his arms about its neck. When\nhe mounted his horse, the beast followed him, refusing to go\naway. Then Sir Ivaine made up his mind that they were to be\ncompanions.\n\nFor many days the two kept close together, and at night Sir\nIvaine would go to sleep with his head on the lion's neck. One\nday, as they came to a square castle set in a meadow, some people\nwho stood on the castle walls began to shoot arrows at the lion,\nbut Sir Ivaine stopped them, telling them that the animal was\ntame.\n\nThen they told him that it was their rule that no one should pass\nby that castle without doing battle with their lord. Sir Ivaine\ntold them that he was quite willing to obey their rule; so they\nopened the castle gate. They said he must make his lion stay\noutside, but Sir Ivaine refused to do this. He promised, however,\nto make the lion lie down quietly; then the two were allowed to\nenter.\n\nThe courtyard was a large paved place, in which there were a\nscore of armed men. Presently the lord of the castle came\nforward. This lord was much larger than Sir Ivaine, and the lion,\non seeing him, began to lash its tail. But Sir Ivaine ordered it\nto be still, and it at once obeyed.\n\nThen Sir Ivaine and the knight battled together. The knight was\npowerful, but Sir Ivaine was very agile and skillful. He was not\nable to strike so hard as could his enemy, but he was better able\nto avoid blows. Therefore it was not long before he got the\nadvantage and overthrew the lord.\n\nWhen this happened, the lord called for help, and ordered his\narmed men to kill Sir Ivaine. The whole twenty began to obey this\ntreacherous order, but just as they were about to fall upon Sir\nIvaine, the lion bounded among them, roaring savagely. With a few\nstrokes of its powerful paws it disabled the men. Sir Ivaine\ntold the lord of the castle that he must ride to Camelot and give\nhimself up to Arthur to be judged for his treachery. Then Sir\nIvaine rode away from the castle; and now that the lion had saved\nhis life, he became very fond of the animal.\n\n[Illustration: _\"He dismounted and poured water into the\nfountain\"_]\n\nAfter many days of travel, Sir Ivaine reached the forest in the\nmidst of which was the castle of the Black Knight. He rode to the\nplatform of stone, dismounted and poured water into the fountain.\nAs before, a storm arose, and at its height the Black Knight\nappeared.\n\nHe recognized the armor of Sir Ivaine, and said:\n\n\"Aha! I see I did not kill you before, but you shall not escape\nme this time.\"\n\n\"The best man shall win,\" said Sir Ivaine, cheerfully.\n\nThen the two began a great combat. Their swords clashed so that\nthe noise of the fountain was drowned; they fought so eagerly\nthat they were not even aware of the storm. It was not long\nbefore the Black Knight began to grow weak from the many powerful\nand death-dealing strokes from Sir Ivaine's sword. At last,\nseeing that he was mortally wounded, the Black Knight turned his\nhorse and galloped in the direction of his castle.\n\nOrdering the lion to stay where it had lain during the combat,\nSir Ivaine followed. But he could not quite catch up with the\nBlack Knight, although gaining on him inch by inch. By the time\nthe castle moat was reached, Sir Ivaine was only five feet\nbehind. The horses thundered one after the other over the bridge.\nThe Black Knight rode under the portcullis, or sharp iron gate,\nwhich was raised. The instant he was inside, the portcullis fell,\nin order to shut out Sir Ivaine.\n\nBut Sir Ivaine had already passed beneath it, and as it fell his\nhorse was cut in two. Even the long plume in Sir Ivaine's helmet\nwas shorn off, and lay outside the gate.\n\nSir Ivaine sprang to his feet and drew his sword to renew his\nattack upon the Black Knight, but he was already dead, and lay\nacross his panting horse's neck.\n\nThen Sir Ivaine realized what his recklessness had cost him.\nThere he was, alone in a strange castle, the lord of which he\nhad killed. Soon the people of the castle would come and capture\nhim, for he could not escape, since the portcullis was down.\n\nHe ran into the castle, and up the stairs leading to the turret.\nHe was fast growing weak from the wounds he had received, and his\narmor was heavy. Moreover, in spite of his care, it clashed at\nevery step, and he was afraid some one would soon hear him. He\nhad all but reached the top of the stairs when the door of the\nturret room opened, and a little maiden looked down upon him. He\nbegged her not to cry out, and telling her who he was and what he\nhad done, asked her to hide him.\n\n\"I will,\" she said, \"because you are brave and you are wounded,\nand because you have killed that wicked tyrant, the Black Knight.\nHe does not own this castle at all; it belongs to a beautiful\nlady, his cousin, who is my mistress. He keeps her here a\nprisoner because she will not marry him.\"\n\nThen the little maiden led him into the turret room. She\nconcealed his armor in a hole in the side of the wall, and told\nhim to hide himself between the two mattresses of the bed. Before\nhe had time to do so, however, they heard a great noise in the\ncourtyard, and looking down, saw that the body of the Black\nKnight had been discovered. Near it stood a beautiful lady, more\nbeautiful than any Sir Ivaine had ever seen, except Queen\nGuinevere. She was dark like the queen, and her eyes were as\nbright as stars. He would have looked at her a long time, but the\nlittle maiden begged him to hide without delay.\n\n\"Quick!\" she cried. \"The men have seen that there is the front\npart of a horse inside the gate, and know that the person who has\nkilled our lord must be here. Even now they have begun the\nsearch, for they all love the Black Knight, although my mistress\ndoes not, and they will hang you if they find you.\"\n\nSo Sir Ivaine crept between the mattresses, and the little maiden\nhurried down the stairs and went to her beautiful mistress.\nPresently Sir Ivaine heard men tramping up the turret steps.\nThey often stopped, trying all the doors they came to, and at\nlast entered the room in which he lay. One of them, peering into\nthe hole in the wall where his armor was, said:\n\n\"Here is armor.\"\n\nBut another replied:\n\n\"That is some that once was used by our master; there is no need\nto drag it into the light.\"\n\nThen they searched among all the furnishings of the room, but\nfound no one. At last, as they were leaving, one of the men\nthrust his sword twice through the mattress. The second thrust\ncut deeply into Sir Ivaine's arm; but as the knight was brave, he\ndid not utter a cry.\n\nWhen the men had gone, he crept out, and found that the cut in\nhis arm and his other wounds were bleeding badly. Just then the\nlittle maiden came in with food. She cried out in alarm when she\nsaw the blood, and quickly tore a piece of linen from her robe\nfor bandages. When all the wounds had been carefully attended to,\nshe gave him a plentiful supper and promised to take care of him\nuntil there was a good opportunity for him to escape.\n\nShe visited him every morning, and told him the day's news in the\ncastle. He learned that a lion kept roaring about the walls, and\nthat the bowmen had tried to kill it, but could not. Sir Ivaine\nwas sure that it was his lion, and longed to have it, but knew\nthat this was impossible. And she told him how the people of the\ncastle had been angry at their lady because she would not marry\nthe Black Knight; but now that he was dead, acknowledged her as\nmistress and obeyed her in everything. The little maiden said she\nthought that if the lady were told that Sir Ivaine was hidden she\nwould probably see that he had a safe conduct out of the castle.\n\n\"I want never to leave this castle,\" said Sir Ivaine; \"for I love\nyour lady.\"\n\nThis pleased the little maiden, for she had learned to respect\nSir Ivaine. So she went to the lady of the castle and told her\nall about the stranger. The lady had Sir Ivaine moved to a rich\napartment where she could visit him often and help the little\nmaid in her care of him. She did not tell her people, however,\nthat this stranger knight had killed their lord.\n\nAs Sir Ivaine recovered, he soon found courage to tell her how\nbeautiful she was, and that he loved her more than anything in\nthe world. He said that if she would marry him, he would stay\nwith her forever, and never seek for more adventures. All he\nasked was that she would let in his lion, which still continued\nto roar outside the castle walls. When the lady heard the story\nof the lion, it seemed to her that if Sir Ivaine were so kind to\nan animal, he would probably be much kinder to her.\n\nSo she said that she would marry him. The people of the castle\nsaw and liked him, and agreed to obey him as their lord. When\nthey were told that the lion they had tried to kill belonged to\nhim and must be admitted to the castle, they showed some fear.\nSir Ivaine told them that there was no need of this, for the\nbeast was very gentle, and was making noise only because of its\ndesire for its master. He went outside the castle walls and\ncalled. Soon there was heard a loud roaring; a big yellow body\nbounded out of the forest, and the lion came leaping to its\nmaster's feet. It frisked about him, and rubbed its head on his\narm, just as a favorite dog might do. When the people saw how\ntame it was, they were no longer afraid.\n\nSir Ivaine and the beautiful lady were soon married, and for a\nlong time everyone was very happy. Sir Ivaine sent a letter to\nKing Arthur telling the result of his adventure. Soon the\nmessenger returned bearing rich gifts from the king and\nGuinevere, and an invitation to come to Camelot whenever they\nwished to. The lady, however, persuaded Sir Ivaine to promise to\nremain with her in her castle.\n\nOne day a party of the Knights of the Round Table rode into the\ncourtyard. They were going on a great adventure, and stopped by\nthe way to see how Sir Ivaine and his beautiful wife fared. When\nSir Ivaine saw them, all his old-time love of fighting came back,\nand he went to his lady and begged her to let him go with the\nknights.\n\n\"Ah, my Ivaine,\" she said, \"you told me that you would never\nleave me.\"\n\n\"A knight ought to seek adventures,\" he said. \"And I will return\nto you.\"\n\nShe paused for a while and then said:\n\n\"I will let you go if you will promise to come back in a year and\na day; that is, next Whitsuntide.\"\n\nHe gladly promised, and she said:\n\n\"If you break this promise, I will never see you again.\"\n\nBut Sir Ivaine was sure he would not break the promise, because\nhe loved her too much for that.\n\nSo off he rode with the knights, followed by his faithful lion.\nThe lady and the little maiden waved farewells to Sir Ivaine from\nthe tower until they could no longer see him; then they again\ntook up the life they had lived before he came to the castle.\n\nSir Ivaine rode with the knights for many months, and had many\nadventures. At last, just as the year was drawing to a close, he\nstarted homeward. On the way, however, he stopped at Arthur's\nCourt to pay his respects to the king and the queen. They both\nremembered him and greeted him kindly.\n\nA great tournament was being held at that time in Camelot, and\nthe king asked Sir Ivaine if he would like to take part. Sir\nIvaine was pleased, for he loved the display of such combats.\nDuring the three days of the tournament he distinguished himself\ngreatly.\n\nOn the evening of the third day, as the knights were sitting in\nthe great hall of the Round Table, a little maiden entered. She\nwent up to King Arthur and gave him a ring.\n\n\"This ring,\" she said, \"is one Sir Ivaine gave my lady. She\nreturns it, and has vowed never to see him again because he has\nbroken his promise to her.\"\n\nThen, before any one could stop her, she left the hall, mounted\nher horse, and rode away. Sir Ivaine sprang to his feet, staring\nwildly. Whitsuntide had fallen on the first day of the tournament,\nhis year and a day had more than passed, and he had forgotten his\npromise!\n\nHe rushed from the hall and down the hill through the streets of\nCamelot, out of the city gate, and into the forest. He ran on and\non until he fell exhausted.\n\nThe next day he awoke in a fever, and would have died but for his\nfaithful lion. The poor animal tried to make Sir Ivaine rise, but\nseeing that he could not, dragged him to the edge of a brook,\nwhere he could drink when he was thirsty. The lion also brought\nhim game. At first Sir Ivaine would not touch it, but finally\nbegan to eat it raw.\n\nAfter a time he became better, physically, but his senses were\ngone. In his madness he wandered all through the woods, fighting\nwith the trees and bushes. The lion always followed him,\nprotecting him from other animals and from men.\n\nOne day when the lion was absent finding food, Sir Ivaine lay\nasleep. A good hermit came up to him, and pitying his condition,\nlifted him in his arms and carried him to his hut. He bathed the\npoor knight, cut his hair, and put a robe upon him. He was laying\nhim upon a bed when the lion came roaring to the door and dashed\nit open.\n\nWhen it saw the hermit tending its master, it fawned at his feet.\nAfter that Sir Ivaine spent much of his time in the hut. The lion\nsupplied him with food, bringing meat to the hermit, who always\ndivided it into four parts: three parts he gave to the lion, and\none he cooked for Sir Ivaine and himself.\n\nSometimes Sir Ivaine would run away from the hermit and wander\nfor days in the forest. The lion took care of him, and always led\nhim back to the hermit's hut. Once, however, Sir Ivaine set forth\nin the direction of his wife's castle. At night the lion tried to\ntake him to the hut, but in vain. For days he wandered, always in\nthe same direction, until at last he reached the wood where the\nstone platform was. He laid himself down upon it and slept. Soon\na lady and a maid appeared. The lion sprang at them, but when it\nreached their feet, it licked the lady's hand, for she was its\nmistress.\n\nIt took her robe in its teeth and pulled her gently to the spot\nwhere Sir Ivaine lay. At first she would not look at him,\nbecause she had not forgiven him for breaking his promise. But\nthe little maiden said:\n\n\"Dear mistress, look at him. The story which the knights of\nArthur's Court told us about his madness must be true. If you\nwill but look at his face you will see that it is the face of a\nman who has lost his senses.\"\n\nThen the lady knelt beside him. When she saw his worn features\nand his tattered garments, she began to believe that he really\nhad lost his senses from grief. She sent the little maiden to the\ncastle for an ointment she had. It was so powerful that if it\nwere rubbed over a person who was ill, it would cure him, no\nmatter what his disease was. When the little maid brought it, the\nlady put it upon Sir Ivaine, but so gently as not to rouse him.\n\nAfter several hours, Sir Ivaine awoke. At first he hardly knew\nwhere he was, but soon he recollected all that had happened, and\nseeing his lady near, begged her to forgive him. This she did,\nand they were reconciled. Sir Ivaine was sure that he would\nnever again forget to keep a promise.\n\nFor some months they lived very happily in the castle. Then they\nwent to Camelot in order to be near to Arthur and the Knights of\nthe Round Table.\n\n[Illustration: The Holy Grail]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] SIR BALIN\n\n\nIn Arthur's Court there dwelt a poor knight named Balin, who had\naccidentally killed the cousin of King Arthur, and had been taken\nto the court of the king for trial. He had lived there almost as\na prisoner for six months, until it was decided that he had not\nmeant to do wrong. All his money was gone, and his clothes and\narmor were poor. He was sorry for this, but he was still more\nsorry that he was not doing brave deeds like the other knights.\n\nOne day when he sat in the great hall at Camelot, looking at the\nshields which were carved or covered with gold, a damsel entered\nwho wore a rich mantle, trimmed with fur. As Arthur and the\nknights looked at her, she let it fall to the floor, and they saw\nthat she wore a heavy sword.\n\n\"Damsel,\" said Arthur, \"why do you, a maiden, wear a sword?\"\n\n\"Alas!\" said the maiden, \"I should be glad if I did not wear it.\nIt is very heavy, and causes me pain. But I am forced to wear it\nuntil I meet a knight who can take it from me.\"\n\n\"Surely many knights could do that, and gladly,\" the lords said.\n\n\"No,\" said the lady. \"It seems that there is but one knight in\nall the world who is to take the sword. I heard that there were\nbrave knights at the Court of King Rience, the enemy of King\nArthur, and I went there. Yet no one could unfasten the sword.\nNow am I come here on the same errand.\"\n\n\"In truth, damsel,\" said the king, \"you are right welcome. My\nknights shall try to take your weapon.\"\n\nThen, at a sign from Arthur, a knight stepped forward. But, even\nthough he exerted all his strength, the sword could not be\nunfastened.\n\n\"Sir, you need not pull so hard,\" said the damsel. \"The one who\nis to take the sword will do so easily.\"\n\nAll the knights tried except Sir Balin, who stood back because of\nhis poor clothes. Yet he wanted very much to see if he was the\nchosen knight, and just as the damsel was going away, he said:\n\n\"Damsel, will you let me try? I am poorly clothed, but my heart\ntells me that I may succeed.\"\n\nThe damsel saw that he had a good face. But his clothes were so\npoor she doubted if he were really a knight.\n\n\"I am afraid you will fail,\" she said.\n\n\"Ah, maiden,\" he returned, \"poor clothes are but the outside.\nGood deeds are just as worthy, whether done by a rich person or a\npoor one. Many a man who is badly clothed has real valor and\nkindness.\"\n\n\"That is very true,\" she said; \"so try, good sir.\"\n\nThen Sir Balin seized the hilt of the sword, and the weapon came\naway easily. All the lords wondered, and the lady said:\n\n\"You are a good knight, the best I have met. You shall do many\nbrave deeds. And now, give me my sword again.\"\n\n\"No,\" said Sir Balin, \"I should like to keep this sword, for I\nhave no other.\"\n\n\"Alas!\" said the maiden, \"I am sorry to hear these words, for now\nI must give you the sword.\"\n\n\"Surely he deserves it,\" said Arthur, \"for it weighed heavily on\nyou.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" she replied, \"but it is a misfortune for him to keep it.\nHe shall slay with it the best friend he has in the world. It is\ngoing to prove his destruction.\"\n\nSir Balin would not believe her.\n\n\"I could not slay my best friend,\" he said. \"Besides, I am\nwilling to meet whatever happens, and I wish to keep the sword.\"\n\nThen the maiden departed in great sorrow, while Balin said to the\nking:\n\n\"My lord, give me permission to leave your court.\"\n\n\"I do not like to lose you,\" said the king. \"Perhaps you are\nangry because you were in prison so long. You must know that it\ntakes time to find out who is innocent and who is guilty.\"\n\n\"My lord,\" answered Sir Balin, \"I know it is not wise to make a\njudgment hastily, and I do not blame you for keeping me in\nprison. I love you, and wish to leave your court that I may do\nsome deed worthy of the Round Table.\"\n\nThen Arthur said that he might go. Soon a servant brought to\nBalin a fine horse and good armor which were the gifts of the\nking. Balin at once took leave of Arthur and the knights, and\nrode away, singing as he rode, for he was very happy. Sometimes\nhe stopped to lift up his shield and admire it. It had a blue\nemblem upon it, and to Sir Balin's eyes its beauty was that of\nthe sky, the soft blue of heaven.\n\nSir Balin rode until he was tired. At last, from the crest of a\nhill, he saw a gloomy stone castle, and galloped towards it\njoyfully, hoping to rest there.\n\nAt a turn of the road, he saw a cross with gold letters upon it.\nHe stopped to read the words, which were: \"Let no knight go to\nthe castle, for great danger is there.\"\n\n\"Oh,\" said Sir Balin, \"I am used to danger. I fear nothing,\" and\nhe went on.\n\nPresently an old man started up beside the road. He had a long\ngray beard, and was dressed in a long gray robe that sparkled\nwith little specks of frost. The old man said to Sir Balin:\n\n\"Did you not read the letters on the cross?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Sir Balin, \"but I am not afraid.\"\n\n\"Oh, Sir Balin, you of all men should fear to go to that castle,\"\nthe old man said.\n\n\"Why?\" he asked in amazement. \"Nevertheless, I shall go.\"\n\n\"Sir Balin, Sir Balin!\" cried the old man after him, \"you are too\nself-willed. You will be very sorry for what you have done before\nyou die.\"\n\nBut Sir Balin rode on without fear, and soon reached the gate of\nthe castle. A hundred beautiful ladies and many knights welcomed\nhim. They took off his armor and put a rich crimson cloak upon\nhis shoulders. Then they led him into a banquet hall where there\nwas music and dancing. They set food before him, and he ate,\nthankfully. He was very happy, feeling sure that he could rest\nhere for many days.\n\nJust as he was thinking this, the lady who was mistress of the\ncastle said:\n\n\"Sir knight, it is the rule of this castle that every lord who\ncomes here as a guest must fight.\"\n\n\"That is a hard custom,\" said Sir Balin.\n\n\"Yet you need fight but once,\" answered the lady. \"We have here\nthe knight who entered just before you came.\"\n\n\"Alas!\" said Sir Balin, \"I would rather not fight, for I wish to\nrest. Since such is the custom of the castle, however, I must do\nmy part. Let some one bring my armor.\"\n\nA servant at once came up to him with a suit of black armor.\n\n\"This is not my armor,\" said Sir Balin. \"My armor is not painted\nblack. It is honest gray steel, decorated with blue.\"\n\n\"It is the custom of the castle to wear black,\" they told him.\n\"This armor is as good as your own.\"\n\nSir Balin felt sad, he could hardly tell why; and was very sorry\nthat he had ever come to the castle. Putting on the armor,\nhowever, he went into the courtyard and mounted his horse. No\nsooner was he ready than another knight, clad all in black,\nentered the courtyard.\n\nThe two knights rode together so fiercely that the shock threw\nthem both off their horses in a swoon. After a time they\nrecovered and began to fight on foot, pressing each other near\nthe walls of the castle.\n\nSir Balin was fighting with the sword that he had taken from the\ndamsel in King Arthur's Court. It was a strong sword, and\nwhenever it struck, the armor of his opponent cracked. They\nfought till their breath failed, and then they rested. Each knew\nthat never before had he dealt with such a strong enemy.\n\nThen they fought again, and gave each other seven deep wounds,\nthe least of which would prove fatal. All the ground was red with\nblood, but Sir Balin fought on still, for the people of the\ncastle were watching from the walls, and he wished to be thought\na great warrior. So at last he used all his remaining strength\nand gave the other knight such a hard blow that he fell to the\nground. Sir Balin knew that it was a death stroke. He felt that\nhe, too, was about to die, and said:\n\n\"Who are you? I never fought with such a strong knight before.\"\n\nThe other answered faintly:\n\n\"I am Sir Balan, the brother to the good knight Sir Balin.\"\n\nThen Sir Balin cried out:\n\n\"Alas, alas! that I should live to see this day!\" and he fell\nbackward in a swoon.\n\nSir Balan was dying, but he crawled on his hands and knees to\nwhere Sir Balin lay, and took off his helmet only to discover the\nface of his brother. Then he wept bitterly till Sir Balin\nrecovered from his swoon.\n\n\"Alas!\" said Sir Balan, \"if we had but worn our own armor we\nshould have known each other. And now we must die; we have killed\neach other.\"\n\n[Illustration: _\"They fought till their breath failed\"_]\n\nSir Balin was too full of remorse to weep.\n\n\"All this is my fault,\" he said. \"As the old man on the road told\nme, I have been too self-willed. First, I would have the damsel's\nsword, although she told me that I should slay with it the best\nfriend I had. That is you, Balan. And then I would enter this\ncastle in spite of warnings. I deserve to die, but it is a hard\npunishment that I should have killed you, my brother.\"\n\nSoon some ladies came from the wall into the courtyard, and to\nthem Sir Balin said:\n\n\"We are two dear brothers who have killed each other. I pray you,\npromise to bury us in the same grave.\"\n\nThe ladies wept as they made the promise. The two brothers put\ntheir arms about each other and waited for death. They hoped to\ndie together, but Sir Balan died first. Soon after, when Sir\nBalin had also died, the ladies buried them together, and put a\nstone above the grave, telling the sad story of their combat and\ndeath.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] SIR GERAINT AND ENID\n\n\nOne of the bravest knights in King Arthur's Court was Sir\nGeraint. Once he was in the forest with Queen Guinevere and one\nof her maidens, when a lady, a knight, and a dwarf rode by. The\nqueen told the maiden to go to the dwarf and ask who his master\nwas.\n\nAs the maiden approached them, she saw that the knight had a very\nproud face. She asked the dwarf his master's name, but he said,\nroughly:\n\n\"I do not know.\"\n\n\"If you do not know,\" answered the maiden, \"I will ask him\nmyself.\"\n\nShe started to ride up to the knight, but the dwarf struck at her\nwith his whip. Upon this, she went back and told the queen and\nSir Geraint what had passed. Sir Geraint was very angry, and he\nsaid to the queen:\n\n\"Fair queen, I will ride after this knight and his dwarf and\navenge the insult done to your maiden. If I succeed, I shall\nreturn in three days.\"\n\n\"Do so,\" said the queen, \"and I trust you will succeed, not only\nin this, but in all things which you attempt. Some day you will\nlove some fair lady. Before you marry her, bring her to me, and\nno matter how poor or how rich she may be, I will clothe her for\nher wedding in the most beautiful garments in the world. They\nshall shine like the sun.\"\n\nSo off rode Sir Geraint, keeping at some distance behind the\nlady, the knight, and the dwarf. At last, after passing through\nmany woods, he lost sight of them as they disappeared beyond the\ntop of a hill. Sir Geraint rode up, and saw below him, in a\nvalley, the one street of a little town. On one side was a\nfortress, so new that the stone of which it was built was still\nwhite; while on the other side stood a gray old castle, fast\nfalling into decay. He saw the three people he was following\nenter the fortress.\n\nIn the little town there was a great deal of noise and bustle. At\nfirst Sir Geraint could not find any place to stay, for the\nhouses were all full. He stopped before a servant who was\nscouring his master's armor, and asked what all the noise meant.\nThe servant said:\n\n\"The Sparrow-hawk,\" and went on working.\n\nThen he met an old man carrying a sack of corn, and asked him the\nsame question. The old man made the same reply. Next Sir Geraint\napproached one who was making armor, and questioned him. Without\nlooking up the man replied:\n\n\"Friend, he who works for the Sparrow-hawk has little time for\nanswering questions.\"\n\nSir Geraint was vexed, and said:\n\n\"I am weary of hearing of your Sparrow-hawk. I do not understand\nwhat you mean. Will you not tell me where I can find a place to\nstay for to-night? And will you not sell me some armor? I have\nbut my sword.\"\n\nThen the man looked up, and said:\n\n\"Your pardon, sir. We are all very busy here, for to-morrow we\nhold a tournament, and our work is not half done. I cannot give\nyou armor, for we need all that we have in the town. As to\nlodging, all the room is taken. However, perhaps Earl Iniol in\nthe castle will receive you.\"\n\nSir Geraint rode over to the gray old castle, and as the gate was\nopen, entered the ruined courtyard. Dismounting, he went into the\nhall. Here he found the earl, an elderly man dressed in clothes\nwhich had once been handsome, but were now old and worn. To him\nSir Geraint said:\n\n\"Good sir, I seek lodging for the night.\"\n\nThe old Earl Iniol answered:\n\n\"Sir, I was once rich and am now poor; nevertheless, I will\ngladly give you the best I have.\"\n\nAs he spoke, some one in the castle began to sing. The voice was\nvery sweet. Sir Geraint thought he had never heard anyone sing so\nwonderfully.\n\n\"That is my daughter Enid,\" said the earl.\n\nThen he took Sir Geraint into a room in which sat an old lady in\na faded velvet gown. She was the earl's wife. By her side stood\nEnid in a faded silk gown. She was as beautiful as her voice was\nsweet, and after watching her, Sir Geraint said to himself:\n\n\"I already love this maiden.\"\n\nHe said nothing out loud, only looked at her. Earl Iniol spoke to\nher:\n\n\"Enid, this good knight will stay with us. His horse is in the\ncourtyard; take it to the stall and give it corn. Then go into\nthe town and buy us some food.\"\n\nSir Geraint wished to put away his horse himself, but the old\nearl said:\n\n\"Sir, we are very poor, but we cannot permit our guest to do any\nwork. I pray you, stay here.\"\n\nSo Enid took the horse to the stall. After that, she went into\nthe town and soon returned with meat and sweet cakes. Then,\nbecause most of the rooms in the old castle were in ruins, she\ncooked the meat in the same hall in which they were to eat. When\nthe meal was ready, she waited on her father and her mother and\nSir Geraint. The knight watched her and loved her more and more.\n\nWhen they had risen from the table, he said to the earl:\n\n\"My lord, pray tell me what the people of this town mean when\nthey speak of the Sparrow-hawk.\"\n\nThe earl's face grew sad, as he said:\n\n\"That is the name given to the young knight who rules in this\ntown.\"\n\n\"Does he live in the fortress?\" asked Sir Geraint. \"And do a lady\nand a dwarf ride with him?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said the earl.\n\n\"Ah, then he is the man I am in search of,\" said Sir Geraint. \"I\nmust fight with him before three days are over. I am Geraint of\nKing Arthur's Court.\"\n\n\"I know your name well,\" said the earl. \"We often hear of your\ngreat deeds at Camelot. Many times have I related to my Enid the\nstory of your brave deeds.\"\n\n\"I am bound to do my duty with the other knights,\" answered Sir\nGeraint. \"And now tell me more of this Sparrow-hawk.\"\n\n\"Alas! he is my nephew,\" said the earl. \"At one time I ruled this\ntown. My nephew, the Sparrow-hawk, was powerful, too, and he\nasked to unite our power by marrying Enid, but neither she nor I\nwished it. Then he collected a body of men and attacked me, and\ntook all my wealth, leaving me nothing but this old castle.\"\n\n\"To-morrow,\" said Sir Geraint, \"I will fight in the tournament\nwith this Sparrow-hawk, and conquer him, and give you back your\nlands. But I lack armor.\"\n\n\"I can give you armor, although it is old and rusty,\" said the\nearl. \"But no one is allowed to fight in this tournament unless\nthere is some lady he loves best in all the world. Then he fights\nfor the sake of this lady, and if he wins, receives the prize,\nwhich he in turn gives to her.\"\n\n\"What is the prize?\" asked Sir Geraint.\n\n\"A hawk, a sparrow-hawk made of gold. This nephew of mine is very\nstrong and has always overcome every knight who has opposed him\nin these tournaments, which are held yearly. It is because he has\nwon the prize so often that he is called the Sparrow-hawk. But\ntell me, is there some lady whom you love?\"\n\nThen Sir Geraint said:\n\n\"I love this child of yours, my lord, and will gladly make her my\nwife if you will permit it.\"\n\nThe earl was very glad, but Enid was afraid, for she thought she\nwas not worthy of such a great knight. Yet, she knew she loved\nhim, and said so, and soon promised to go with him to Arthur's\nCourt within three days.\n\nThe next morning, the earl and Sir Geraint and Enid went to the\nfield where the tournament was to take place. Many knights and\nladies were there. The ladies sat under a pavilion which was\ndraped in purple velvet ornamented with gold, while the knights\nwere on horseback. A herald blew a trumpet, and the knight who\nwas called the Sparrow-hawk galloped into the field.\n\nHe rode around it three times, and then went up to the pavilion\nand said to his lady:\n\n\"I give you the gold sparrow-hawk again, because no one dares to\nfight with me for it.\"\n\nThen Sir Geraint rode forward in his rusty armor and said:\n\n\"I will fight with you.\"\n\nThe knight looked upon him, and gave a very scornful laugh as he\nrode at Sir Geraint. The two clashed together and began to fight\nfiercely, while all the people watched. Twice they had to stop\nand rest. For a long time they seemed evenly matched, and no one\ncould decide which would win. But when Sir Geraint looked to\nwhere Enid sat in her faded silk gown among the richly dressed\nladies in the pavilion, he grew very strong and struck his enemy\nsuch a blow that he fell to the earth.\n\n\"Now, Sparrow-hawk,\" said Sir Geraint, \"I have overthrown you.\nYou must do two things: you must ride with your lady and your\ndwarf to Arthur's Court and ask pardon of Queen Guinevere because\nyour dwarf struck her maiden; and you must restore all the riches\nyou have taken from your good uncle, Earl Iniol.\"\n\nThis the knight promised to do. And afterwards, in Arthur's\nCourt, he grew very sorry for his evil deeds, and became a good\nman.\n\nMeanwhile, Enid was making ready to go to Arthur's Court with Sir\nGeraint. She was sorry that she had only her robe of faded silk.\nShe remembered a robe her mother had given her before the\nSparrow-hawk took their riches. It was of velvet, the color of\nmother-of-pearl, with gold leaves and flowers and birds\nembroidered upon it.\n\nWhile she was thinking of this beautiful robe, her mother entered\nthe room, carrying it. Enid gave a cry of joy, and her mother\ntold her that the Sparrow-hawk had just given it back, together\nwith other robes and gold and jewels. \"Put it on, Enid,\" she\nsaid, and helped her daughter to array herself in the handsome\ngown, exclaiming: \"How beautiful you look, my dear child! Sir\nGeraint may well be proud to fetch such a fair lady to King\nArthur's Court.\"\n\nJust then the earl entered to tell them that the knight wanted\nEnid to ride with him to Camelot in the faded silk dress in which\nhe had first seen her.\n\nEnid, although she was deeply disappointed, at once put on again\nher faded gown. When Sir Geraint came in he saw that the earl's\nwife was also disappointed, so he told them that the queen had\npromised to dress his bride in the most beautiful robes in the\nworld for her wedding. At this both the ladies were much pleased.\n\nSo after bidding farewell to her parents, Enid rode with Sir\nGeraint to Camelot, where the queen welcomed her, and gave her a\nrobe that was as bright as the sun. Then the good Archbishop of\nCanterbury married Sir Geraint and Enid amid great rejoicings.\n\n[Illustration: Two Crossed Swords and a Shield]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] ARTHUR AND SIR ACCALON\n\n\nThere was a woman in Arthur's Court named Morgan le Fay, who had\nlearned a great deal about magic. She was a wicked woman, and\nhated the king because he was more powerful than she, and because\nhe was so good.\n\nHowever, she pretended to be a true friend to him, and the king\nbelieved in her. One day when they were talking together, she\nasked him if he would not let her take charge of his wonderful\nsword Excalibur, and its scabbard. She said that she would guard\nthem so carefully that they would never be stolen. As she was\nvery eager, Arthur granted her request.\n\nOne day in time of peace, King Arthur went out hunting with a\ncertain knight named Sir Accalon, who was the lover of Morgan le\nFay. They rode for a long time, and when they were tired, stopped\nto rest beside a great lake. As they looked over its shining\nwaters, they saw a beautiful little ship, which sailed straight\ntowards them, and ran up to the sands at their feet. It was all\ncovered with golden silks, which waved in the gentle wind. King\nArthur and Sir Accalon climbed into it and examined it thoroughly,\nbut they found no one on board.\n\nThey rested on two couches which were on the deck, until it grew\ndark. Then they were about to return home, when all at once, a\nhundred torches, set on the sides of the ship were lighted, and\nsuddenly there appeared twelve beautiful damsels who told the two\nthat they were welcome, and that they should be served with a\nbanquet.\n\nPresently the maidens led the king and the knight into a room\nwhich had a table covered with a white cloth embroidered in\npurple. It bore many golden dishes, and each dish had a beautiful\ndesign carved upon it. Some dishes had vine-leaves, others\nivy-leaves; some had angels with long robes sweeping back in\ngraceful lines; and all these dishes held choice food. The king\nand Sir Accalon ate to their hearts' content.\n\nThen the damsels led them into two separate chambers. King Arthur\nwas tired and so sleepy that he gave but one glance at his\nbedroom. He saw that it was hung in red silk embroidered with\ngold dragons and griffins. Then he threw himself on his bed and\nslept very soundly.\n\nWhen he awoke, he found himself not in the pretty bed-chamber,\nbut in a dark place. He could see nothing, but all about him he\nheard the sound of complaining and weeping. He was much\nbewildered, but in a moment he cried:\n\n\"What is this? Where am I?\"\n\nThen a voice answered:\n\n\"You are in prison, as we are.\"\n\n\"Who are you?\" asked Arthur.\n\nThe voice replied:\n\n\"We are twenty knights, prisoners, and some of us have been here\nas long as seven years. We are in the dungeons of a wicked lord\nnamed Sir Damas. He has a younger brother, and the two brothers\nare enemies, quarreling about their inheritance. Now the younger\nbrother, Sir Ontzlake, is very strong, but Sir Damas is not\nstrong, and moreover, he is a coward. So he tries to find a\nknight who will fight for him against Sir Ontzlake.\n\n\"But Sir Damas is so much hated that no one will fight for him.\nSo he goes about the country with a body of rough men, and\nwhenever he sees a knight, he captures him. Then he asks him to\nfight with Sir Ontzlake. So far, all the knights have refused,\nand have been thrown into prison. We do not have food enough, but\nwe would rather die here than fight for Sir Damas, who is so\nwicked.\"\n\nAt that moment a damsel entered the prison with a torch, which\nfaintly lighted the dismal place, and advanced to the king.\n\n\"Sir,\" she said, \"will you fight for my lord, Sir Damas? If you\nwill, you shall be taken from this prison. If you will not, you\nshall die here.\"\n\nArthur considered for some time, and then said:\n\n\"I would rather fight than die in prison. If I fight, will you\ndeliver also all these prisoners?\"\n\nThe damsel promised, and Arthur consented to fight. While she\nwent to tell Sir Damas, Arthur said to the other prisoners:\n\n\"My friends, I do not know Sir Damas, and I do not know Sir\nOntzlake. I do not know whether they are bad or good. But I will\nfight, and then, when I have conquered, I shall judge between\nthem, and do justice to both.\"\n\n\"That is a good plan,\" said the knights, \"but why are you so sure\nthat you will conquer?\"\n\n\"I am Arthur, the King,\" he replied.\n\nAt that the knights set up a great cry of joy, and the king\ncontinued:\n\n\"I shall send for my good sword Excalibur and the scabbard, and\nwith these I shall surely win.\"\n\nSo when Arthur and the knights were led out of prison, the king\nsent the damsel who had visited them to Morgan le Fay for his\nsword and scabbard.\n\nMeantime, the knight who had accompanied Arthur on the little\nship, Sir Accalon, also awoke. He found himself in the palace of\nMorgan le Fay, and he wondered very much where Arthur was. He\nwent to the lady, who said to him:\n\n\"My dear lord, the day has come when you can have great power if\nyou want it. Should you like to be king of this land, instead of\nArthur?\"\n\nNow Sir Accalon was a traitor at heart. He wanted very much to be\nking, even if the good Arthur was to be killed; so he said:\n\n\"Yes, truly.\"\n\nThen she said:\n\n\"You shall be king, and I shall be your queen. All you need to do\nis to fight a great battle, which you shall win. I have been\nusing my magic. It was I who sent the ship of silk to you and\nArthur. I had him put into prison, and I had you brought here.\"\n\nSir Accalon wondered very much. Then she told him of the fight\nKing Arthur was to make against Sir Ontzlake.\n\n\"But I have caused Sir Ontzlake to fall sick,\" she said, \"and he\ncannot fight. I shall go with you to his castle and you can offer\nto fight for him.\"\n\n\"I to fight with the king!\" cried Sir Accalon. \"He would surely\noverthrow me.\"\n\n\"He cannot,\" said Morgan le Fay, \"because you are to fight with\nhis sword. A little while ago he sent to me for Excalibur and the\nscabbard, but I returned him a false sword which looks like\nExcalibur, and a false scabbard. You shall take the true ones,\nand then you shall surely overcome him and rule this land.\"\n\nThen Sir Accalon was glad, and he hastened with the lady to the\ncastle of Sir Ontzlake. They found him groaning because he was\nill and because Sir Damas had sent him a challenge to fight with\na knight, and he could not accept it. He was much relieved when\nMorgan le Fay told him that Sir Accalon would fight in his place.\n\nEarly in the afternoon, King Arthur and Sir Accalon rode into the\nfield where the combat was to be held. Arthur did not know who\nSir Accalon was, nor did any one else, except Morgan le Fay. Two\nsides of the field were full of people who came to watch, half of\nwhom were friends of Sir Damas, and the other half were friends\nof Sir Ontzlake.\n\nArthur and Sir Accalon rode at each other so furiously that at\nthe shock of the meeting both fell off their horses. Then they\nbegan to fight fiercely with their swords. The king could make no\nheadway with his false steel, but whenever Sir Accalon struck at\nArthur he drew blood.\n\nThe king was much amazed. He grew weaker and weaker, but still he\nkept on his feet. Those who watched him were sorry for him; they\nthought they had never seen a man fight so bravely. At last\nArthur's sword broke, and fell in two pieces on the ground. When\nSir Accalon saw this, he cried:\n\n\"Now, yield to me.\"\n\n\"I will never yield,\" said the king, \"and if you do not get me\nanother sword, you will be shamed before all men, for it is an\nunknightly thing to fight with a defenseless man.\"\n\n\"I do not care,\" said Sir Accalon. \"If you will not yield, defend\nyourself with your shield as best you can.\"\n\nHe rushed at the king. Arthur was so weak that he could hardly\nstand, but he guarded himself as well as he could with his\nshield. Soon he could do no more, and fell to the ground.\n\nAt this moment the Lady of the Lake, who had given Arthur his\nsword, came upon the field. She was invisible, but anyone who had\nlistened intently could have heard a sound like the ripple of\nwater as she walked. She caused Excalibur to fall out of the hand\nof Sir Accalon and drop near Arthur.\n\nWhen it fell, Arthur saw that it was his own Excalibur. He\ngrasped its handle and some of his strength came back. He\nstruggled to his feet, and rushing up to Sir Accalon, seized the\nscabbard of Excalibur and threw it far over the field.\n\n\"Now,\" he said, \"send for a second sword and fight with me.\"\n\nThen Sir Accalon was afraid. Yet he thought that Arthur was so\nweak that he could still be overcome. So he sent for a second\nsword, and they began to fight again. Arthur's strength, however,\nhad largely returned, and in a short time he gave Sir Accalon a\nmortal stroke.\n\nSir Accalon fell to the ground, and the king, leaning over him,\ncried:\n\n\"Tell me who you are.\"\n\nThen Sir Accalon was filled with remorse, and he said:\n\n\"Oh, my king, I have been a traitor to you, but now I am dying,\nand I am sorry for what I have done. I deserve my death.\"\n\nHe told the king his name, and all about his treachery, and that\nof Morgan le Fay.\n\nKing Arthur was sad.\n\n\"It is very hard to be deceived in a friend,\" he said, \"but I\nforgive you freely. I will try to cure your wound, and sometime I\nshall trust you again.\"\n\n\"You cannot cure me,\" said Sir Accalon. \"I am dying. Let them\ncarry me off the field.\"\n\nSo he was taken to a neighboring abbey, while the people crowded\nabout the king to congratulate him, but Arthur said:\n\n\"I am sad at heart. My victory is no comfort to me, for to-day I\nhave lost a friend whom I believed true.\"\n\nThen he called the two brothers, Sir Damas and Sir Ontzlake, and\njudged their cause. He decided that their property must be\ndivided equally between them, and that they must be friends. They\npromised never to quarrel again. Arthur told them that they must\nbe kind to other knights and to all people. He said that if he\nheard that they were not, he would come and punish them.\n\nAfter this, Sir Damas gave back to the twenty knights all their\nmoney, and they went on their way rejoicing. King Arthur mounted\nhis horse and rode over to the abbey, where he sat by the bed of\nSir Accalon till the poor knight died. Then the king went back\nalone to his Court at Camelot.\n\n[Illustration: The Holy Grail]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] HOW ARTHUR FOUGHT WITH A GIANT\n\n\nOnce upon a time King Arthur and some of his knights were sailing\nin a ship. The king, being tired, went to sleep in his cabin, and\nbegan to dream. It seemed to him that he was sailing with his\npeople when a great dragon flew out of the west. This dragon had\na blue head and a gold back. Underneath he shone like a rainbow.\nFlames of fire rushed out of his mouth and covered land and sea.\n\nAs he flew, there came out of the east a great bear, very rough,\nand as black as coal, and with wings that flapped like windmills.\nThe bear and the dragon roared loudly, and they began to fight\nand struggle till the sea was all red with blood. At last the\ndragon conquered.\n\nWhen the king awoke from this dream he sent for Merlin and told\nhim of it, and asked for an explanation.\n\n\"My lord,\" Merlin replied, \"the dragon betokens yourself; the\ncolors on its body are signs of your glory. The bear betokens\nsome tyrant who torments the people and whom you will slay.\"\n\nSoon after this, the ship in which the company was, came in sight\nof land. When they had anchored, the knights noticed on the beach\na crowd of people who were weeping. Descending from the ship,\nArthur asked one of the men what troubled them, and what was the\nname of their country.\n\n\"Good sir,\" returned the man, \"this is the country of Brittany,\nand we weep because our county is desolated by a giant. He makes\nus bring him food. First, he ate up all the oxen we had, and then\nour horses. Next he demanded our children, and now there are no\nlittle ones in the land. To-day he took our good duchess of\nBrittany, and carried her off to his mountain.\"\n\n\"Alas!\" said the king. \"It grieves me to hear this, not only\nbecause a cruel deed has been done, but because the duchess of\nBrittany is my cousin's wife. I must save this lady. I will fight\nwith the giant.\"\n\n\"Good sir,\" cried the people in amazement, \"it is not possible! A\nwhole company of us dare not attack him, and yet we account\nourselves brave men.\"\n\n\"That may well be,\" replied Arthur, \"and yet with my good sword\nand scabbard, I have no fear.\"\n\nThen the men said:\n\n\"If you will go, my lord, yonder is the great mountain where the\ngiant lives. At the top, two huge fires burn continually in front\nof a cave, and in that cave are greater treasures than you can\ndream of. They are all yours if you will but slay this monster.\"\n\nArthur replied nothing to them, but called Sir Kay and Sir\nBedivere, and rode with them to the foot of the mountain. From\nthat point he ascended alone. When he was nearly to the top he\ncame upon a woman, clad all in black, who sat weeping by the side\nof a newly-made grave.\n\n\"Good woman, why do you weep?\" asked Arthur.\n\n\"Hush, hush!\" she cried, \"or the giant will hear you and come and\nkill you. He can hear me, but the sound of weeping delights him,\nand therefore I need not restrain my grief.\"\n\n\"Why do you grieve?\" the king asked.\n\n\"Alas! Because my good mistress, the duchess of Brittany, is\ndead. The giant has killed her.\"\n\nAt that Arthur gripped tightly the handle of his sword and said:\n\n\"I will kill this wretch before I am an hour older.\"\n\n\"Ah, my lord,\" said the woman, \"the greatest kings in the country\nare afraid of him. He has a coat embroidered with the beards of\nfifteen of them. He demanded these beards as a sign that they\nacknowledged him as lord.\"\n\n\"There is at least one king who does not acknowledge him as\nlord,\" shouted Arthur, as he strode hastily forward.\n\nWhen he reached the top he saw the giant asleep in front of the\ntwo great fires before the cave. He was taller than the tallest\npine that ever grew. His arms were as big as the trunk of an oak\ntree. His mouth was as large as a cave, and from it and his\nnostrils came forth fire and flame like that from the mountain of\nVesuvius. Although his huge eyes were closed, flashes of\nlightning seemed to shoot from beneath the lids. At his side was\nan iron club as large as a steeple. About him stood trembling old\nwomen fanning him as he slept.\n\nKing Arthur approached the monster, and said to him:\n\n\"Wretch, awake and fight, for your hour has come.\"\n\nThe giant, starting up, looked down scornfully upon the king and,\nlaughing, threw his great club at Arthur. But the king leapt\naside and the club fell harmlessly on the ground, making a hollow\nwhere it struck.\n\nThen Arthur rushed toward the giant, waving his good sword\nExcalibur. The giant caught him in his arms, in order to squeeze\nhim to death. The king's armor pressed closer and closer about\nhim, and he began to lose his strength. But he kept his hand upon\nhis scabbard, and so did not die.\n\nIn a few minutes the monster, making sure that Arthur was dead,\ndropped him to the ground. After the king had recovered himself,\nhe sprang to his feet, and taking his sword, threw it at the\ngiant. The good steel pierced his neck, and he sank to the\nground, shouting so loudly that Sir Kay and Sir Bedivere at the\nfoot of the mountain heard, and trembled for their master's\nsafety.\n\nThen the giant again seized Arthur in his arms, and the two began\nto roll down the mountain side. Whenever Arthur was able to, he\nstruck at the giant with his dagger, wounding him sorely. At\nlast, still struggling and rolling, they came to the spot where\nSir Kay and Sir Bedivere were. These two loosed the giant's arms\nfrom the king, who then gave one last blow to the monster,\nkilling him. Then he sent Sir Kay and Sir Bedivere for his sword\nExcalibur.\n\nWhen the people on the seashore heard what Arthur had done, they\nfell on their knees and thanked him, offering him all the giant's\ntreasure. He said, however, that he would leave it with them to\ndivide among the poor people of the country. For himself, all he\nwanted was the giant's iron club.\n\nThe people sent fifty men to the top of the mountain to get it\nfor him. As they had no horses, it was a long time before they\ncould drag the club to the seashore. There they put it on a\nbarge. It was so heavy that it pressed the barge down till the\nwater came almost to the edge of the vessel. Then King Arthur\nbade the people good-by, and took ship with his knights. The\ngrateful men of Brittany stood on the shore, and shouted and\nwaved until the ship could no longer be seen.\n\n[Illustration: The Shield]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] HOW ARTHUR FOUGHT WITH ROME\n\n\nIn the time of the great Roman, Julius Caesar, about five hundred\nyears before King Arthur was born, the people of Rome conquered\nBritain. They made many improvements in the land, building roads\nand walls, the remains of which may be seen to this day. But they\nalso forced the Britons to pay them much money. All the kings did\nthis up to the time of Arthur. He, however, considered that\nEngland was his own. He had conquered the lesser kings, and made\none realm of all the land, over which he ruled with wise\ngovernment. So he refused to send any money to Rome.\n\nOnce King Arthur's knights were all together in the great hall.\nIt was a time of peace, and they spent the days in riding and\nhunting. On this day, while the king was sitting on his throne,\ntwelve old men entered, each bearing a branch of olive, as a sign\nthat they came in peace. They were the messengers of the emperor\nof Rome, and, after bowing to the king, they said:\n\n\"Sir, our mighty emperor sends you greeting, and commands you to\nacknowledge him as lord, and to send him the money due him from\nyour realm. Your father and his predecessors did this, and so\nmust you. If you refuse, the emperor will make such war against\nyou that it will be an example to all the world.\"\n\nAt this the young knights laid their hands to their swords, but\nthe older knights, who had self-control enough to hide their\nfeelings, waited to see what the king would do.\n\nArthur bowed courteously to the messengers, and told them that he\nwould soon give them an answer. He commanded a knight to take\nthem to a lodging, and to see that they had all they needed, and\nhe ordered that no harm should be done them. Then he called a\ncouncil of his great lords and asked their advice.\n\nSir Lancelot, Arthur's favorite lord, spoke first, saying:\n\n\"My lord, we have rested for many weeks, and can make sharp war\nnow. In days gone by, we should not have dared attack the Romans,\nand indeed, our attempt will make the world wonder. But of a\ntruth, we ought to fight.\"\n\nThen spoke King Angus of Scotland:\n\n\"My lord Arthur, you are the greatest lord on earth. You have\nmade all of us lesser kings your subjects, and bound the kingdom\ntogether, and stopped our civil wars. We love you and we will\nhelp you. We pray you to make war on these Romans. When they\nruled our elders, they demanded much gold and made our people\nvery poor. If you will fight, I will furnish you with twenty\nthousand men, and will bear all the cost of them myself.\"\n\nThen all the other lords promised to furnish men and arms. When\nArthur heard this, he was glad of their courage and good will.\nHe called in the messengers and said to them:\n\n\"Return to your emperor. Tell him that I refuse his command, for\nI owe him nothing. I have won this kingdom by my own strength.\nTell him that I shall come with all my army to Rome and make him\nacknowledge me as lord.\"\n\nThen Arthur told his treasurer to give the messengers gifts, and\nto take them safely out of the country. Sir Lancelot conducted\nthem to the sea, where they took ship and sailed to France. On\nthey journeyed over the Alps and into Italy. When they told the\nemperor of Rome their message, he said:\n\n\"I had thought Arthur would yield.\"\n\nBut the messengers said:\n\n\"Sir, his face would have told you, if you had seen it, that he\nwould never yield. In truth, there is need of fear, for he is a\ngreat king and surrounded by great knights.\"\n\n\"This is foolish talk,\" the emperor said. \"Remember that we are\nRomans. We have ruled the world for centuries, and a little king\nof little England shall not make us fear. You say that he is\ncoming to fight with us. We will take a few troops and go\nforthwith to France to meet him.\"\n\nThe messengers begged the emperor to take many troops.\n\n\"My lord emperor,\" they said, \"these men of Arthur are very\nnumerous and very brave.\"\n\nSo at last the emperor brought all his men to France, and there,\nwhenever he found people who were loyal to Arthur, he killed and\nlaid waste.\n\nMeanwhile, Arthur had gathered together all his troops. He bade\nfarewell to Queen Guinevere, who was so grieved that she fell in\na swoon. Then he rode off at the head of his men till they came\nto the sea, and there they embarked in ten thousand boats and\nsailed to France.\n\nThey marched till they came near to the troops of the emperor of\nRome, where they rested for the night. In the morning they rose\nat dawn and looked at the Roman legions. These were encamped in a\ngreen field which glittered with the gold on their tents and\narmor. The emperor's tent was of purple silk and bore on the top\na golden eagle, the emblem of Rome.\n\nTwo of Arthur's knights, Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain, rode out to\nthe emperor, and told him that their king had come.\n\n\"That I see,\" said the emperor laughing, \"and he shall soon\nreturn.\"\n\nThe two knights made no answer, but rode back to Arthur. Soon all\nthe soldiers on each side made ready for fighting. The preparation\nwas careful, for they knew that the contest was to be a great\none. The emperor of Rome addressed his soldiers:\n\n\"Romans, remember that Rome is the chief city of the world. I do\nnot say fight as men; I say to you, fight as Romans. Then you\nwill surely conquer these Britains.\"\n\nKing Arthur galloped up and down before the front rank of his\nmen, looking at them carefully. He was on a beautiful white horse\nwhose mane rose and fell in the wind like a wave of the sea. His\nsoldiers cheered lustily for their beloved commander. Then King\nArthur raised his hand for silence, and spoke in a loud, clear\nvoice:\n\n\"My knights and men whom I love, remember that you are fighting\nto-day for your rights and for the independence of Britain.\nStrike well, and do not forget that great courage is as powerful\nas great numbers.\"\n\nWith that, he gave the signal for attack. The Romans stood in\nfull battle array with their emperor in front. Beside him were\nsixteen kings with gold helmets and silver armor. The English\napproached, shouting a battle-cry.\n\nThen the Romans, at the call of the trumpet, rushed forward, and\nin a moment the two great armies clashed together. Clouds of dust\narose through which could be seen at intervals the heads of\nhorses and the helmets of men. The few poor shepherds and women\nwho stood on the outside did not know that the greatest battle of\nthe time was going on under that cloud of dust.\n\n[Illustration: _\"King Arthur raising his hand for silence\"_]\n\nInside the cloud there was great confusion. Britains and Romans\nwere fighting side by side, so closely packed that sometimes it\nwas hard to strike. All fought bravely, but no one did so well as\nArthur and Sir Lancelot. The battle did not cease until it was\ndark. Each side had lost many men. King Arthur wept as he rode\nover the field and counted his dead knights, and even his\nbeautiful horse drooped its head as if it, also, understood.\n\nBut the next day the two armies began to fight again, and when\nthe emperor finally saw that his men were losing and that most of\nthe kings who were helping him were dead, he said:\n\n\"This Arthur is a demon and not a man. I will fight with him\nmyself and end this battle.\" And before any one could stop him,\nhe spurred up to King Arthur and said:\n\n\"You on the white horse who refuse to pay me tribute, come out\nthat I may kill you.\"\n\nThen Arthur rode quickly towards the emperor. The two men began\nto fight, and Arthur soon saw that he was contending with a\npowerful man. He gave the emperor many a stroke with Excalibur,\nbut he himself received deep blows. At last the emperor pierced\nArthur's helmet, and wounded him deeply in the cheek.\n\nKing Arthur raised his good Excalibur with a last effort and\nstruck his enemy with it so fiercely on the head that the blow\ncleft the helmet and pierced to the emperor's chin. He fell from\nhis horse without a moan. When the Romans near by saw that their\nruler was dead, they gave a great cry of grief and rushed upon\nArthur, but his good knights protected him.\n\nAt last, seeing themselves conquered, the Romans surrendered.\nArthur found among his prisoners three senators, and among the\ndead, sixty senators, the sixteen kings, and the emperor.\n\nHe was sorrowful, for he knew that they were great men. So he had\nthem embalmed and laid in chests of lead. Around each chest flags\nwere wound, and the shields of the dead warriors placed on top.\nThen he said to the three surviving senators:\n\n\"Take these noble dead bodies back to Rome. When the Romans see\nthem they will never again dare ask tax or tribute of me. I will\nnot go to Rome and take the city from you, but if ever you send\nto me for gold, I shall invade your land and never rest till all\nItaly is mine.\"\n\nThe senators bowed their heads. Then they laid the body of the\nemperor on a car, all alone, with the gold eagle above him. They\nlaid the bodies of the kings and the senators two by two on\nchariots, and so went slowly towards Rome. And never again did\nthe kings of Britain have to pay a tax to the Romans.\n\n[Illustration: The Holy Grail]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] THE KNIGHT WITH the BADLY MADE COAT\n\n\nOne day when Arthur and his knights were in the hall of the Round\nTable, a young man entered. He was so large that his shoulders\nwere as wide as the doorway, and he could hardly squeeze through.\nThe knights looked at him in amazement, for he was almost a\ngiant.\n\nWhen he came closer to them, they saw that he had on a coat which\nwas far too large for him. It hung in wrinkles and folds all over\nhis back, and the sleeves were so long that he had to turn them\nup almost to the elbow. The coat was of rich material, gold\ncloth, but it was old and blood-stained.\n\nThe young man strode up to the king and said:\n\n\"My lord, my name is Brune. I can tell you no more than that. I\nbeg you to make me a knight.\"\n\nAt this Sir Kay laughed and said:\n\n\"He must be called The Knight with the Badly Made Coat.\"\n\n\"Call me what you will,\" said the young man. \"Yes, I take that\nname, for I will not tell my real one.\"\n\nThen Arthur spoke to him gently:\n\n\"Young man, you ask a great thing. All those in my Court who are\nmade knights must serve for a long time as squires. If they prove\nthemselves loyal and brave, I make them knights. But I must\nalways know whence they come, and who their fathers are.\"\n\n\"My lord,\" said the young man, \"I do indeed ask a great thing. I\nwould gladly tell you more of myself, but I am under a vow to\nreveal no more than you already know. Yet I will tell you this,\nfurther. I am the son of a noble who was as big as a giant. My\ngood father was very peaceable and did not care to fight; so he\nnever came to your Court, and you did not hear of him. He lived\nat home with my mother and me, and the simple people who plowed\nthe land about our castle.\n\n\"Every one ought to have loved him; but he had one enemy. One\nday, six years ago, when I was only a boy, my father and I were\nin the forest. My father was sleeping at the foot of a tree, and\nI was bathing in a brook near by. This enemy, who wanted my\nfather's lands, came up and drove his sword into my father's\nheart. Then he rode away. I ran up to my dead father and took off\nthe coat which he wore and put it on. I swore never to take it\noff, and never to tell my father's name or where I came from,\ntill I had avenged his death.\n\n\"Then I rode home to our castle, but our enemy had taken\npossession of it, and had made my mother prisoner. As I was not\nyet grown up I vowed that I would stay with the good shepherds\nnear by till I was strong enough to pull up a young tree by the\nroots. Then I would go to King Arthur's Court and ask to be made\na knight. So every month I have tried to uproot a young tree.\nThis morning I succeeded, and here, my lords, I am.\"\n\nThe knights were much moved and prayed the king to make him a\nknight. They said that they would teach him to use arms. The king\nsaid that he would wait to see what sort of man Brune was.\n\nA few days after this all the knights rode off to a tournament\nand Brune was left at home with a few soldiers. He was in the\ncastle yard practicing some of the lessons in warfare which the\nknights had been teaching him. While he was hard at work, Queen\nGuinevere with twelve soldiers who were her bodyguard passed by.\n\nAs she was speaking kindly to Brune, they heard a terrible noise,\nand looking in the direction from which it came, saw a dreadful\nsight. A fierce lion which had been confined in a tower of stone\nhad broken out of its prison and was rushing towards them. The\ntwelve soldiers fled, leaving the queen and Brune alone.\n\n\"Ah,\" said Brune, \"not all the cowards in the world are dead.\"\n\n[Illustration: _\"The king touched him lightly with his sword\"_]\n\nHe stood still while the lion bounded towards him. He had dropped\nhis sword, and as the beast leaped upon him, he seized its head\nin his hands. Then he slowly, slowly, bent its head back. It was\na strong lion, and with the effort the muscles on Brune's neck\nstood out like great ropes. Presently, the queen and Brune heard\na loud crack and they knew that the lion's neck was broken. Brune\nloosed his hold, and the huge tawny body dropped to the ground,\nquivered a moment, and was still.\n\nWhile this was going on, the king and his knights returned. They\nsaw at a glance what Brune had done, and cheered him loudly. The\nking rode up to him.\n\n\"Kneel down,\" he said.\n\nBrune knelt down by the body of the lion, and the king touched\nhim lightly with his sword, saying:\n\n\"Sir Brune, I make you a knight of my Round Table. Be always\nloyal, brave, and merciful.\"\n\nThen all the knights were glad, but Sir Brune was gladdest of\nall.\n\n[Illustration: The Two Horses]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] SIR LANCELOT & SIR BRUNE\n\n\nAfter Sir Brune, the Knight with the Badly Made Coat, had been at\nArthur's Court for some months, he became eager to seek for the\nenemy of his father. Sir Lancelot, who took an interest in the\nbig young knight, advised him to wait and try his strength at\nsome smaller adventure first.\n\nOne day, when Sir Lancelot was away hunting, a damsel entered\nArthur's hall. She carried a black shield which had painted on it\na white hand holding a sword. She bowed to the king and said:\n\n\"My lord, I come for a knight to undertake the adventure of the\nblack shield.\"\n\n\"And what is that adventure, fair damsel?\" asked the king.\n\n\"That I may not tell you,\" answered the damsel, \"except that it\nwill cause much fighting and bloodshed to the knight who chooses\nit.\"\n\nSome of the knights were eager to go, and Sir Kay pressed forward\nto finger the shield.\n\n\"Do not touch it, good Sir Kay,\" said the maiden, \"for this\nadventure is not for you. I am to choose the knight.\"\n\nShe passed up and down the hall, looking into the face of each\none. When she had seen them all she came back to Sir Brune and\nsaid:\n\n\"Young Knight with the Ugly Coat, will you take this shield?\"\n\n\"Gladly, if my king allows,\" said the knight.\n\nThen Arthur gave his permission, and Sir Brune followed the\ndamsel out of the hall. Her horse was black, and wore white\ntrappings. Sir Brune's horse was as brown as an autumn leaf. The\ntwo mounted and rode away. Sir Brune began to talk to the damsel,\nwhose name was Elinor. At first she was agreeable, but after they\nhad ridden many miles she became scornful, and told him she was\nsorry she had chosen him.\n\nSir Brune felt sad, because he had begun to love the damsel. He\nwas afraid she did not like him because his coat was poor. He did\nnot speak to her any more, but rode on sorrowfully beside her.\nAfter a long time they came to a castle enclosed by high walls.\nThe gate stood open, and the damsel Elinor pointed to it and\nsaid, sighing:\n\n\"Since you have not left me as I hoped you would, go in there.\nYou will find your first adventure. I may not tell you what it\nis.\"\n\nSir Brune galloped inside the gate. There he saw a hundred\nknights on horseback, armed and waiting for him. He had to think\nand act quickly. So he decided to rush in between the knights and\nput his back against the castle wall. Then he could fight with\nhis back protected. He did this, though not without receiving\nsome spear-wounds. Then he began to fight.\n\nThe lady of the castle, whom the knights were keeping prisoner,\nwatched the fight out of the window, and grieved for the brave\nyoung man who had so many against him. She began to speak to him\nin a low voice:\n\n\"Young knight, if you can only get to the left side of the castle\nwall, there is a secret door through which you can escape. If you\nlook, you will see that one portion of the wall is made of black\nstones. Strike the stones with the hilt of your sword, and a door\nwill open through which you can ride out.\"\n\nThe other knights did not hear what the lady said, for they were\nfarther away from her than Sir Brune was. Even he could hardly\ncatch her words. He took a quick glance to the left and saw that\nthere was indeed a portion of the wall marked with black stones.\nThen he began to work his way carefully towards the secret gate.\n\nHe was obliged to move slowly for fear the knights would guess\nwhat he was doing. Moreover, it was becoming very hard to fight,\nbecause of his many wounds. However, he at last came near the\ndoor; then he backed his brown horse up against it, struck the\nblack stones with the handle of his sword, and the door opened.\nThe knights shouted with rage, but they were unable to reach him\nin time. Sir Brune escaped, leaving behind him twelve men dead.\n\nHe was very weak, and he made his way painfully to the side of\nthe wall where the maiden Elinor waited for him. She ran to meet\nhim, and led him gently to a brook in a forest near by. There she\ntook off his armor and bathed his wounds, anointing them with a\nprecious salve she carried.\n\nSir Brune thought that she was sorry because she had been\nscornful of him, and he began to talk to her. But she said:\n\n\"Do not talk to me. If you want to please me, go back to Arthur's\nCourt.\"\n\nSir Brune did not know why she spoke so, but he was too tired to\nthink. So he lay down on the grass by the brook and went to\nsleep.\n\nMeantime, at Arthur's Court Sir Lancelot had returned from his\nhunting expedition, and was told how Sir Brune had gone out with\na damsel on the adventure of the shield.\n\n\"Oh!\" cried Sir Lancelot, \"what have you done! He will surely be\nkilled. Merlin has told me what this adventure of the shield is.\nMany and many a knight has taken it up and each has been killed.\nA knight who vows to follow this adventure has to meet dangers of\nall sorts. This young untried Sir Brune will certainly be\nkilled.\"\n\nHe called for his horse and arms, and said to the king:\n\n\"My lord, I will ride after this poor young man and give him what\nhelp I can. Perhaps I shall be too late; but if not, I shall ask\nhim to give me this adventure of the shield.\"\n\nThen Sir Lancelot mounted his horse and rode after Sir Brune.\nWhen he came near the brook where Sir Brune and the damsel had\nrested, he heard the sound of a great combat. Spurring forward he\nsaw Sir Brune, fighting single-handed against six knights. Sir\nLancelot rushed to the rescue and quickly overthrew the enemy. He\nfound that they belonged to the company of the hundred knights\nwhom Sir Brune had attacked. He ordered them, first of all, to\nfree the lady of the castle, and then to go to Arthur's Court and\nsurrender themselves to the mercy of the king.\n\nPoor Sir Brune was almost dead, but Sir Lancelot revived him, and\nin a feeble voice he thanked Sir Lancelot for his help. But the\ndamsel begged:\n\n\"Take him back to the Court of your king. I do not want him to\nfollow this quest any longer.\"\n\n\"This is surely ungrateful of you,\" said Sir Lancelot. \"He has\nfought bravely and well.\"\n\n\"The maiden scorns me, though I love her,\" bitterly said Sir\nBrune.\n\nThen the damsel Elinor cried out:\n\n\"I will tell the truth. I love you and I am afraid you will be\nkilled. Therefore, I wish you to return to Camelot.\"\n\nSir Brune was very glad, and he said:\n\n\"I have pledged my word and must follow this quest. When I have\nsucceeded we shall go together back to Arthur's Court.\"\n\n\"Give this adventure to me,\" said Sir Lancelot, \"and go back now\nwith the damsel.\"\n\nBut Sir Brune refused. Then Sir Lancelot said that they must\nundertake the adventure together, and Sir Brune consenting, they\nrode slowly forward. Soon they came to an abbey, where they\nrested for some days until Sir Brune was well.\n\nThen they traveled as the damsel gave directions. She always knew\nwhat they had to do. At times they passed through woods full of\nwild beasts, some of which attacked them. Again they passed over\nenchanted meadows where wicked magicians tried to cast spells\nover them. They also fought with many knights. However, they\nescaped all dangers, although it is certain that Sir Brune would\nnever have succeeded without the help of Sir Lancelot.\n\nAt length the damsel Elinor told them that they were nearing the\nlast adventure. She pointed to a castle on a hill; a square\nstructure built of black stones, with a turret on top. The damsel\ntold them that at the gate of the castle were two huge dragons.\nThese they must slay.\n\n\"Whose is the castle?\" asked Sir Brune.\n\n\"It belongs now to the wicked Lord Brian of the Isles,\" answered\nthe damsel.\n\nAt this Sir Brune gave such a loud shout that the dragons on top\nof the hill heard him and roared in reply.\n\n\"Ah!\" cried he, \"that is the name of my enemy, who killed my dear\nfather. At last I shall slay him.\"\n\nHe rode off so quickly that Sir Lancelot had much trouble to keep\nup with him. It seemed scarcely five minutes before they came to\nthe dragons; terrible creatures, all of green, with eyes and\ntongues of flame. And their wings were as large as the sails of a\nship.\n\nSir Brune had never before seen a dragon, but he was not afraid.\nHe fought very bravely, and even when the teeth of the dragons\ncrunched on his helmet, he did not lose courage. After a fierce\nfight of half an hour, the two knights had killed the dragons.\n\nThey hoped to rest, but at that moment the castle gate opened\nand a porter appeared.\n\n\"Enter and fight,\" he said.\n\nBoth spurred forward, but the porter said:\n\n\"One only may enter.\"\n\n\"Let me go,\" said Sir Brune to Sir Lancelot. \"Remember I am to\navenge my father's death. It may be that Lord Brian of the Isles\nis waiting just inside the gate.\"\n\nSir Lancelot consented, and the porter led in Sir Brune and\nlocked the gate. Inside were two great knights, the brothers of\nLord Brian of the Isles. They were almost as large as Sir Brune.\nTogether they set upon him. He was already tired from his fight\nwith the dragons, but his desire to avenge his father strengthened\nhis arm. One brother was soon overthrown. When the other saw\nthat, he yielded. Then Sir Brune sent them both to Sir Lancelot\noutside the gate.\n\nWhile Sir Brune was looking about him, a third knight appeared at\nthe end of the courtyard. He was quite as large as Sir Brune, and\nas he came spurring up, the noise of his horse's hoofs was\ndeafening. Sir Brune recognized him as Sir Plenorius, the cousin\nof Lord Brian.\n\n\"Ah!\" cried he, \"where is that wretch, Lord Brian? Am I to fight\nwith all his family before I meet with him?\"\n\nSir Plenorius wasted no words. He rushed upon Sir Brune and\nstruck him with his long spear. The blow broke Sir Brune's\nhelmet, and he had much trouble to guard his head with his\nshield. He fought courageously, but he became weaker and weaker.\nThen Sir Plenorius stopped fighting.\n\n\"I know you will never yield,\" he said. \"You are the bravest\nknight I have yet seen. In truth, I loved your good father, and\ngrieved because my cousin slew him. I have no love for my cousin,\nLord Brian of the Isles, but I am vowed to fight for him as long\nas he lives, or until I am overcome.\"\n\nSir Brune was about to answer, but he fell back in a swoon. Sir\nPlenorius lifted him gently in his arms and bore him into the\ncastle. He carried him up the winding stairs to the turret room,\nand gently laid him on a bed. Then he went back to the courtyard.\n\nMeantime, Sir Lancelot, hearing the porter shout that Sir Brune\nwas killed, beat on the gate, but nobody would let him in. Then\nwith great difficulty he climbed the castle wall and leaped down.\nSir Plenorius was just about to care for the horse of Sir Brune.\n\n\"Give me back my friend!\" cried Sir Lancelot, fiercely. \"Where is\nmy friend?\"\n\nThen he began to fight with Sir Plenorius. Sir Plenorius was so\nmuch larger than Sir Lancelot that he thought he could easily\novercome him. As the fight went on, however, he found himself all\nbut defeated.\n\n\"Yield now to me,\" said Sir Lancelot. \"I am Sir Lancelot of the\nLake.\"\n\nThen Sir Plenorius said:\n\n\"Ah, my good lord, I know of your fame. If we go on fighting, you\nwill certainly kill me. Yet I do not want to yield, so I ask you\nto treat me as I have treated Sir Brune.\"\n\nWhen Sir Lancelot heard how Sir Plenorius had spared Sir Brune,\nhe said:\n\n\"You are a gentle knight. I am sorry you are vowed to the service\nof Lord Brian of the Isles. He shall surely die.\"\n\nSir Plenorius answered:\n\n\"When he is dead, I will come to Arthur's Court as one of his\nfollowers.\"\n\nAll this time Sir Brune was lying in a swoon on the bed in the\nturret room. But at last he came to himself and looked about him.\nHe saw near him his sword and shield; so he lifted them up beside\nhim. As he lay still, trying to recover his strength, he heard\nstealthy footsteps coming up the turret stairs. They came nearer\nand nearer. Suddenly, in rushed Lord Brian of the Isles. He knew\nthat Sir Brune was there, alone and wounded, and he intended to\nkill him as he lay defenseless. Sir Brune understood this and he\ncried:\n\n\"Ah, wretch, you were ever a coward. You come to kill me as I lie\nwounded here, just as you killed my poor father while he slept.\nBut the sight of you makes me forget my wounds.\"\n\nAt these words, and at the fierce rage which shone in Sir\nBrune's eyes, Lord Brian, who was indeed a coward, tried to\nretreat. But Sir Brune sprang to the doorway.\n\n\"You shall never go down by these stairs, villain,\" he said, \"for\nI will kill you!\"\n\nLord Brian rushed to the window and sprang out upon the\nbattlements. Sir Brune followed him, though with difficulty. The\ntwo began to fight, and Sir Brune soon saw that his enemy was\ntrying to push him close to the edge of the battlements, that he\nmight fall down into the courtyard below.\n\nSir Brune, at this, put himself behind Lord Brian, determined to\ncast him off instead. Slowly he pushed him, until Lord Brian was\nbut a step from the edge. Then Sir Brune lifted his shield and\nstruck his enemy with it. The wicked lord lost his footing, and\nwas dashed to pieces at the feet of Sir Lancelot and Sir\nPlenorius in the courtyard below.\n\nThey ordered his soldiers to bury him, and while Sir Lancelot\nwent to care for Sir Brune, Sir Plenorius went down the hill to\nfind the damsel Elinor. She came back with tears of joy to Sir\nBrune.\n\n[Illustration: _\"He pushed him until he was but a step from the\nedge\"_]\n\nWhen Sir Brune was well enough to travel, he visited all the\ncastles of Lord Brian, in search of his lost mother. He was very\nmuch afraid that she was dead, but at last he found her alive, in\nthe very castle which had belonged to his father. There was great\njoy at their meeting. He took her to Arthur's Court, whither Sir\nLancelot had already conducted the damsel Elinor. A few days\nafterward Sir Brune and the damsel were married amid great\nfestivities.\n\n[Illustration: The Shield and the Sword]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] THE ADVENTURE OF KING PELLENORE\n\n\nIn Arthur's Court, every knight or lady who was found unworthy\nwas banished; yet it often took some time to discover one's real\ncharacter.\n\nOne of the ladies of Arthur's Court was named Vivien. She was\nvery pretty, and as graceful as a willow wand, and so bright and\nattractive in her ways that no one suspected her of being very\nwicked.\n\nAmong Arthur's bravest warriors was King Pellenore. He had once\nhad a great fight with Arthur, but after that they had become\nfriends, and King Pellenore had been made a Knight of the Round\nTable. He was not often at court, for he spent much of his time\nseeking for adventures. Now and then he would return and put\naway his armor. Then he rode with the ladies or talked to the\nother knights.\n\nThe lady Vivien admired King Pellenore for his valor and his\nmighty deeds, and whenever she could she talked with him about\nhis adventures. One afternoon she begged him to go for a long\nride with her through the forest. So their horses were brought\nand they set forth. Just as they were passing a thick part of the\nwood, a beautiful golden-haired lady stepped out.\n\n\"Good sir knight,\" she cried to King Pellenore, \"I ask your help.\nI am here in the wood with the dear lord who is to be my husband.\nHe is sore wounded, for an enemy crept up behind him as we were\nriding to Arthur's Court, and thrust a sword in his back.\"\n\nThen King Pellenore turned his horse's head toward the maiden.\n\n\"Gladly will I help,\" he said; \"lead me, maiden.\"\n\nBut Vivien called him back.\n\n\"Do not go with her,\" she said. \"She may be a witch. Ride on with\nme.\"\n\n\"She is no witch, but a good maiden,\" said King Pellenore.\n\nThen the golden-haired lady spoke again. \"Oh, sir knight, help\nme! I must go to Arthur's Court to see my father. My dear lover\nis going to ask permission to marry me. Help us or he will die.\"\n\n\"Assuredly I will help you, damsel,\" said King Pellenore.\n\nVivien held his arm, but he put her gently aside. When the wicked\nwoman saw that he was going to leave her, she made her horse\nplunge and throw her to the ground. There she lay as if in a\nfaint.\n\nKing Pellenore did not know what to do. He felt as if he must\nhelp the beautiful lady, and yet he could not leave Vivien. So he\nsaid:\n\n\"Fair damsel, you shall have my help. I have never wanted to aid\nanyone so much as I do you. I must save your lover and bring you\nboth to Arthur's Court. But let me first ride back with this lady\nwho has swooned. Then I will return here to you.\"\n\n\"Alas, alas, I fear it will be too late,\" cried the damsel,\nturning back into the forest.\n\nThen King Pellenore lifted Vivien on her horse, and tied her to\nits back by her long green scarf. At this she opened her eyes and\ngroaned, and said that she was very sick. She made him ride very\nslowly to the court.\n\nKing Pellenore did not talk to her. He was thinking all the time\nof the golden-haired maiden. As soon as he reached the city gate\nhe gave Vivien over into the care of a knight who was passing,\nand galloped back to the woods.\n\nWhen he reached the spot where the beautiful damsel had spoken to\nhim, he turned into the thick part of the wood and followed a\nnarrow path. It was so narrow that the branches of the trees on\nboth sides struck his shoulders, but still he hurried on. The\npath ended in a glade, and there he saw the lady and her lover\nlying on the grass.\n\n\"Alas, alas!\" the lady said, \"my dear lord is dead and I am\ndying.\"\n\nThen King Pellenore saw that the fair young knight who lay on the\nground was very pale and quiet, and that all the grass about was\nblood-stained.\n\n\"Ah, good knight,\" said the lady, \"after you left me, a lion ran\nout of the wood and slew my lover with one stroke of his paw. He\nhas wounded me so sorely that I too shall die.\"\n\nThen King Pellenore wept.\n\n\"I wish that I had made Vivien wait here,\" he said, \"and had\nhelped you. I fear I have done wrong.\"\n\nHe sat down and took her golden head on his knee, and spoke to\nher gently till she died. Then he put her body and her lover's\nbody on his horse, and walked beside them sorrowfully until he\nreached Arthur's Court.\n\nNear the great hall he met Arthur and Merlin and several knights.\n\n\"I am a miserable man,\" he said.\n\nThen the wise Merlin said: \"You are more miserable than you know.\nThis beautiful lady was your own daughter who was stolen from you\nas a child. Only lately she learned who her father was. She was\ncoming here to seek you.\"\n\nThen King Pellenore wept loudly.\n\n\"This is my punishment,\" he cried, \"for not aiding the maiden.\nThe one who needs help most should be given it first, and she\nneeded it more than Vivien. I am indeed punished.\"\n\n\"And you shall be punished yet more,\" said Merlin; \"and in good\ntime, Vivien also for the part she took. Some day the friend whom\nyou most trust shall deceive you, and you shall be betrayed to\ndeath.\"\n\nKing Pellenore bowed his head meekly.\n\n\"I have deserved it,\" he said. \"And now I must bury my dear child\nand her lover.\"\n\nThe beautiful golden-haired lady and her lover were buried with\ngreat mourning, and it was many a day before King Pellenore cared\nto seek for adventures.\n\n[Illustration: The Shield]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] SIR LANCELOT & HIS FRIENDS\n\n\nSir Lancelot was acknowledged by all the knights of the Round\nTable to be the bravest of their number, and the one whom the\nking loved most. He was not often at court, because he was nearly\nalways engaged in adventures which took him away from the town of\nCamelot. The knights were always sorry when he went away, yet\nthey were sure he would return safely and with much to tell them.\n\nOne day Sir Lancelot called his nephew Sir Lionel, and told him\nto mount his horse, for they must go to seek adventures. Sir\nLionel was very glad, for it was a great honor to be chosen as a\ncompanion by Sir Lancelot. They rode off through a deep forest,\nand then across a wide, treeless plain. The sun was shining hot\nand bright, and when they reached a clump of trees, Sir Lancelot\nbade Sir Lionel dismount. Then the two sat in the shade to rest.\n\nIt was not long before Sir Lancelot fell asleep. While Sir Lionel\nkept guard, he saw three knights furiously pursued by another\nknight, who was very large. This knight overtook the three\nknights, one after another, and overthrew them, and bound them by\nthe reins of their bridles. Sir Lionel, who was young and\nself-confident, thought that he would like to fight with this\nknight. So he mounted his horse very quietly without waking his\nuncle, and rode into the plain.\n\nWhen the big knight saw him coming, he laughed and rode up\nquickly. At the very first stroke, young Sir Lionel fell to the\nearth. The strong knight bound him fast to the other three\nknights and drove them all to his castle. There he took off their\narmor and clothes, and beat them with thorny sticks. After that\nhe threw them into a deep dungeon where there were many other\nknights.\n\nMeanwhile Sir Hector, the foster father of King Arthur, hearing\nthat Sir Lancelot and Sir Lionel had gone in search of adventures,\ndetermined to join them; so he rode hastily in pursuit. When he\nhad gone some distance through the forest, he met a wood-cutter,\nand asked him if he had seen Sir Lancelot and Sir Lionel. The man\nreplied that he had not.\n\n\"Then do you know of any adventure which I can seek?\" asked Sir\nHector.\n\nThe man answered:\n\n\"Sir, a mile from here is a strong castle. On one side of it is a\nlarge stream, and by that stream a large tree. At the foot of the\ntree is a basin of copper. Go and strike on that three times with\nyour spear and you will meet with an adventure.\"\n\n\"Thank you heartily,\" said Sir Hector.\n\nHe rode on and soon came to the tree. Hanging on it were a great\nmany shields, and among them Sir Lionel's. There were also\nshields which belonged to other knights of the Round Table. Sir\nHector knew that the knights must be prisoners, and he grew very\nangry.\n\nHe struck sharply on the copper basin, and at once a huge knight\nappeared.\n\n\"Come forward and fight!\" cried the knight.\n\n\"That I will,\" said Sir Hector.\n\n\"But I shall win,\" said the knight, \"for I am the great Sir\nTurquaine.\"\n\nSir Hector had heard of this powerful knight whom so many of\nArthur's lords had tried in vain to overthrow. But he was a brave\nold man, and so he began to fight fearlessly. He wounded the big\nknight once, but the knight wounded him many times, and at last\novercame him. He picked Sir Hector up and carried him under his\nright arm into the castle.\n\n\"You are very brave,\" he said, when they had reached the great\nhall. \"You are the first knight who has wounded me these twelve\nyears. Now I shall give you your freedom if you will swear to be\na follower of mine.\"\n\n\"I shall never swear that,\" said Sir Hector; \"I am a follower of\nKing Arthur.\"\n\n\"I am sorry for that,\" said Sir Turquaine, \"for now I must treat\nyou as I do all my other prisoners.\"\n\nThen he took off Sir Hector's armor and clothes, and beat him\nwith the thorny stick, and threw him into the dungeon. There the\nold man found Sir Lionel and many other knights.\n\n\"Is Sir Lancelot here?\" asked Sir Hector, feebly.\n\n\"No,\" said Sir Lionel, and told how he had left Sir Lancelot\nsleeping.\n\nThen Sir Hector became cheerful.\n\n\"Sir Lancelot will surely find us,\" he said, \"and give us our\nfreedom.\"\n\nBut Sir Lancelot still slept on under the tree. Soon four\nbeautiful ladies rode by, and, seeing a sleeping knight,\ndismounted to look at him. They at once recognized him as Sir\nLancelot, the bravest knight in the land. One of these ladies was\nMorgan le Fay, whom Arthur had forgiven for her treachery to him.\nShe said to her companions:\n\n\"I will cast a spell over him, and we will carry him to my\ncastle. Then, when he wakes, we will make him choose one of us as\nhis wife.\"\n\nThe other three agreed, and Morgan le Fay cast her spell. Then\nthe four women lifted the knight upon his horse and went with him\nto the castle of Morgan le Fay. They put the knight in a richly\ndecorated chamber and left him.\n\nIn the morning he awoke and wondered where he was. Soon a fair\ndamsel entered with food, and he asked her to explain how he came\nto be in that place.\n\n\"Sir, I cannot,\" she said. \"But I can tell you this much: you are\nunder a spell. In twelve hours the spell will break, and perhaps\nI can help you then.\"\n\nAfter the damsel had gone out, the four ladies entered. They were\nclad in most beautiful robes. One had on silk that looked like\nthe foam of the sea. Another had on velvet that seemed like moss\nfrom the forest. The third wore satin that was the color of maple\nleaves in autumn. Morgan le Fay wore a robe that looked like a\nstorm-cloud, and her diamonds were like stars.\n\n\"Choose one of us for your wife,\" she said, \"and you shall be\nvery happy.\"\n\nBut Sir Lancelot said:\n\n\"Fair ladies, I have no wish to marry. I would rather fight for\nmy good King Arthur who needs me.\"\n\nAt this the ladies were angry.\n\n\"You shall stay here till you choose,\" they said. \"And if you\nwill not choose, then you shall die in prison.\"\n\nThey went out, and Sir Lancelot remained alone all day. At dusk\nthe fair damsel came to him.\n\n\"My lord,\" she said, \"the spell is broken now, and I can help\nyou. These ladies are not kind to me, and I am going to run away.\nI will take you with me on one condition.\"\n\n\"Name it, damsel,\" he said.\n\n\"I am a king's daughter,\" she said. \"My father is King\nBagdemagus.\"\n\n\"He is a good man,\" Sir Lancelot said. \"I know him well.\"\n\n\"My father has been fighting in a tournament,\" said the maiden,\n\"and has been overcome, with all his knights. He feels very sad.\nNow, in two days there will be another tournament at which he\nmust fight. If you help him, he will surely win and be happy\nagain.\"\n\n\"I will gladly help him,\" said Sir Lancelot.\n\nThen the damsel bade him walk softly with her. She opened twelve\ngreat doors one after another. Each had a lock with a key so\nheavy that the maiden had to use both hands to turn it. At last\nthey reached the courtyard, and there she gave Sir Lancelot his\nhorse and armor. She also mounted a horse, and the two rode away.\n\nAfter riding all night, they came to the court of King\nBagdemagus. He was overjoyed to welcome Sir Lancelot, for well he\nknew that none could overcome that good knight in combat. All day\nthere was music and dancing and feasting. Sir Lancelot, however,\ncould not be merry. He kept thinking of his nephew, Sir Lionel,\nand wondering where he was.\n\nOn the morning of the tournament Sir Lancelot asked King\nBagdemagus to furnish him with a white shield, because he did not\nwant to be known. The king did so, and also gave each of the\nthree knights who rode with him a shield of the same color. Sir\nLancelot went with the knights into a little leafy wood near the\nfield where the tournament was to be held.\n\nMeanwhile King Bagdemagus rode to the tournament with sixty men,\nand met there the king of Northgalis with eighty men. They began\nto fight, and soon those on the side of King Bagdemagus began to\nbe worsted. Then Sir Lancelot, with the three knights, dashed out\nof the little wood and into the thick of the fight.\n\nNo one could stand against Sir Lancelot. One of King Arthur's\nknights, Sir Modred, the brother of Sir Gawain and Sir Gareth,\nwas fighting against King Bagdemagus. Not knowing who Sir\nLancelot was, he rushed upon him. Sir Lancelot unhorsed him, but\nwould not hurt him, because he was a Knight of the Round Table.\nYears afterward he was sorry he had not killed him, for Sir\nModred proved to be a traitor to King Arthur.\n\nSir Lancelot fought so well that, for his sake, all the prizes of\nthe tournament were given to King Bagdemagus, who was greatly\nrejoiced, and offered large gifts to Sir Lancelot, and begged\nhim to be his guest for a time. But Sir Lancelot was so anxious\nto find out what had become of Sir Lionel that he could not\nremain. So the next day he set forth.\n\nHe rode back towards the clump of trees where he had fallen\nasleep while Sir Lionel kept watch. On the highway he met a\ndamsel riding on a white palfrey.\n\n\"Fair damsel,\" said Sir Lancelot, \"can you tell me of any\nadventures hereabouts? I am Sir Lancelot of the Lake.\"\n\n\"Oh, Sir Lancelot,\" said she, \"it is indeed fortunate that you\nhave come, for there is here a knight named Sir Turquaine who has\nput in prison many of the knights of the Round Table. You shall\nfight with him for the freedom of your friends.\"\n\nThen she turned her horse, and Sir Lancelot gladly followed her.\nShe brought him to the tree on which hung the shields of his\nbrother knights. Sir Lancelot let his horse drink a little water,\nand then he struck on the iron basin at the foot of the tree so\nfiercely that the bottom fell out.\n\n[Illustration: _\"He struck so fiercely the bottom fell out\"_]\n\nNo one appeared, however. Then he rode up to the castle of Sir\nTurquaine. Near the gate he met the big knight. He was on foot,\ndriving his horse before him. On the horse lay a knight, securely\nbound. Sir Lancelot recognized him as Sir Gaheris, the brother of\nSir Gawain and Sir Gareth.\n\n\"Put down the knight,\" said Sir Lancelot. \"Mount and fight.\"\n\n\"Gladly,\" said Sir Turquaine. \"Before long you will be sorry for\nyour challenge.\"\n\nThen the two rode at each other. Their horses' feet beat the dust\ninto clouds, and they used their swords so fiercely that their\narmor rang continually like the clanging of heavy bells. They\nfought until they were breathless, each bleeding from many\nwounds. Then Sir Turquaine, leaning on his sword, said:\n\n\"By my faith, never have I fought with such a strong man before.\nI admire you, and I would be your friend. You fight as they say\nthat knight does whom I hate most in all this world. If you are\nnot that knight, I give you my friendship, and shall free all my\nprisoners for your sake.\"\n\n\"That is well said,\" replied Sir Lancelot. \"Tell me who this\nknight is whom you hate so much.\"\n\n\"He is Sir Lancelot of the Lake. For hatred of him, I kill or\nimprison all the knights of the Round Table whom I can find.\"\n\n\"Then let us begin to fight again,\" said Sir Lancelot, \"for I am\nSir Lancelot of the Lake.\"\n\nThen they struck at each other furiously, and soon gave each\nother so many wounds that the ground was covered with blood. Sir\nTurquaine was a brave man, but he was not so strong as Sir\nLancelot. After a long conflict he fell, mortally wounded, to the\nground. Then Sir Lancelot unlaced his helmet and eased him as\nwell as he could till he died. Afterwards he left Sir Turquaine,\nand went to the porter who held the keys of the castle.\n\nSir Lancelot took the keys and unlocked the doors of the prison.\nHe led the poor knights out into the daylight and struck off\ntheir chains. Sir Lionel and Sir Hector were overjoyed to see\nthat their deliverer was indeed Sir Lancelot. Each knight found\nhis own armor in the armory, and his own horse in the stables.\nAfter that a servant came with four horses laden down with\nvenison, and the poor knights, who for a long time had had\nnothing but bread and water, enjoyed a good meal. Then Sir\nLancelot rode away in search of new adventures.\n\n[Illustration: The Holy Grail]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] HOW SIR LANCELOT SAVED THE QUEEN\n\n\nOne day in May Queen Guinevere invited ten ladies and ten knights\nto ride a-Maying with her the next morning in the woods. So at\nthe appointed time they assembled, all dressed in green silk and\ngreen velvet, the color of young grass. The knights wore white\nplumes in their helmets, and the ladies wore white May-blossoms\nin their hair. They rode off very happily, telling the king that\nthey would return before noon.\n\nNow the good King Bagdemagus, for whom Sir Lancelot had fought,\nhad a bad son named Sir Malgrace. For a long time he had wanted\nto capture the queen and carry her off to his castle. He had been\nafraid to try, however, because of her large bodyguard. All the\nyoung knights of the Round Table liked to ride with her and\nprotect her. They took good care of all the ladies of the Court,\nbut they loved the queen most.\n\nWhen Sir Malgrace heard that the queen was out a-Maying with only\na few knights, and these not fully armed, he determined to take\nher prisoner. So he called together eighty men-at-arms and a\nhundred archers, and set out. Soon he came upon her and her\nattendants. They were sitting on a little hill, with wreaths of\nflowers and leaves on their arms and necks. Before they could\nrise to their feet, Sir Malgrace and his men dashed upon them.\n\n\"Traitor!\" cried the queen. \"What would you do?\"\n\n\"I will carry you to my castle, fair queen,\" he said. \"And never\nagain shall you go free.\"\n\n\"I will not go with you,\" said the queen.\n\nThen the ten knights drew their swords and set on the hundred and\neighty men of Sir Malgrace. They fought so well that they\noverthrew forty. Still, they could do little against such\nnumbers, and soon all were wounded. When the queen saw this, she\ncried out:\n\n\"Sir Malgrace, do not slay my noble knights, and I will go with\nyou. I would rather die than cause them further harm.\"\n\nThe knights said that they would rather perish than be prisoners\nto Sir Malgrace. However, upon an order from their lord, the\narchers tied up the wounds of the queen's followers, and put them\non horseback. Then the whole company rode slowly towards the\ncastle of Sir Malgrace.\n\nSir Malgrace kept close to the queen for fear she would escape.\nOnce when they were in a thick part of the wood he rode ahead to\nbreak the branches so that they should not strike her face. Then\nthe queen whispered to a little maiden who rode near her:\n\n\"If you can do so, slip away from the company. You are so small\nthat perhaps they will not notice you. Take this ring and give it\nto our greatest knight, Sir Lancelot, and pray him to come and\nrescue me.\"\n\nThe little maid waited until she thought the time for escape had\ncome, and rode off as quietly as she could. Sir Malgrace saw her\ngo, and suspected that the queen had sent her. He ordered his\narchers to shoot at the child, but she escaped unhurt.\n\n\"Madam,\" said Sir Malgrace to the queen, \"I know well that you\nhave sent for Sir Lancelot, but you may be sure that hither he\nshall never come.\"\n\nThen Sir Malgrace ordered his archers to stand guard on the road\nand shoot down any knight they saw.\n\n\"But if he should be Sir Lancelot,\" he said, \"be sure that you do\nnot venture very close to him, for he is hard to overcome.\"\n\nMeantime the little maid reached Arthur's Court in safety. She\nfound the king and his knights very anxious because the queen had\nnot returned. She told her story, and gave the queen's ring to\nSir Lancelot.\n\n\"Bring me my armor!\" shouted Sir Lancelot. \"I will rescue my good\nand dear queen before the night falls. I would rather see her\nsafe here again than own all France.\"\n\nHe put on his armor and mounted his white horse and rode off\nwithout delay. The little maid led him to the place where the ten\nknights had fought with the hundred and eighty. From this point\nhe traced them by the blood on the grass and on the road. At last\nhe reached the archers.\n\n\"Turn back,\" they said. \"No one may pass here.\"\n\n\"That I will not,\" said Sir Lancelot. \"I am a Knight of the Round\nTable, and therefore have the right of way throughout the land.\"\n\nAt that they shot their arrows at him. He was wounded with many\nof them, and his white horse was killed. Sir Lancelot tried to\nreach the men, but there were so many hedges and ditches in the\nway that he could not. They hastened back to tell Sir Malgrace\nthat a knight whom they had not succeeded in killing was coming\nto the castle.\n\nSir Lancelot tried to walk, but his armor was too heavy for him\nto carry in his wounded state. He dared not leave any of it\nbehind, for he would need it all in fighting. Just as he was\nwondering what he could do, a carter passed him, driving a rough\nwagon.\n\n\"Carter,\" said Sir Lancelot, \"let me ride in your wagon to the\ncastle of Sir Malgrace.\"\n\nThe carter was amazed, for in that day a knight never entered\ninto a cart unless he was a condemned man going to be hanged. Sir\nLancelot, however, did not stop to explain. He jumped into the\ncart and told the driver to go quickly.\n\nSome of the ladies of Queen Guinevere were looking out of their\nwindow, and one said to her:\n\n\"See, my queen, there is a poor knight going to be hanged.\"\n\nThe queen looked out of the window and recognized Sir Lancelot by\nthe three lions blazoned upon his shield. She was overjoyed, and\nwaved him a glad greeting as he came up to the castle gate.\n\nSir Lancelot beat on the gate with his shield, and cried:\n\n\"Come out, false traitor, Sir Malgrace; come out and fight. If\nyou do not, you will be branded as a coward forever.\"\n\nAt first Sir Malgrace thought that he would keep his gates shut\nfast and not answer the challenge. But in those days it was a\nsign of great cowardice not to accept a challenge. Moreover,\nsince Sir Lancelot had been able to reach the castle in spite of\nthe archers, he was afraid other knights of the Round Table might\ndo the same. Then they would besiege him and force him to\nsurrender. Still he was afraid to fight. So he went to Queen\nGuinevere and said:\n\n\"Fair queen, remember how I saved your ten knights when I could\nhave killed them. Now I am sorry I took you prisoner. I beg that\nyou will go to Sir Lancelot and urge him not to fight. Then I\nwill entertain him in this castle with the best I have, and\nto-morrow you shall all go back to the court.\"\n\nThen the queen said:\n\n\"Peace is always better than war. I will do the best I can.\"\n\nSo she went down to Sir Lancelot, who still beat upon the gate,\nand besought him to come in peaceably, for Sir Malgrace was\nsorry for what he had done. Sir Lancelot was unwilling, for he\nknew that Sir Malgrace was a traitor, deserving punishment.\nStill, he could not refuse the queen anything she asked him, and,\ntherefore, he entered the castle.\n\nSir Malgrace greeted him with politeness, and served to him and\nto the others of Arthur's Court, a great banquet. After that, to\nthe surprise of everyone, he rose and accused the queen of\ntreason. All the company was astonished. Sir Lancelot was very\nangry.\n\n\"If you say the queen is a traitress,\" he cried, \"you shall fight\nwith me, although you were afraid just now.\"\n\n\"I am not afraid to fight,\" said Sir Malgrace.\n\n\"When and where will you meet me in combat?\" asked Sir Lancelot.\n\n\"In eight days,\" replied Sir Malgrace, \"in the field near\nWestminster.\"\n\nSir Lancelot agreed to this. Then Queen Guinevere rose with all\nher attendants and went into the courtyard. Their horses were\nbrought them and they mounted. Sir Lancelot was the last to pass\nout of the banquet hall. As he was going through the door he\nstepped upon a trap which Sir Malgrace had prepared for him. The\ntrapdoor fell and dropped him into a dark dungeon.\n\nWhen the queen and her knights and ladies had ridden out of the\ncourtyard, they noticed that Sir Lancelot was not with them. They\nsupposed, however, that he had ridden off by himself, as was\noften his custom, so they went without him to Camelot, and told\nthe king what had happened. He was very angry at Sir Malgrace's\naccusation, but he was sure that Sir Lancelot would punish Sir\nMalgrace, and so vindicate Queen Guinevere.\n\nMeantime, the unhappy Sir Lancelot lay bruised in the dungeon,\nfeeling very sure that Sir Malgrace meant to starve him to death.\nHe lay hungry and thirsty for nearly two days. Then Sir Malgrace\npeeped in to see if he were dead.\n\n\"Ah, traitor!\" cried Sir Lancelot, \"I shall overcome you yet.\"\n\nAt that Sir Malgrace shut the trapdoor hastily, as if he were\nafraid that Sir Lancelot could leap up ten feet in the air. That\none look, however, cost the wicked knight dear, for the daughter\nof the porter saw him shutting the trapdoor, and was curious to\nknow who was in the dungeon. So at night she opened the trapdoor\nand let herself down by a rope.\n\nWhen she saw Sir Lancelot she was very sorry for him. He offered\nher much money if she would free him. At last she said:\n\n\"I will do it for love of Queen Guinevere and not for money.\"\n\nShe let him climb up by the rope, and took him out of the\ncourtyard. He was so sick that he went to a hermit's hut and\nrested for several days. When next Sir Malgrace looked into the\ndungeon he heard no movement. Then he rejoiced greatly, for he\nthought Sir Lancelot was dead.\n\nWhen the eighth day had come, all the knights of the Round Table\nassembled in the tournament field and waited for Sir Lancelot to\nappear. They all thought he would surely come. But Sir Malgrace\nrode jauntily about the field. Many of the knights wondered at\nhis courage, not knowing the reason for his confidence.\n\nThe herald blew his trumpet once, but Sir Lancelot did not\nappear; twice, and still he did not come. Then up started several\nknights and begged the king to let them fight instead of Sir\nLancelot.\n\n\"He has been trapped,\" they said, \"or he would be here.\"\n\nWhile the king was hesitating whom to choose, in rode Sir\nLancelot. He dashed up to Sir Malgrace.\n\n\"Here I am, traitor,\" he said. \"Now do your worst.\"\n\nThen they fought, but at the first stroke Sir Malgrace fell to\nthe earth.\n\n\"Mercy!\" he cried, \"I yield to you, Sir Knight. Do not slay me. I\nput myself in the king's hands and yours.\"\n\nSir Lancelot was much vexed. He wanted to kill Sir Malgrace for\nhis treachery, and yet, since the man had asked for mercy, he\ncould not. So he said:\n\n\"What, coward, would you stop already? Shame upon you! Get up and\nfight.\"\n\n\"I shall not rise unless you take me as one who has yielded,\"\nanswered the knight.\n\nThen Sir Lancelot said:\n\n\"Traitor, I make you this offer: I will take off my helmet, unarm\nmy left side, and tie my left hand behind my back. In that way I\nwill fight with you.\"\n\nUpon hearing this, Sir Malgrace rose to his feet, sure now of\nkilling Sir Lancelot.\n\n\"My lord King,\" cried Sir Malgrace, \"you have heard this offer. I\naccept.\"\n\nThe king was very sorry that Sir Lancelot had made the offer.\nHowever, it was impossible to withdraw it. A squire came and\ndisarmed Sir Lancelot, so that his head and left side were\nwithout cover; and since he had only one arm to fight with, he\ncould not use his shield.\n\nThen Sir Malgrace dashed at him, aiming for his left side. Sir\nLancelot waited till he was very near, and then lightly stepped\naside. Before Sir Malgrace could turn, Sir Lancelot lifted his\nspear and struck his enemy such a blow that he broke his\nbreastplate and pierced his heart.\n\nThe body of Sir Malgrace was carried off the field and taken to\nthe castle of his good father; Queen Guinevere was proclaimed\ninnocent of treason; and Sir Lancelot was honored more than ever\nby his king and his queen.\n\n[Illustration: The Two Horses]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] SIR LANCELOT AND ELAINE\n\n\nEvery year King Arthur's knights held a grand tournament among\nthemselves, and contended in friendly combat for a prize. This\nprize was a diamond.\n\nOnce, in the early days of his kingship, Arthur was walking on a\ncraggy hill, when he came upon the skeleton of a man who had once\nbeen a ruler. The skull still wore a gold crown set with nine\nlarge diamonds. King Arthur took the crown and had the diamonds\nunset. Each year at the friendly tournament he gave one of these\ndiamonds as a prize.\n\nThere had been eight tournaments, and at each Sir Lancelot had\nwon the diamond. The jewel that was to be given as a prize at the\nninth tournament was the largest and most beautiful of all.\nEveryone, of course, expected that Sir Lancelot would win it, but\nonly a few days before the contest he announced to the king that\nhe would not compete.\n\nThen the queen was vexed, for she loved Sir Lancelot more than\nall the other knights, and it gave her great joy to see him\nalways successful in the tournaments. Therefore she urged him to\nchange his decision.\n\n\"My queen,\" he said, \"I told the king I would not fight.\"\n\nThe queen replied:\n\n\"My advice is that you go in disguise. The knights who contest\nwith you do so but half-heartedly, for they know your great fame\nand feel sure of failure. If they did not know who you were, they\nwould fight better and win more glory for themselves. Then fight\nas a stranger knight, and afterwards explain to the king.\"\n\nSir Lancelot took her advice. He rode away over the woods and\nhills till he came to the castle of Astolat, where he decided to\nstop and ask for a disguise. He knocked on the gate, which was\nopened by an old dumb servant, and entered the courtyard. The\nlord of Astolat came to meet him with his two sons, Sir Torre and\nSir Lavaine, and his beautiful daughter Elaine. The lord of the\ncastle said:\n\n\"Fair sir, whoever you are, you are welcome. You seem to me much\nlike a Knight of the Round Table.\"\n\n\"That I am,\" said Sir Lancelot. \"Hereafter I will tell you my\nname; at present I wish to remain unknown. I must enter the\ncoming tournament as an unknown knight, and I should like to\nleave with you my great shield, for it is as well known in\nCamelot as I. Will you keep it and lend me another one?\"\n\nThen answered the Lord of Astolat:\n\n\"You may take the shield of my son Torre. He was hurt in his\nfirst tournament, and has not been able to fight since. My son\nLavaine will gladly go with you to the tournament. Perhaps,\"\nadded the lord, laughing, \"he can win the diamond, and put it in\nhis sister Elaine's hair.\"\n\n\"Nay, father, do not make me ashamed before this noble knight,\"\nsaid the young Lavaine. \"I know I can never win the diamond for\nElaine, but I can at least do my best to fight.\"\n\n\"Gladly will I take you for a companion,\" said Sir Lancelot, \"and\nif you can, win the diamond for this fair maiden.\"\n\n\"Such a diamond,\" said Sir Torre, \"is fit for a queen, and not\nfor a simple girl.\"\n\nSir Lancelot smiled to himself. He was sure that he should win\nthe diamond. Then he meant to give it with the eight others to\nQueen Guinevere. He spoke kindly, however, to the beautiful\nElaine.\n\n\"In truth, this fair maiden is fit to be a queen.\"\n\nThen Elaine lifted her eyes and looked at him. He was twice as\nold as she was. His face was cut and scarred with wounds which he\nhad received in battle, but as she looked at him, she loved him,\nand felt that she would continue to love him till the day of her\ndeath.\n\nThey went into the great hall where a supper was laid. Sir\nLancelot talked of King Arthur and his goodness and all his\nglorious deeds. Elaine thought that even Arthur could not be so\nbrave as this wonderful lord. All night long she dreamed of him.\nIn the morning she rose early and went down in the courtyard\nwhere Sir Lancelot and Sir Lavaine were mounting their horses.\n\n\"Fair lord,\" she said boldly to Sir Lancelot, \"will you wear my\ntoken in your helmet?\"\n\nThen said Sir Lancelot:\n\n\"Fair maiden, I have never worn favor nor token for any lady in\nthe tournaments. This is well known to be my custom.\"\n\n\"But if you wear my token,\" she said, \"there will be far less\nlikelihood of your being known by your fellow knights.\"\n\n\"That is very true, my child,\" he said. \"Bring it to me. What is\nit?\"\n\nShe held it out to him; it was a red sleeve embroidered with\npearls. Sir Lancelot bound it in his helmet and said:\n\n\"I have never done so much before for any maiden.\"\n\n[Illustration: _\"She staid near it all day long in the turret\"_]\n\nThen he and Sir Lavaine bade Elaine farewell, and the beautiful\nmaiden ran up to the tower of the castle and watched them from\nthe window for a long time. When they were out of sight she asked\nthe old dumb servant to carry Sir Lancelot's shield to the tower.\nIt was a large shield of silver, with three lions emblazoned upon\nit in gold and blue, but its polished surface was covered with\ndents and scratches. Elaine knelt before it, and made a story for\neach scratch and mark, picturing to herself the contests in which\nthe good shield had taken part. For many weeks she stayed near it\nall day long in the turret, watching for Sir Lancelot and her\nbrother to return.\n\nMeanwhile those two had ridden lightly to Camelot, and when they\nwere almost there, Sir Lancelot told Sir Lavaine his name. The\nyoung man was astonished. He was very happy, too, to think that\nhe was a companion to the great knight of whom he had heard so\noften.\n\nWhen Sir Lancelot and Sir Lavaine arrived at the field where the\ntournament was to be held, they stood looking at the king, who\nsat upon the great carved chair which had dragons' heads for the\narms and the back. On his red robe was embroidered a golden\ndragon, and a golden dragon was also on his crown. Above him, set\nin a canopy, was the ninth diamond. All about the king to left\nand right were rows of ladies whose robes gave to the pavilion in\nwhich they sat the brilliant hues of the rainbow.\n\nSir Lancelot said to young Sir Lavaine:\n\n\"Look at the king. You think I am great, but he is greater than\nI. I can fight better than he can, but his soul is greater than\nmine. Aim to become a Knight of the Round Table, and follow the\nexample of goodness which Arthur sets for his knights.\"\n\nAt this moment the trumpets blew as a signal that the tournament\nwas to begin. The knights spurred their horses forward, and in a\nmoment their spears and shields clashed. Sir Lancelot rode\nlightly here and there, overthrowing everyone with whom he\ncontested. All wondered at the skill of this unknown knight. Then\nSir Lancelot's kinsmen, his nephew, Sir Lionel, and others, were\nangry and jealous.\n\n\"Our Sir Lancelot should be here,\" they said, \"to overcome this\nstranger knight.\"\n\n\"Perhaps this is Sir Lancelot,\" said one. \"Two knights cannot\nfight so well in this world. It must be Sir Lancelot.\"\n\n\"No, no,\" said the others; \"Sir Lancelot would never wear a\nlady's favor, and this knight wears a red sleeve embroidered with\npearls. Let us set on this man and teach him that if Sir Lancelot\nis not here, we, his kinsmen, will fight for his fame.\"\n\nThen all together they bore down on Sir Lancelot. His horse went\ndown in the shock, and he himself was wounded. A spear had\npierced his breastplate and snapped off in his side.\n\nYoung Sir Lavaine rushed to help Sir Lancelot. The great knight\nrose slowly and, with the help of his friend, drove back his kith\nand kin to the far side of the field. Then sounded a great blare\nof trumpets, and the king proclaimed the stranger knight victor.\n\n\"Come forward,\" the herald cried, \"and take your diamond.\"\n\nBut poor Sir Lancelot said:\n\n\"Talk not to me of diamonds. Give me air. I fear me I have\nreceived my death wound. Let me go hence, and I bid you follow me\nnot.\"\n\nSir Lavaine helped him upon his horse, and they two rode slowly\noff the field. When they were near the neighboring forest the\ngreat knight fell from his horse and cried:\n\n\"Pull forth the spear-head which is in my side.\"\n\n\"Oh, my lord,\" said Sir Lavaine, \"I am afraid you will die if I\ndraw it forth.\"\n\n\"I shall die if you leave it,\" said Sir Lancelot.\n\nSo Sir Lavaine drew it forth quickly, causing Sir Lancelot to\nfaint from the pain. Then a hermit who lived near by came to\nthem, and bore the wounded knight into his hut, where for many a\nweek Sir Lancelot lay between life and death.\n\nWhen Arthur found that the unknown knight had gone, no one knew\nwhither, he was sorry. He called the light-hearted Sir Gawain and\nsaid to him:\n\n\"Go forth, take this diamond and seek the stranger knight. Do\nnot cease from your search till you have left the diamond in his\nhand.\"\n\nThen Arthur went to the queen. She had been ill and had not\nattended the tournament. When the king told her all that had\nhappened, she cried:\n\n\"A stranger knight! My lord, my lord! That was our dear Sir\nLancelot. He was fighting in disguise.\"\n\n\"Alas! he is hurt,\" said the king. \"Perhaps he is dying. He said\nthat he would not fight. He should have told me that he meant to\nfight in disguise. The truth, my queen, is always best.\"\n\n\"Yes, my good lord, I know it,\" she said. \"If I had but let our\nLancelot tell the truth, perhaps he would not have been wounded.\nYou would have called on his kinsmen to cease.\"\n\nFor many days the king and Guinevere waited in deep anxiety for\nnews of Sir Lancelot. Meantime, Sir Gawain rode forth and sought\nfor the great knight in vain. At last he came to the castle of\nAstolat, where he was welcomed by the lord and Sir Torre and the\nfair Elaine. He told them the result of the tournament, and how\nthe stranger knight had won. They showed him Sir Lancelot's\nshield.\n\n\"Ah!\" said Elaine, when he had told them the name of the unknown\nknight, \"I knew that he must be great.\"\n\nSir Gawain guessed by the expression of her beautiful face that\nshe loved Sir Lancelot. So he said:\n\n\"Fair maiden, when he returns here for his shield, give him this\ndiamond, which is the prize he won. Perhaps he will prize it the\nmore because you put it into his hand.\"\n\nThen Sir Gawain bade them farewell and rode off, lightly singing.\nWhen he told Arthur what he had done, the king said:\n\n\"You should have done as I bade you, Gawain. Sir Lancelot\ndeceived me about his disguise, and you have disobeyed me. The\nkingdom will surely fail if the king and his rules are not\nhonored. Obedience is the courtesy due to kings.\"\n\nMeanwhile the fair Elaine went to her father and said:\n\n\"Dear father, let me go and seek the wounded Sir Lancelot and my\nbrother.\"\n\n\"Nay,\" said the lord, \"it is not a fitting thing for a young\nmaiden like you to seek a wounded knight. He is not your lover.\nIt cannot be.\"\n\n\"I would give him his diamond,\" she said, \"and since he is so\nsorely wounded, I would take care of him. It is not fitting, my\nfather, but I cannot live unless I know where he is and how he\ndoes.\"\n\nThen, because he loved his child very much and had never refused\nany request she made of him, the old lord let her go in care of\nSir Torre. The two rode for a long time, until at last, near\nCamelot, they met Sir Lavaine. Elaine ran up to him and cried:\n\n\"Lavaine, take me to Sir Lancelot.\"\n\nSir Lavaine was much astonished that Elaine knew the name of the\nstranger knight. He was glad to see her, because he thought she\ncould help his friend. Sir Lancelot seemed glad to see her, too,\nand the beautiful maiden cared for him so tenderly that the old\nhermit said he never could have recovered without her nursing.\nWhen he was well enough, they all rode to the castle of Astolat.\n\nThere Sir Lancelot remained for a few days; then he took his\nshield and prepared to return to Camelot. Before he went he asked\nElaine if he could not do something for her in return for her\ncare of him.\n\nShe grew very pale and then she said:\n\n\"I am going to say something which I should not. I love you. Take\nme with you to Camelot.\"\n\nSir Lancelot said very gently:\n\n\"My poor little maiden, if I had meant to take a wife, I should\nhave wedded earlier. All the court knows that I love only the\nking and the queen. You do not really love me. Some day you will\nmarry a young knight, and then I shall give you many castles and\nmuch land as a dowry.\"\n\n\"I will have nothing of all that,\" said Elaine.\n\nShe turned away and climbed up to the tower, while her father\nsaid to Sir Lancelot:\n\n\"I pray you, be discourteous in some way so that she will cease\nto love you. Such love is madness.\"\n\n\"It is not my habit to be discourteous,\" said Sir Lancelot.\n\"However, when she stands at the turret window to wave me\nfarewell, I will not look up at her.\"\n\nSir Lancelot rode sadly away, and did not look up at the window\nwhere Elaine stood. She watched him till he disappeared, and then\nshe fell in a swoon. Day after day she pined away, and one\nmorning she said to her father:\n\n\"Dear father, I am going to die. When I am dead, take my bed and\ncover it with rich draperies. Then dress me in my most beautiful\nclothes; put a letter I have here in my hand, and lay me on the\nbed. Set it on a barge, and let our dumb servant steer it down\nthe river to Camelot.\"\n\nHer father wept, and promised to do all that she asked.\n\nSir Lancelot had gone to the Court, where he was received with\ngreat rejoicing. For many days the knights and ladies held great\nfeasting in his honor, and the king and the queen would hardly\nallow him to leave their presence. One day while the three stood\nlooking out of the palace window, they saw a black barge come\nslowly down the river.\n\nIt stopped at the palace door, and the king, going down, saw on\nit the beautiful maiden Elaine, pale in death. She was dressed in\nwhite satin, and bore a lily in her left hand and a letter in her\nright. The king ordered two of his knights, the good Sir Galahad\nand Sir Perceval, to carry Elaine into his great hall. Then\nArthur read the letter, which said:\n\n\"Most noble lord, Sir Lancelot of the Lake: I, Elaine, the maid\nof Astolat, come to take my last farewell of you, for you left me\nwithout a farewell. I loved you, and my love had no return, and\nso I died.\"\n\nThe knights and ladies wept. Sir Lancelot said to Arthur:\n\n\"My king, I grieve for the death of this maiden, but as I did not\nlove her, I could not wed her.\"\n\nThe king answered:\n\n\"You are not to blame, Sir Lancelot. The world has in it much\nthat is sad as well as much that is joyous. There are happenings\nfor which no human being can be blamed. It would be a fitting\ndeed, however, if you had this maiden richly buried.\"\n\nSir Lancelot ordered a splendid funeral, such as should be given\nto a queen. Over Elaine's grave was raised a beautiful tomb on\nwhich was carved her figure, with the left hand holding a lily;\nat her feet lay the shield of Sir Lancelot, and the sad story of\nher death was written on the tomb in letters of gold and blue.\n\n[Illustration: Two Crossed Swords and a Shield]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] THE SEARCH FOR THE HOLY GRAIL\n\n\nIn Arthur's Court there were many virtuous knights and ladies,\nbut the best of all was a beautiful maiden, sister to Sir\nPerceval. She was so good that the evil in the world oppressed\nher, and she could be happy only when she was praying for all\npeople to be made better.\n\nOnce a good old man told her what was meant by the Holy Grail.\n\n\"Grail,\" he said, \"is the word for the cup out of which our Lord\nJesus drank, the night that he held the last supper with his\ndisciples. Therefore, it is called holy. There is a tradition\nwhich says that for a long time after the death of Christ the\nHoly Grail remained on earth, and any one who was sick and\ntouched it was healed at once. But then people grew to be so\nwicked that it disappeared from earth. It is said that if a\nperson in our day were only good enough, he could see the Holy\nGrail.\"\n\n\"Really see it?\" asked the maiden, eagerly, \"or see it in a\nvision?\"\n\n\"I do not know,\" answered the good old man, \"but either one would\nbe a great happiness. For a real sight of it, or a vision, would\nshow the person who saw it that he was sinless.\"\n\nThen the beautiful maiden prayed more than ever. She became so\nthin and pale that it seemed as if she were almost transparent,\nand at last she lay dying. One morning she sent for her brother,\nSir Perceval, and for his friend, Sir Galahad.\n\nSir Perceval and Sir Galahad were the two best knights in\nArthur's Court. They were not so powerful as Sir Lancelot or Sir\nGeraint or Sir Gareth, but they had purer souls than these. When\nthey came to the bedside of the maiden, she said:\n\n\"Oh, my brother and my friend, I have seen the Holy Grail. Last\nnight I was awakened by a sound like the music of a silver horn\nacross the hills. It was more beautiful music than any I have\never heard. Then through my window shone a long cold beam of\nsilver light, and slowly across that beam came the Holy Grail. It\nwas red like a beautiful rose, and the light reflected from it\ncovered all the walls with a rosy color. And then it vanished.\nNow I beg you to seek it; and go to the hall of Arthur and tell\nall the other knights to take the quest. If they can but see the\nGrail, it will be a sign that they are good, and that the world\nis growing better.\"\n\nAs she spoke, Sir Galahad's face wore an expression so like her\nown that Sir Perceval was amazed. But the maiden took from the\nside of her bed a sword-belt, and gave it to Sir Galahad.\n\n\"Fair knight,\" she said, \"I have made this golden belt of my\nhair, and woven on it, in crimson and silver thread, the device\nof the Holy Grail. Put on this belt, bind your sword to it, and\ngo forth; for you, too, shall see the Holy Grail.\"\n\nThen Sir Galahad and Sir Perceval went away quietly, for they saw\nthat the beautiful maiden had not long to live. That night they\nwent to Arthur's hall. The king was absent with the queen, but\nmost of the knights of the Round Table were there, and to them\nSir Galahad and Sir Perceval told the vision that Sir Perceval's\nsister had seen.\n\nAs they spoke, suddenly the torches in the hall were\nextinguished; there was a loud sound like thunder and a sudden\ncracking of the roof. Then a beam of light, seven times stronger\nthan day, streamed into the room. Across the beam stole the Holy\nGrail. But it was covered by a luminous cloud, so that its shape\ncould not be seen. Slowly it vanished away.\n\nThere was silence in the hall for a long time; the knights were\nawe-struck and could not speak. At last Sir Perceval rose in his\nseat and said in a low tone:\n\n\"My sister saw the vision of the Holy Grail, but I, because I am\nmore sinful, have seen it covered with a cloud. Yet because I\nwish to see it, I vow to spend twelve months and a day in search\nof it. I will pray, and live as holy a life as I can, and\nperhaps this vision will be mine.\"\n\nThen good Sir Bors, the cousin of Sir Lancelot, made the same\nvow, as did also Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain and\nmany others. After the vows had been taken, King Arthur entered.\nWhen all had been explained to him, his face grew sorrowful.\n\n\"If I had been here,\" he said, \"I should not have allowed you to\nswear the vow. None of you really saw the Grail; you say it was\ncovered with a cloud.\"\n\nThen Sir Galahad cried out:\n\n\"My king, I saw the Grail, all crimson like a ruby, and I heard a\nvoice which said, 'O Galahad, O Galahad, follow me!'\"\n\n\"Ah, Galahad,\" said the king, tenderly, \"you are fit for this\nquest, this search, but the others are not. Sir Lancelot is our\nstrongest warrior, but he is not like Sir Galahad. Most of you,\nmy knights, are men with strength and will to right wrongs; that\nis the work you are fitted for. You have fought in twelve great\nbattles with the heathen, but only one of you is fit for this\nholiest of visions. Yet go, and fulfill your vow.\"\n\nThe faces of the knights were downcast. The king continued:\n\n\"While you are gone, I shall need your strength here at home, but\nyou will be following a wandering fire. Many of you will never\nreturn.\"\n\nAll the company felt sad. The next day when the knights departed\nupon their quest, the king could hardly speak for grief, and many\nof the knights and ladies wept. Those who had sworn the vow went\ntogether to the great gate of the city of Camelot, and there they\nseparated.\n\nDuring the next twelvemonth many a poor laborer who had been\nwronged came to Arthur's Court to find a knight who would fight\nfor him, and many a poor widow and maiden. But because so many of\nthe knights of the Round Table were absent there was little help\nto be had, and Arthur's face grew sadder and sadder as time went\non.\n\nAt last, after the twelvemonth and the day had passed, those in\nCamelot began to look for the return of the knights who had taken\nthe vow. Alas, though they waited all day long, only Sir Gawain,\nSir Bors, Sir Perceval, and Sir Lancelot returned. In the evening\nthe knights of the Round Table assembled in the great hall. When\neach was seated, the king rose, and said to those who had been\nupon the quest:\n\n\"My lords, I need only look at your faces to know that you have\nfared ill. I dare not think of those of you who have not come\nback. And now, Perceval, my knight who, next to Galahad, has the\npurest soul, tell me what has happened to you.\"\n\nSir Perceval rose slowly from his chair and said:\n\n\"Dear my liege, when I left your court on the sad morning that we\nall set forth, I did not feel the grief that many of the other\nknights felt. I had been fighting so well, so many lances had\ngone down before my stroke, that I was full of confidence in what\nI could do.\n\n\"I rode happily, planning all the great victories I should win.\nI was sure if I righted a great many wrongs, I should soon see\nthe Grail. But after many days I began to grow weary. I was\nriding through rough forests, and the branches bruised me and my\nhorse; there seemed to be no great deeds to do. I could not even\nslay wild beasts, and so be of use to the poor country people. My\nbed was on the hard ground, and my food was wild berries.\n\n\"One day I came to a great castle, and here I decided to rest.\nWhen I entered, I was warmly greeted and brought to the princess\nof the castle. I found her to be one whom I had loved long ago in\nher father's court. I was but a young squire and she was a great\nprincess, and so I had gone away without telling her how dear I\nheld her.\n\n\"She greeted me kindly, and after a time she began to love me.\nSoon I wondered whether I was fit to see the Holy Grail. I\nthought perhaps I was one of those who were pursuing a wandering\nfire. And then the people of the castle begged me to marry their\nprincess, and be their lord and live a happy and easeful life.\n\n\"One night I awoke, and thought longingly of the Holy Grail.\nWhether I were fit to see the vision or not, I had at least sworn\nto seek it for a year and a day. And yet, I had not tried two\nmonths! I rose hastily, dressed, and left the castle. Then for\nmany days I prayed and mourned. At last I sought a holy hermit,\nand told him all I had done and thought since I had left Arthur's\nCourt.\n\n\"The good hermit, after a short silence, said: 'My son, you have\nnot true humility. You have been too proud of your strength, and\ntoo sure in the beginning that you were fit for the vision. You\nhave always thought first of yourself and your own glory, and not\nof the good you could do.'\n\n\"I went into the chapel of this hermit, and prayed to be relieved\nof the sin of pride. As I prayed, Sir Galahad entered. He was\nclad in silver armor, and his face looked like that of an angel.\n\n\"'Oh, my brother,' he said, 'have you not seen the Grail?' And\nafter I had answered, he said:\n\n\"'From the moment when I left the court of our king, the vision\nhas been with me. It is faint in the daytime, but at night it\nshines blood red. I see it on the mountains, and in the lakes,\nand on the marshes. It has made me so strong that everywhere I am\nable to do good. I have broken down many evil customs. I have\nfought with pagan hordes and been victor, all because of this\nblessed vision. Perceval, I have not long to live. I am going to\nthe great city above, which is more beautiful than any earthly\ncity. Come out with me this night, and before you die you shall\nsee this vision.'\n\n\"Then I followed Sir Galahad out of the chapel. We climbed a hill\nwhich was steep and rugged, Sir Galahad going first, and his\nsilver armor guiding me. When we came to the top, a storm broke\nover us, and the lightning seemed to follow us as we descended\nthe hill on the other side. At the bottom of it there was a great\nblack swamp, leading to the sea. It was crossed by a huge bridge\nbuilt by some forgotten king. Here Sir Galahad left me and ran\nover the bridge till he reached the sea. His armor shone like a\nstar, far away at the edge of the water. And then I saw him no\nmore.\n\n[Illustration: _\"And across it slowly moved the Holy Grail\"_]\n\n\"I knelt on the black ground and wept, and wished that I were as\ngood as Sir Galahad, and could do deeds as he did, not to win\nglory, but to help those who needed help. And as I wept, I was\naware of a great light over me. I looked up and saw a silver\nbeam, and across it slowly moved the Holy Grail. It was no longer\nmuffled in a cloud, but shone crimson as a ruby.\n\n\"I made my way back to the chapel and prayed all the rest of the\nnight. In the morning I found Sir Galahad's body by the sea. He\nwas beautiful as a saint, though he was worn and thin from long\nself-sacrifice. I buried him and then turned my steps to Camelot.\n\n\"And now, my lord Arthur, I shall never fight again. I shall\nbecome a monk and pass my life in prayer as my sister did. Among\nmy brother monks, there will be very many little deeds of\nservice I can do. Thus will I spend my life.\"\n\nAll the knights were very much moved and the king looked\naffectionately at Sir Perceval, but he did not speak to him. He\nturned to Sir Gawain and said:\n\n\"Sir Gawain, was this quest for you?\"\n\nThen Sir Gawain, always light-hearted and easily turned away from\none thing to another, said:\n\n\"Nay, my king, such a search is not for one like me. In a little\ntime I became tired. I talked to a holy man who told me that I\nwas not fit for such a vision. So I journeyed till I came to a\nfield with silk pavilions and very many knights and ladies. And\nwith them I lived happily for the year.\"\n\nThe good king looked displeased, but his face grew tender as he\nturned to Sir Bors.\n\n\"Bors,\" he said, \"good, faithful, and honest you have ever been.\nTell me what you have seen.\"\n\nSir Bors, who stood near Sir Lancelot, said:\n\n\"My lord Arthur, after I had started on the quest, I was told\nthat madness had fallen upon my kinsman, Sir Lancelot. This so\ngrieved me that I had but little heart to seek for the Holy\nGrail. Yet I sought for it. I believed that if God meant me to\nsee the vision he would send it.\n\n\"I traveled till I came to a people who were heathen. They knew\nmuch of magic, but nothing of God. I stayed with them, and tried\nto teach them our faith, but they were angry because I would not\nbelieve in their gods, and they put me into prison.\n\n\"I was there many months in darkness and cold. But I tried to be\npatient, and prayed that my patience would count for something,\nalthough I could not do any good deeds. I had at least been\nfaithful though I failed.\n\n\"One night a stone slipped from my prison wall, and I could see a\nspace of sky, with seven stars set across it. Then slowly across\nthe space glided the Holy Grail. My happiness was great, for I\nhad seen the vision.\n\n\"The next morning, a maiden who had been secretly converted to\nour religion released me from prison, and I came hither.\"\n\nThen the king spoke to Sir Lancelot.\n\n\"My Lancelot, the mightiest of us all, have you succeeded in this\nquest?\"\n\nThen Sir Lancelot groaned.\n\n\"O, king!\" he cried, \"your mightiest, yes; and yet, far better it\nwould be if I were like Sir Galahad. A great sin is on my soul,\nand it was to be rid of this sin that I undertook the quest of\nthe Holy Grail. A hermit told me that only by putting this sin\naway should I ever see the vision. I strove so hard against it\nthat my old sickness came upon me. I became mad, and rode up and\ndown among waste places, fighting with small men who overthrew\nme. The day has been when the very sound of my name would have\nmade them tremble.\n\n\"At last I came to the sea and saw a boat anchored near the\nshore. I stepped into it, loosed the anchor, and floated away.\nFor seven days I sailed, and at last I came to an old castle. I\nentered and heard a voice singing. I followed it up, up for a\nthousand steps. At last I came to a door, which burst open before\nme. Perhaps I dreamed, and yet I believe I saw the Holy Grail,\nthough it was veiled and guarded by great angels. I thought I saw\nall this, and then I swooned away. When I came to myself, I was\nalone in the room. It was many days before I made my way back to\nCamelot.\"\n\nFor a long time there was silence in the hall, and then Sir\nGawain said:\n\n\"Sir king, I can fight, and I always shall fight for you. But I\ndo not believe in this vision. All the knights were mad, like Sir\nLancelot. They did not really have the vision; it was but fancy.\"\n\nThen the king spoke gravely to Sir Gawain.\n\n\"Sir Gawain, you are indeed not fit for such a vision, but you\nshould not doubt that others have seen it. I was right, my\nknights, when I said that most of you would follow a wandering\nfire. How many of those who left me have not returned, and never\nwill!\"\n\nThe knights looked at the empty chairs. The king went on:\n\n\"Sir Galahad was the only one who completely saw the vision. He\nwas indeed blessed, and fit for such a quest. You who were unfit\nshould have stayed with me to help govern this land.\"\n\nThe knights were silent and sad; then the king said:\n\n\"My dear knights whom I love, always remember this: whether you\nseek for a vision, or do humble service as Sir Perceval will for\nhis fellow-monks, or fight to right wrongs as Sir Lancelot does,\nwhatever you do your aim must be to make yourself useful to the\nworld by the work for which you are best fitted.\"\n\nThe king rose from the Round Table and left the company, Sir\nLancelot following him. Then the other knights departed, one by\none, and the great hall was left empty, with its shields\nglimmering in the moonlight.\n\n[Illustration: The Knight with the Sword]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration] THE DEATH OF ARTHUR\n\n\nKing Arthur's Round Table had lasted many years, and the knights\nhad done much to help the people of the country; yet there were\ntraitors to the king among his own subjects. One of these\ntraitors made war in a distant part of the kingdom, and Arthur\nwent with most of his knights to punish him. His nephew, Sir\nModred, the brother of Sir Gawain and Sir Gareth, ruled in his\nstead at Camelot.\n\nNow Sir Modred was a wicked knight. He hated the king and the\nqueen, and Sir Lancelot. Since King Arthur was absent a long\ntime, Sir Modred had the opportunity of doing much harm. He let\nevil go unpunished; he allowed bad customs to come into the\ncountry; and at last he raised a rebellion against the good\nking.\n\nWhen Arthur returned to Camelot to quell this rebellion, he had\nlost many of his faithful knights. Sir Hector was dead, and Sir\nUlfius and Sir Brastias; Sir Kay was dead, and Sir Bors, and Sir\nGawain. Sir Lancelot was far away. Sir Bedivere alone remained of\nthose who had been with Arthur since he had first ruled in Wales\nand Britain.\n\nThe king and Sir Bedivere, with the help of such knights as still\nwere faithful, tried to put down those rebels. They drove the\ntraitors back until they came at length to Lyonnesse by the sea.\nHere the last great battle took place.\n\nThe night before the battle, Sir Bedivere heard the king praying.\nThen Arthur slept, and when he awakened he called to his friend:\n\n\"Sir Bedivere,\" he said, \"I have had a dream. I thought that Sir\nGawain came to me and told me that to-morrow I shall die.\"\n\n\"My lord, it is but a dream,\" answered Sir Bedivere. \"You are\ngreat; you have done much good which will last forever, and you\nwill live many years yet to perform many gracious acts. The day\nwill soon dawn, and you will win the battle.\"\n\nArthur shook his head.\n\n\"This is not like my other battles. I have no heart for it. It is\nhard to slay my own people, even if they are traitors.\"\n\nDay came, but no sun. A cold white mist lay over land and sea. It\nchilled the knights to the bone. And when the battle began, the\nmist was so thick that no one could see with whom he was\nfighting. Friends slew each other, not knowing whom they killed.\nSome could not fight at all, for it seemed to them that those\nmoving on the battle-field were ghosts of warriors long since\nslain. There was many a noble deed and many a base one done in\nthat mist.\n\nThe fighting went on with clashing of lances and shields\nthroughout the afternoon, and then the sounds grew fainter, till\nthere was silence. At last, towards sunset, a wind from the west\nblew the mist away. Then Arthur, with Sir Bedivere by his side,\nlooked over the field of battle. He saw but one man standing;\nall the rest were dead on the seashore. And the tide had risen,\nand was swaying the helpless hands, and tumbling up and down the\nhollow helmets and the broken spears that once had fought with\nRome. The king's face was white, and his voice was low as he said\nto Sir Bedivere:\n\n\"There lie my slain, who have died for me. I am king only of the\ndead.\"\n\n\"Nay, lord,\" said Sir Bedivere. \"You are king everywhere still.\nNow strike a kingly stroke against the one traitor who still\nstands.\"\n\nSir Bedivere pointed at the one other living man, and the king\nsaw that it was Sir Modred. Arthur threw down his scabbard and\nlifted his good Excalibur. Then he sprang upon the traitor. Sir\nModred struck the king on the helmet, which had been worn thin in\nmany battles. The stroke cut through the steel, and wounded\nArthur mortally, but he used his ebbing strength for one last\nblow with Excalibur, and killed Sir Modred.\n\nThe king sank to the ground, but Sir Bedivere lifted him, and\nbore him to a ruined chapel near the seashore. When he had laid\nhim down by the broken cross in the chancel, Arthur said:\n\n\"You know well that my Excalibur was given to me by the Lady of\nthe Lake. I have used it like a king. And now the time has come\nto obey the writing on the blade. So take my sword Excalibur, and\nthrow it far out into the lake.\"\n\nSir Bedivere took the sword and went out from the ruined chapel.\nHe walked amid the graves of ancient knights over which the sea\nwind was singing. He passed the barren cliffs and chasms, and\nreached the lake at last.\n\nHe lifted Excalibur, and as he did so the moon came from behind\nthe clouds. The light fell on the hilt of the sword, and all the\njewels shone. Sir Bedivere looked until his eyes were dazzled; he\ncould not throw the beautiful weapon away. So he hid it in the\nweeds upon the shore of the lake, and returned to the king.\n\n\"What did you see or hear?\" asked Arthur.\n\nSir Bedivere replied:\n\n\"I heard the ripple washing in the reeds, and the wild water\nlapping on the crags.\"\n\nKing Arthur, faint and pale, said:\n\n\"You have betrayed me. You have acted a lie. Had you thrown the\nsword, something would have happened, some sign would have been\ngiven. Go back now, and throw it into the lake.\"\n\nSir Bedivere went back and again picked up Excalibur. As he\nlooked at it he said aloud:\n\n\"Surely it is not right to throw away such a precious thing. It\nwould please the eyes of people forever. I know it is wrong to\ndisobey the king. Yet he is sick; perhaps he does not know what\nhe is doing. If I keep Excalibur and store it in a great\ntreasure-house, people will look at it throughout all the coming\nyears, and feel great reverence for the king who fought with it.\"\n\nSo again Sir Bedivere hid the sword and returned to the king, who\nasked:\n\n\"What have you seen or heard?\"\n\nAnd Sir Bedivere replied:\n\n\"I heard the water lapping on the crag, and the long ripple\nwashing in the reeds.\"\n\nThen the king was very angry.\n\n\"Ah, unkind!\" he cried. \"You, too, are a traitor. Because I am\ndying, I have no authority. You refuse to obey me, you who are\nthe last of my knights! Yet it is possible for a man to fail in\nhis duty twice, and succeed the third time. Go now, and throw\nExcalibur.\"\n\nSir Bedivere ran quickly and seized the sword, shutting his eyes\nthat he might not see its beauty. He whirled it round his head\nand threw it far out over the lake. It flashed in the moonlight\nand fell. But before it reached the surface of the water, an arm,\nclothed in pure white, rose and caught it, brandished it three\ntimes, and then drew it under the water.\n\nWhen Sir Bedivere went back to Arthur, the king knew that he had\nbeen obeyed.\n\n\"I am dying,\" he said. \"Lift me on your back and carry me to the\nlake.\"\n\nThen Sir Bedivere carried the helpless king, walking quickly\nthrough the place of tombs, and over the crags, and past the\nchasms, till he came to the smooth shining lake. There beside the\nbank was a barge, all black. The deck was covered with stately\nfigures of people clad in mourning. Among them were three fair\nqueens with crowns of gold--the three queens who were to help\nArthur at his need.\n\nThey had come to take him away, Sir Bedivere did not know where.\nWhen they saw the wounded king, they gave a cry of grief that\nseemed to rise to the stars. Then they lifted him into the barge.\nThe tallest put his head on her knees, and took off his broken\nhelmet. She called him by name, weeping bitterly.\n\nPoor Sir Bedivere cried:\n\n\"Oh, my Lord Arthur, you are leaving me. Where shall I go? The\ngreat Round Table is broken up forever. What shall I do?\"\n\nThen Arthur answered:\n\n\"Old customs pass and new ones come. God makes his world better\nin many ways. The Round Table did its work and now has disappeared;\nbut something else will surely come to advance the cause of\ntruth and justice. Pray for me and for yourself. More things are\ndone by prayer than this world dreams of. And now, farewell! You\nshall never see me again, my Bedivere. My work is done; yours,\ntoo, is nearly over. Farewell!\"\n\nThen the barge moved slowly away, while those on board lamented.\nSir Bedivere watched it till it disappeared amid the shadows over\nthe lake. Then he rose slowly and wandered back to Lyonnesse.\n\nAfter a time he went to Camelot. There was a new king there, who\nwas good, and new customs, also good. But Sir Bedivere was too\nold to change his way of life. He spent the rest of his days in\nCamelot, but he lived only in the past, dreaming of the time when\nKing Arthur and his knights of the Round Table ruled in the land.\n\n[Illustration: The Shield and the Sword]","title":"King Arthur and His Knights","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":43155}