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the meltingpot. And when the season appointed shall come, sorrow and death,
rebellion and treachery, shall stalk through the land, and naught shall stand
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of its present kingdoms; the pagans shall blot out the holy memory of God and
Christ, and shall turn the fanes of prayer into the lairs of wolves, and owls
shall rest where hymns of praise have been sung. And no wars of goodly knights
may hinder these things of dreadful doom. But I have this message for ye two,
Galahad and Perceval; that inasmuch as ye have seen this which you craved to
see, and have lived purely and unspotted from pride or evil, thy souls shall
go with me when I shall depart. But you, my son," he said, look ing at Sir
Bors, "still find in your heart the love of kin, and a longing for battle, and
so you shall remain, to fight for Christ while yet you are alive."
Suddenly a fierce light came where they sat, so that Sir Bors kneeled as one
blinded for a time. When it had passed, he looked and saw where Sir Galahad
and Sir Perceval still kneeled, with their hands lifted as if in prayer. But
there was naught to see of the holy vessel or the spear, nor was Joseph there.
Then, going to the two knights, he found that they were dead.
KING ARTHUR'S KNIGHTS. THE TALES RETOLD FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
IX. HOW THE THREE GOOD KNIGHTS ACHIEVED THE HOLY GRAAL
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Then Sir Bors made great sorrow for his two fellows, and knew that never more
would he be as joyful or as careless as he had been. With right heavy mood he
craved of Earl Hernox to have a grave dug deep in the living rock whereon the
castle was builded. This the earl gladly did, and very solemnly the two good
knights were buried, and long did Sir Bors mourn over the grave.
In a little while thereafter Sir Bors armed himself and departed, and after
many adventures rode southwards till he came to Camelot. And there he told the
king and such knights as there were, how the two stainless knights had
achieved the Holy Graal, and how their souls had been taken up with the sacred
vessel.
All the court mourned for the two knights, and the king commanded a history to
be written of what Sir Bors had told. It was so done, and the book, richly
adorned with many coloured letters, was kept in the great treasurechest in the
castle of Sarum.
X. OF THE PLOTS OF SIR MORDRED, AND HOW SIR LANCELOT SAVED
THE QUEEN
After the quest of the Sangreal was completed, and all the knights that were
left alive had returned to the court of King Arthur, there was great joy among
the people, and the king and Queen Gwenevere were passing glad of the remnant
that had come home again.
Especially did the queen make much of Sir Lancelot and of Sir Bors his cousin,
for they were the two most noble and courteous knights of the Round Table, and
none thought of them but as men peerless and beyond compare.
Sir Mordred, who was the king's nephew, was jealous of the two knights, and
went about privily among such knights as were his familiars, and spoke
sneering words concerning Sir Lancelot and the queen and Sir Bors.
Once Sir Mordred said such words in the hearing of his brother Sir Gawaine;
but that knight so heavily and wrathfully took him to task, that Sir Mordred
knew that Sir Gawaine envied not the two knights, and could never be brought
to think other than friendly thoughts of them.
Therefore Sir Mordred hated the two knights more than ever. Of a slight frame
was Mordred, but tall, with dark hair, sallow face, and deepset grey eyes
beside a thin long nose. Few loved him, for he was never cheery nor very
friendly, and ever seemed to sneer with his thin lips and his cold wolfish
eyes.
In a little while strange dark rumours began to go about the court, and it was
whispered that so proud had Sir
Lancelot become of his fame and prowess, that he harboured evil thoughts
against the king, and that he aimed to make a kingdom for himself out of the
countries that lay about his own lands of Joyous Gard in the northern marches.
Then fresh rumours went about, and these were the most evil of all. It was
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said that he sought to slay the king, and wished to make Gwenevere his own
queen, and with her he would rule over all Britain.
First, men laughed and passed the rumours with a shrug and a gesture of scorn;
but when they were repeated again and again, some began half to believe them.
When men came to ask who had set these evil tongues to wag, it was always
found that a certain mean knight, named Sir Pinel, had first spoken wrong of
Lancelot and Sir Bors and the queen. And men noticed that it was not long
before the queen began to look coldly at Sir Pinel, and then they knew that
his rumours had reached her ears.
KING ARTHUR'S KNIGHTS. THE TALES RETOLD FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
X. OF THE PLOTS OF SIR MORDRED, AND HOW SIR LANCELOT SAVED THE QUEEN
128
Now it befell that the poor queen had heard, through her maidens, of the
rumours concerning herself and Sir
Lancelot, and, taking counsel of no one, she bethought how she could prove to
the remnant of the Round
Table that she was free of any plots against the king or the fair kingdom of
Britain.
She resolved that she would invite the knights to a privy dinner, and when
they had eaten she would throw herself upon their knightly pity and honour,
telling them how the evil rumours wronged and hurt her bitterly.
And she doubted not that thus their manly sympathy and worship of her, their
queen, would, by her words, cast out the evil effects of the slanderous tales.
Therefore, at that dinner, she had Sir Gawaine and his brethren, that is to
say, Sir Gareth, Sir Agravaine, Sir Gaheris, and Sir Mordred. Also there were
the kin of
Sir Lancelot, to wit, Sir Bors,.Sir Blamore, Sir Bleobaris, Sir Ector de
Maris, and Sir Lionel. But Sir Lancelot had gone into the Scottish marches, to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]