cried, 'Do not come near me, kitchen-knave. You have slain a noble
knight. Let me ride on alone.'
'Whatever happens I will follow you till we reach the Lady
Lyonors,' said Gareth.
They were coming near to Castle Dangerous now, but before they
reached it, a knight dressed all in green stopped them.
And Gareth fought the Green Knight too. But when he had struck him
to the ground, the Green Knight begged Gareth to spare his life.
'It is useless to ask me to spare your life, for you shall die,
unless the Lady Lynette asks me to set you free,' said Gareth. And
he began to undo the helmet of the Green Knight, as if he meant to
slay him.
'I will never ask a favour of a kitchen-page,' said Lynette
haughtily. 'I will never ask you to spare the Green Knight's life.'
'Spare my life,' entreated the Green Knight, 'and I and my thirty
followers will serve you for ever.'
'It is useless for you to ask me,' repeated Gareth. 'Only the Lady
Lynette can save your life.' And again he lifted his sword, as if
to slay the Green Knight.
'You will not slay him, for if you do, you will be sorry,'
stammered Lynette, as she saw Gareth's sword coming down to kill
the knight.
Gareth heard Lynette's voice, and at once put away his sword, and
gave the Green Knight his freedom.
In his gratitude the knight persuaded Gareth and Lynette to stay
with him that night, 'and in the morning I will help you to reach
Castle Dangerous,' he said.
That evening at supper-time, Lynette again mocked Gareth. He had
never asked her to be more gentle to him, but now he said, 'Mock me
no more, for in spite of all your taunts I have killed many
knights, and cleared the forests of the King's enemies.'
Now Lynette had begun to feel ashamed of her unkindness, and as she
listened to Gareth, and thought how loyally he had served her, she
felt sorry that she had been so unkind. And she asked Gareth to
forgive her for being so rude.
'I forgive you with all my heart,' said Gareth, and at last they
rode on happily side by side.
Then Gareth sent his dwarf on in front to tell Lynette's sister
that they were near her castle. And the Lady Lyonors asked the
dwarf a great many questions about his master.
'He is a noble knight and a kind master,' said the dwarf; and he
told the lady of all the adventures they had met on their way to
her castle. And Lyonors longed to see the knight who had fought so
often and so bravely to reach her.
And now there was only the Red Knight between Gareth and the Lady
Lyonors.
On the great tree, outside the castle, Gareth saw hanging the
bodies of forty knights, with their shields round their necks and
their spurs on their heels. As he looked at this terrible sight,
Gareth was afraid.
Then Lynette reminded him of all his victories, and of how even the
Black Knight had yielded to him. But what encouraged Gareth more
than all Lynette said was that, when he looked up to the castle, he
saw a beautiful lady at one of the windows. She smiled and waved
her hands to him, and he knew that this was the Lady Lyonors. Then
all his courage came back.
'This is the fairest lady I have ever seen,' thought Gareth. 'I ask
nothing better than to be allowed to do battle for her, and win her
from the Red Knight.'
Outside the castle, hanging on a sycamore tree, was a great horn,
made of an elephant's bone, and whoever wished to fight the Red
Knight must blow this horn.
Gareth looked again at the window where Lyonors still watched, and
hesitating no longer, blew the horn so piercingly and so long, that
he woke all the echoes of the wood.
Then the Knight of the Red Lands armed himself in great haste, and
his barons brought him a red spear, and a steed covered with red
silk. And the Red Knight rode proudly down into the valley, to slay
Gareth, as he had slain the other forty knights.
'Do not look any longer at the castle window,' said the Red Knight
roughly to Gareth. 'The Lady Lyonors is mine. I have fought many
battles for her.'
'I know that the Lady Lyonors does not love you nor your ways, for
they are cruel,' said Gareth, 'and I will rescue her from you, or
die.'
'Look at the dead knights on those trees, and beware,' said the Red
Knight, 'or soon I will hang your body beside theirs.'
'That is a sight that makes me only more anxious to fight,' said
Gareth, 'for you break the rules of all true knights by your
cruelty.'
'Talk no more,' said the Red Knight, 'but get ready for the
combat.'
Then Gareth told Lynette to go further off, to a place of safety.
And the two knights smote each other so fiercely in the front of
their shields that they both fell off their horses, still holding
the reins in their hands. And they lay stunned on the ground so
long, that those who were watching from the castle thought their
necks were broken.
But after a time, leaving their horses, they fought on foot. And
the battle was so rough that great pieces of their shields and
armour were knocked off, and left lying on the field.
And they fought till twelve o'clock. But by that time they were so
worn out that they staggered about, scarcely knowing where they
went, and their wounds bled so much that they were faint.
They fought till evening, and then they both agreed to rest for a
little while.
Then Gareth took off his helmet, and looked up to the castle
window. And when he saw the Lady Lyonors looking down at him, with
great kindness in her eyes, his heart felt all at once light and
glad.
And her kindness made him strong, and he started up quickly and
called to the Red Knight to fight, 'and this time to the death,'
said Gareth.
In his fury the Red Knight knocked the sword out of Gareth's hand,
and before he could get it again, he gave him such a blow on his
helmet that Gareth stumbled and fell to the ground.
Then Lynette called out, 'O Gareth, have you lost your courage? My
sister weeps and breaks her heart, because her true knight has
fallen.'
When Gareth heard that, he got up, and with a great effort leaped
to where his sword lay, and caught it in his hand, and began to
fight as if he fought a new battle.
[Illustration: THE LADY LYONORS
Page 84]
And his strokes fell so quickly on his foe, that the Red Knight
lost his sword and fell to the ground, and Gareth threw himself on
him to slay him. But the knight begged piteously for his life.
'Go to the castle and yield your homage to the Lady Lyonors,' said
Gareth. 'And if she is willing to pardon you, you are free, after
you restore the lands and castles you have taken from her.'
Then the Red Knight gladly restored all he had stolen. And after he
had been forgiven by the Lady Lyonors, he journeyed to the court,
and told Arthur all that Sir Gareth had done.
And Lynette came and took off Gareth's armour and bathed his
wounds, and he rested in his tent for ten days.
'I will go to the castle and ask Lyonors to come home with me and
be my wife,' thought Gareth, as soon as his wounds were healed. But
when he came to the castle, he found the drawbridge pulled up, and
many armed men were there, who would not let him enter.
'But Lyonors, I must see Lyonors,' thought Gareth. 'Surely she will
wish to see me,' and he looked wistfully up to the window, and
there beautiful as ever, was his Lady Lyonors.
'I cannot love you altogether,' said Lyonors, 'till you have been
King Arthur's knight for another year, and helped to clear the land
from his enemies.'
Though he was a good knight, Gareth's heart was heavy as he
listened. 'If I do not see Lyonors for a year,' he thought, 'the
months will pass more slowly and seem more empty than those long
months I spent in the King's kitchen.' But as Gareth was a right
loyal knight, he bowed to his lady's will. He had freed the castle
from the Red Knight, and now it was open to every one, only he
himself was banished. And he went away sadly but faithfully to find
new adventures.
And when Gareth slept in the forests or on the wild mountain-sides,
he often dreamed of the day that would come when his year's
wanderings were over, when Lyonors would be his wife, and together
they would go back to King Arthur's court, and he would at last be
known to every one as Sir Gareth and a prince.
He dreamed, too, of the happier day, when he would take the
beautiful Lyonors to his mother, and show her the mountain home he
loved so well.
SIR GALAHAD AND THE SACRED CUP
'My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure,'
sang Galahad gladly. He was only a boy, but he had just been made a
knight by Sir Lancelot, and the old abbey, where he had lived all
his life, rang with the echo of his song.
Sir Lancelot heard the boy's clear voice singing in triumph. As he
stopped to listen, he caught the words,
'My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure,'
and the great knight wished he were a boy again, and could sing
that song too.
Twelve nuns lived in the quiet abbey, and they had taught Galahad
lovingly and carefully, ever since he had come to them as a
beautiful little child. And the boy had dwelt happily with them
there in the still old abbey, and he would be sorry to leave them,
but he was a knight now. He would fight for the King he reverenced
so greatly, and for the country he loved so well.
Yet when Sir Lancelot left the abbey the next day, Galahad did not
go with him. He would stay in his old home a little longer, he
thought. He would not grieve the nuns by a hurried farewell.
Sir Lancelot left the abbey alone, but as he rode along he met two
knights, and together they reached Camelot, where the King was
holding a great festival.
King Arthur welcomed Sir Lancelot and the two knights. 'Now all the
seats at our table will be filled,' he said gladly. For it pleased
the King when the circle of his knights was unbroken.
Then all the King's household went to service at the minster, and
when they came back to the palace they saw a strange sight.
In the dining-hall the Round Table at which the King and his
knights always sat seemed strangely bright.
The King looked more closely, and saw that at one place on this
Round Table were large gold letters. And he read, 'This is the seat
of Sir Galahad, the Pure-hearted.' But only Sir Lancelot knew that
Sir Galahad was the boy-knight he had left behind him in the quiet
old abbey.
'We will cover the letters till the Knight of the Pure Heart
comes,' said Sir Lancelot; and he took silk and laid it over the
glittering letters.
Then as they sat down to table they were disturbed by Sir Kay, the
steward of the King's kitchen.
'You do not sit down to eat at this festival,' Sir Kay reminded the
King, 'till you have seen or heard some great adventure.' And the
King told his steward that the writing in gold had made him forget
his usual custom.
As they waited a squire came hastily into the hall. 'I have a
strange tale to tell,' he said. 'As I walked along the bank of the
river I saw a great stone, and it floated on the top of the water,
and into the stone there has been thrust a sword.'
Then the King and all his knights went down to the river, and they
saw the stone, and it was like red marble. And the sword that had
been thrust into the stone was strong and fair. The handle of it
was studded with precious stones, and among the stones there were
letters of gold.
The King stepped forward, and bending over the sword read these
words: 'No one shall take me away but he to whom I belong. I will
hang only by the side of the best knight in the world.'
The King turned to Sir Lancelot. 'The sword is yours, for surely
there lives no truer knight.'
But Sir Lancelot answered gravely, 'The sword is not mine. It will
never hang by my side, for I dare not try to take it.'
The King was sorry that his great knight's courage failed, but he
turned to Sir Gawaine and asked him to try to take the sword.
And at first Sir Gawaine hesitated. But when he looked again at the
precious stones that sparkled on the handle, he hesitated no
longer. But he no sooner touched the sword than it wounded him, so
that he could not use his arm for many days.
Then the King turned to Sir Percivale. And because Arthur wished
it, Sir Percivale tried to take the sword; but he could not move
it. And after that no other knight dared to touch the fair sword;
so they turned and went back to the palace.
In the dining-hall the King and his knights sat down once more at
the Round Table, and each knight knew his own chair. And all the
seats were filled except the chair opposite the writing in gold.
It had been a day full of surprise, but now the most wonderful
thing of all happened. For as they sat down, suddenly all the doors
of the palace shut with a loud noise, but no one had touched the
doors. And all the windows were softly closed, but no one saw the
hands that closed them.
Then one of the doors opened, and there came in a very old man
dressed all in white, and no one knew whence he came.
By his side was a young man in red armour. He had neither sword nor
shield, but hanging by his side was an empty sheath.
There was a great silence in the hall as the old man said slowly
and solemnly, 'I bring you the young knight Sir Galahad, who is
descended from a king. He shall do many great deeds, and he shall
see the Holy Grail.'
'He shall see the Holy Grail,' the knights repeated, with awe on
their faces.
For far back, in the days of their boyhood, they had heard the
story of the Holy Grail. It was the Sacred Cup out of which their
Lord had drunk before He died.
And they had been told how sometimes it was seen carried by angels,
and how at other times in a gleam of light. But in whatever way it
appeared, it was seen only by those who were pure in heart.
And as the old man's words, 'He shall see the Holy Grail,' fell on
their ears, the knights thought of the story they had heard so long
ago, and they were sorry, for they had never seen the Sacred Cup,
and they knew that it was unseen only by those who had done wrong.
But the old man was telling the boy-knight to follow him. He led
him to the empty chair, and lifted the silk that covered the golden
letters. 'This is the seat of Sir Galahad, the Pure-hearted,' he
read aloud. And the young knight sat in the empty seat that
belonged to him.
Then the old man left the palace, and twenty noble squires met him,
and took him back to his own country.
When dinner was ended, the King went over to the chair where his
boy-knight sat, and welcomed him to the circle of the Round Table.
Afterwards he took Sir Galahad's hand, and led him out of the
palace to show him the strange red stone that floated on the river.
When Sir Galahad heard how the knights could not draw the sword out
of the stone, he knew that this adventure was his.
'I will try to take the sword,' said the boy-knight, 'and place it
in my sheath, for it is empty,' and he pointed to his side. Then
he laid his hand on the wonderful sword, and easily drew it out of
the stone, and placed it in his sheath.
'God has sent you the sword, now He will send you a shield as
well,' said King Arthur.
Then the King proclaimed that the next day there would be a
tournament in the meadows of Camelot. For before his knights went
out to new adventures, he would see Sir Galahad proved.
And in the morning the meadows lay bright in the sunshine. And the
boy-knight rode bravely to his first combat, and overthrew many
men; but Sir Lancelot and Sir Percivale he could not overthrow.
When the tournament was over the King and his knights went home to
supper, and each sat in his own seat at the Round Table.
All at once there was a loud crashing noise, a noise that was
louder than any peal of thunder. Was the King's wonderful palace
falling to pieces?
But while the noise still sounded a marvellous light stole into
the room, a light brighter than any sunbeam.
As the knights looked at one another, each seemed to the other to
have a new glory and a new beauty in his face.
And down the sunbeam glided the Holy Grail. It was the Sacred Cup
they had all longed to see. But no one saw it, for it was invisible
to all but the pure-hearted Sir Galahad.
As the strange light faded away, King Arthur heard his knights
vowing that they would go in search of the Holy Grail, and never
give up the quest till they had found it.
And the boy-knight knew that he too would go over land and sea,
till he saw again the wonderful vision.
That night the King could not sleep, for his sorrow was great. His
knights would wander into far-off countries, and many of them would
forget that they were in search of the Holy Grail. Would they not
have found the Sacred Cup one day if they had stayed with their
King and helped to clear the country of its enemies?
In the morning the streets of Camelot were crowded with rich and
poor. And the people wept as they watched the knights ride away on
their strange quest. And the King wept too, for he knew that now
there would be many empty chairs at the Round Table.
The knights rode together to a strange city and stayed there all
night. The next day they separated, each going a different way.
Sir Galahad rode on for four days without adventure. At last he
came to a white abbey, where he was received very kindly. And he
found two knights there, and one was a King.
'What adventure has brought you here?' asked the boy-knight.
Then they told him that in this abbey there was a shield. And if
any man tried to carry it, he was either wounded or dead within
three days.
'But to-morrow I shall try to bear it,' said the King.
'In the name of God, let me take the shield,' said Sir Galahad
gravely.
'If I fail, you shall try to bear it,' said the King. And Galahad
was glad, for he had still no shield of his own.
Then a monk took the King and the young knight behind the altar,
and showed them where the shield hung. It was as white as snow, but
in the middle there was a red cross.
'The shield can be borne only by the worthiest knight in the
world,' the monk warned the King.
'I will try to bear it, though I am no worthy knight,' insisted the
King; and he took the shield and rode down into the valley.
And Galahad waited at the abbey, for the King had said he would
send his squire to tell the young knight how the shield had
protected him.
For two miles the King rode through the valley, till he reached a
hermitage. And he saw a warrior there, dressed in white armour, and
sitting on a white horse.
The warrior rode quickly towards the King, and struck him so hard
that he broke his armour. Then he thrust his spear through the
King's right shoulder, as though he held no shield.
'The shield can be borne only by a peerless knight. It does not
belong to you,' said the warrior, as he gave it to the squire,
telling him to carry it back to the abbey and to give it to Sir
Galahad with his greeting.
'Then tell me your name,' said the squire.
'I will tell neither you nor any one on earth,' said the warrior.
And he disappeared, and the squire saw him no more.
'I will take the wounded King to an abbey, that his wounds may be
dressed,' thought the squire.
And with great difficulty the King and his squire reached an abbey.
And the monks thought his life could not be saved, but after many
days he was cured.
Then the squire rode back to the abbey where Galahad waited. 'The
warrior who wounded the King bids you bear this shield,' he said.
Galahad hung the shield round his neck joyfully, and rode into the
valley to seek the warrior dressed in white.
And when they met they saluted each other courteously. And the
warrior told Sir Galahad strange tales of the white shield, till
the knight thanked God that now it was his. And all his life long
the white shield with the red cross was one of his great treasures.
Now Galahad rode back to the abbey, and the monks were glad to see
him again. 'We have need of a pure knight,' they said, as they took
Sir Galahad to a tomb in the churchyard.
A pitiful noise was heard, and a voice from the tomb cried,
'Galahad, servant of God, do not come near me.' But the young
knight went towards the tomb and raised the stone.
Then a thick smoke was seen, and through the smoke a figure uglier
than any man leaped from the tomb, shouting, 'Angels are round
thee, Galahad, servant of God. I can do you no harm.'
The knight stooped down and saw a body all dressed in armour lying
there, and a sword lay by its side.
'This was a false knight,' said Sir Galahad. 'Let us carry his body
away from this place.'
'You will stay in the abbey and live with us,' entreated the monks.
But the boy-knight could not rest. Would he see the light that was
brighter than any sunbeam again? Would his adventures bring him at
last to the Holy Grail?
Sir Galahad rode on many days, till at last he reached a mountain.
On the mountain he found an old chapel. It was empty and very
desolate. Galahad knelt alone before the altar, and asked God to
tell him what to do next.
And as he prayed a voice said, 'Thou brave knight, go to the Castle
of Maidens and rescue them.'
Galahad rose, and gladly journeyed on to the Castle of Maidens.
There he found seven knights, who long ago had seized the castle
from a maiden to whom it belonged. And these knights had imprisoned
her and many other maidens.
When the seven knights saw Sir Galahad they came out of the castle.
'We will take this young knight captive, and keep him in prison,'
they said to each other, as they fell upon him.
But Sir Galahad smote the first knight to the ground, so that he
almost broke his neck. And as his wonderful sword flashed in the
light, sudden fear fell on the six knights that were left, and they
turned and fled.
Then an old man took the keys of the castle to Galahad. And the
knight opened the gates of the castle, and set free many prisoners.
He gave the castle back to the maiden to whom it belonged, and sent
for all the knights in the country round about to do her homage.
Then once again Sir Galahad rode on in search of the Holy Grail.
And the way seemed long, yet on and on he rode, till at last he
reached the sea.
There, on the shore, stood a maiden, and when she saw Sir Galahad,
she led him to a ship and told him to enter.
[Illustration: "MY STRENGTH IS AS THE STRENGTH OF TEN BECAUSE MY
HEART IS PURE"
Page 88]
The wind rose and drove the ship, with Sir Galahad on board,
between two rocks. But when the ship could not pass that way, the
knight left it, and entered a smaller one that awaited him.
In this ship was a table, and on the table, covered with a red
cloth, was the Holy Grail. Reverently Sir Galahad sank on his
knees. But still the Sacred Cup was covered.
At last the ship reached a strange city, and on the shore sat a
crippled man. Sir Galahad asked his help to lift the table from the
ship.
'For ten years I have not walked without crutches,' said the man.
'Show that you are willing, and come to me,' urged the knight.
And the cripple got up, and when he found that he was cured, he ran
to Sir Galahad, and together they carried the wonderful table to
the shore.
Then all the city was astonished, and the people talked only of the
great marvel. 'The man that was a cripple for ten years can walk,'
each said to the other.
The King of the city heard the wonderful tale, but he was a cruel
King and a tyrant. 'The knight is not a good man,' he said to his
people, and he commanded that Galahad should be put in prison. And
the prison was underneath the palace, and it was dark and cold
there.
But down into the darkness streamed the light that had made Galahad
so glad long ago at Camelot. And in the light Galahad saw the Holy
Grail.
A year passed and the cruel King was very ill, and he thought he
would die. Then he remembered the knight he had treated so
unkindly, and who was still in the dark, cold prison. 'I will send
for him, and ask him to forgive me,' murmured the King.
And when Galahad was brought to the palace, he willingly forgave
the tyrant who had put him in prison.
Then the King died, and there was great dismay in the city, for
where would they find a good ruler to sit on the throne?
As they wondered, they heard a voice that told them to make Sir
Galahad their King, and in great joy the knight was crowned.
Then the new King ordered a box of gold and precious stones to be
made, and in this box he placed the wonderful table he had carried
away from the ship. 'And every morning I and my people will come
here to pray,' he said.
For a year Sir Galahad ruled the country well and wisely.
'A year ago they crowned me King,' thought Galahad gravely, as he
woke one morning. He would get up early, and go to pray at the
precious table.
But before the King reached the table he paused. It was early.
Surely all the city was asleep. Yet some one was already there,
kneeling before the table on which, uncovered, stood the Sacred
Cup.
The man kneeling there looked holy as the saints look. Surrounding
him was a circle of angels. Was it a saint who kneeled, or was it
the Lord Himself?