PART II THE WORLD OF ADVENTURE There is no frigate like a book To take us lands away, Nor any coursers like a page This traverse may the poorest take How frugal is the chariot That bears a human soul! -Emily Dickinson. Copyright by E. A. Abbey (from a Copley Print, copyright by Curtis and Cameron, Boston) (Galahad is taking his place next to Sir Lancelot, while King Arthur rises to receive the new knight) THE WORLD OF ADVENTURE A FORWARD LOOK Ever since we know anything about man on earth he has been "doing things." Centuries ago, a man found out how to make fire by striking pieces of flint together. Then other men discovered strange things that might be done with the mysterious flame that sprang up. Another man ventured over the hill or mountain out into the unknown world beyond, or far across the blue water that seemed to reach to the end of the world. And when the traveler returned, men listened eagerly to his stories. So from earliest days men who ventured beyond the beaten track and did things their fellows were not able to do have been interesting to those who stayed at home. Some men sought strange places beyond the seas. In this way commerce sprang up, for these adventurers brought back new foods and new objects, and knowledge of men who lived in strange places. In this way islands and continents were discovered and settled, men fought for the possession of rich lands, and life for all men became more varied and interesting through the adventures of the daring ones. The men who stand out above their fellows because of their deeds are the subjects of song and story. Minstrels and poets in all times have put into words the wonder and admiration of the people for the doer of great deeds. Some stories of this kind you will read in the pages that follow-just a few of the thousands of stories of adventure that men have told in song and narrative. Some of these stories introduce King Arthur and his Round Table, in the days of chivalry. One of them is an old ballad about a skipper who faced death upon the stormy sea; another is a modern ballad, the story of a present-day skipper who sacrificed his life in the service of his country. This spirit of adventure that makes men willing to face danger, and even death, to get some new experience or to render some service, the spirit that makes some men explore strange places, or seek for the South Pole, or fly across the seas-this spirit of adventure never dies. And people like to read of these things or hear the stories told just as much now as they did when Columbus returned after his voyage to the new world. Always the spirit of adventure lives; always we like to hear what it brings back to us of news about life. If we have had no chance yet to win men's praise, we get a larger view of life, a better sense of what life really means, from reading such stories. And we mean to do brave things ourselves, some day; so the stories thrill us with the sense of what life holds for us. Through these stories we become partners in all the brave deeds of the past. And, again, the spirit of adventure is ever living and is as keen today as in the past. And, finally, by such stories our own knowledge of the fine qualities of human nature is increased and our own experience enlarged, so that we become braver and better because we see what wonderful things life can bring. THE LAND OF MAGIC EDITH D. OSBORNE There's a wonderful land where I go by myself I just take a book from the library shelf, In that wonderful country of yesterday, Where the good ship Adventure is spreading her sails, Where the desert sands burn in the African sun, Where the North shivers under the snow; Over mountains and valleys, where strange rivers run, With hardy explorers I go. I share, too, in the magic of fairies and gnomes; I have followed the ways of the sea; I have studied the fish in their watery homes, And the bird and the ant and the bee. I have followed the trail of the first pioneers Over prairie and mountain range; I have lived with their dangers and shared in their fears In a country so new and so strange. And then-just like magic-I'm high in the air In a glittering aeroplane! Swooping in bird-flight now here and now there— O ship of adventure! Your sails are spread wide, As they fill with the winds of the West; To bear you away on your quest. With you I will sail for a year and a day, For there's nothing to hinder the traveler's way 10 THE COMING OF ARTHUR ARTHUR'S BIRTH AND PARENTAGE Long years ago there ruled over Britain a king called Uther Pendragon. A mighty prince was he, and feared by all men; yet, when he sought the love of the fair Igraine of Cornwall, she would have naught to do with him, so that, from grief and disappointment, Uther fell sick, and at last seemed nigh to death. Now in those days, there lived a famous magician named Merlin, so powerful that he could change his form at will, or even make himself invisible; nor was there any place so remote but that he could reach it at once, merely by wishing himself there. One day, suddenly, he stood at Uther's bedside, and said: "Sir King, I am ready to help you. Only promise 20 to give me, at his birth, the son that shall be born to you, and you shall have your heart's desire." To this the king agreed joyfully, and Merlin kept his word, for he gave Uther the form of one whom Igraine had loved dearly, and so she took him willingly for her husband. 2. Uther Pendragon (ū'ther pen-drăg'un). 5. Igraine (e-gran'). Not long afterwards Uther fell sick, and he knew that his end was near; so, by Merlin's advice, he called together his knights and barons and said to them: "My death draws near. I charge you, therefore, that you obey my son even as you have obeyed me; and my curse upon him if he claim not the crown when he is a man grown." Then the king turned his face to the wall and died. Scarcely was Uther laid in his grave before disputes arose. Few of the nobles had seen Arthur or even heard 39. postern-gate, small gate at the rear. 40 50 |