Jesus Christ, and thou shalt see what thou hast so much longed to
see.'
And with joy Sir Galahad saw again the Holy Grail. Then as he
kneeled before it in prayer, his soul left his body and was carried
by angels into heaven.
THE DEATH OF KING ARTHUR
It was not to win renown that King Arthur had gone far across the
sea, for he loved his own country so well, that to gain glory at
home made him happiest of all.
But a false knight with his followers was laying waste the country
across the sea, and Arthur had gone to wage war against him.
'And you, Sir Modred, will rule the country while I am gone,' the
King had said. And the knight smiled as he thought of the power
that would be his.
At first the people missed their great King Arthur, but as the
months passed they began to forget him, and to talk only of Sir
Modred and his ways.
And he, that he might gain the people's praise, made easier laws
than ever Arthur had done, till by and by there were many in the
country who wished that the King would never come back.
When Modred knew what the people wished, he was glad, and he made
up his mind to do a cruel deed.
He would cause letters to be written from beyond the sea, and the
letters would tell that the great King Arthur had been slain in
battle.
And when the letters came the people read, 'King Arthur is dead,'
and they believed the news was true.
And there were some who wept because the noble King was slain, but
some had no time to weep. 'We must find a new King,' they said. And
because his laws were easy, these chose Sir Modred to rule over
them.
The wicked knight was pleased that the people wished him to be
their King. 'They shall take me to Canterbury to crown me,' he said
proudly. And the nobles took him there, and amid shouts and
rejoicings he was crowned.
But it was not very long till other letters came from across the
sea, saying that King Arthur had not been slain, and that he was
coming back to rule over his own country once more.
When Sir Modred heard that King Arthur was on his way home, he
collected a great army and went to Dover to try to keep the King
from landing.
But no army would have been strong enough to keep Arthur and his
knights away from the country they loved so well. They fought
fiercely till they got on shore and scattered all Sir Modred's men.
Then the knight gathered together another army, and chose a new
battle-field.
But King Arthur fought so bravely that he and his men were again
victorious, and Sir Modred fled to Canterbury.
Many of the people began to forsake the false knight now, and
saying that he was a traitor, they went back to King Arthur.
But still Sir Modred wished to conquer the King. He would go
through the counties of Kent and Surrey and raise a new army.
Now King Arthur had dreamed that if he fought with Sir Modred again
he would be slain. So when he heard that the knight had raised
another army, he thought, 'I will meet this traitor who has
betrayed me. When he looks in my face, he will be ashamed and
remember his vow of obedience.'
And he sent two bishops to Sir Modred. 'Say to the knight that the
King would speak with him alone,' said Arthur.
And the traitor thought, 'The King wishes to give me gold or great
power, if I send my army away without fighting.' 'I will meet King
Arthur,' he said to the bishops.
But because he did not altogether trust the King he said he would
take fourteen men with him to the meeting-place, 'and the King must
have fourteen men with him too,' said Sir Modred. 'And our armies
shall keep watch when we meet, and if a sword is lifted it shall be
the signal for battle.'
Then King Arthur arranged a feast for Sir Modred and his men. And
as they feasted all went merrily till an adder glided out of a
little bush and stung one of the knight's men. And the pain was so
great, that the man quickly drew his sword to kill the adder.
And when the armies saw the sword flash in the light, they sprang
to their feet and began to fight, 'for this is the signal for
battle,' they thought.
And when evening came there were many thousand slain and wounded,
and Sir Modred was left alone. But Arthur had still two knights
with him, Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere.
When King Arthur saw that his army was lost and all his knights
slain but two, he said, 'Would to God I could find Sir Modred, who
has caused all this trouble.'
'He is yonder,' said Sir Lucan, 'but remember your dream, and go
not near him.'
'Whether I die or live,' said the King, 'he shall not escape.' And
seizing his spear he ran to Sir Modred, crying, 'Now you shall
die.'
And Arthur smote him under the shield, and the spear passed through
his body, and he died.
Then, wounded and exhausted, the King fainted, and his knights
lifted him and took him to a little chapel not far from a lake.
As the King lay there, he heard cries of fear and pain from the
distant battle-field.
'What causes these cries?' said the King wearily. And to soothe the
sick King, Sir Lucan said he would go to see.
And when he reached the battle-field, he saw in the moonlight that
robbers were on the field stooping over the slain, and taking from
them their rings and their gold. And those that were only wounded,
the robbers slew, that they might take their jewels too.
Sir Lucan hastened back, and told the King what he had seen.
'We will carry you farther off, lest the robbers find us here,'
said the knights. And Sir Lucan lifted the King on one side and Sir
Bedivere lifted him on the other.
But Sir Lucan had been wounded in the battle, and as he lifted the
King he fell back and died.
Then Arthur and Sir Bedivere wept for the fallen knight.
Now the King felt so ill that he thought he would not live much
longer, and he turned to Sir Bedivere: 'Take Excalibur, my good
sword,' he said, 'and go with it to the lake, and throw it into its
waters. Then come quickly and tell me what you see.'
Sir Bedivere took the sword and went down to the lake. But as he
looked at the handle with its sparkling gems and the richness of
the sword, he thought he could not throw it away. 'I will hide it
carefully here among the rushes,' thought the knight. And when he
had hidden it, he went slowly to the King and told him he had
thrown the sword into the lake.
'What did you see?' asked the King eagerly.
'Nothing but the ripple of the waves as they broke on the beach,'
said Sir Bedivere.
'You have not told me the truth,' said the King. 'If you love me,
go again to the lake, and throw my sword into the water.'
Again the knight went to the water's edge. He drew the sword from
its hiding-place. He would do the King's will, for he loved him.
But again the beauty of the sword made him pause. 'It is a noble
sword; I will not throw it away,' he murmured, as once more he hid
it among the rushes. Then he went back more slowly, and told the
King that he had done his will.
'What did you see?' asked the King.
'Nothing but the ripples of the waves as they broke on the beach,'
repeated the knight.
'You have betrayed me twice,' said the King sadly, 'and yet you are
a noble knight! Go again to the lake, and do not betray me for a
rich sword.'
Then for the third time Sir Bedivere went to the water's edge, and
drawing the sword from among the rushes, he flung it as far as he
could into the lake.
And as the knight watched, an arm and a hand appeared above the
surface of the lake. He saw the hand seize the sword, and shaking
it three times, disappear again under the water. Then Sir Bedivere
went back quickly to the King, and told him what he had seen.
'Carry me to the lake,' entreated Arthur, 'for I have been here too
long.'
[Illustration: Page 115]
And the knight carried the King on his shoulders down to the
water's side. There they found a barge lying, and seated in it were
three Queens, and each Queen wore a black hood. And when they saw
King Arthur they wept.
'Lay me in the barge,' said the King. And when Sir Bedivere had
laid him there, King Arthur rested his head on the lap of the
fairest Queen. And they rowed from land.
Sir Bedivere, left alone, watched the barge as it drifted out of
sight, and then he went sorrowfully on his way, till he reached a
hermitage. And he lived there as a hermit for the rest of his life.
And the barge was rowed to a vale where the King was healed of his
wound.
And some say that now he is dead, but others say that King Arthur
will come again, and clear the country of its foes.
Edinburgh: Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Minor punctuation corrections have been made; however, all
spellings appear as in the original.
Removed a duplicate title page for GERAINT AND ENID.
End of Project Gutenberg's Stories of King Arthur's Knights, by Mary MacGregor