by such a felon! What have I done that I should have caused the deaths of the good knights Sir Gareth, Sir Gaheris, and Sir Gawain, and yet that such a villain should escape my sword!"

Then he desired to be led to Sir Gawain's tomb, where he remained long in prayer and in great lamenta10 tion; after which he called to him his kinsmen and friends and said to them: "My fair lords, I thank you all most heartily that, of your courtesy, you came with me to this land. That we have come too late is a misfortune that might not be avoided, though I shall mourn it my life long. Now I will ride forth alone to find my lady the queen in the West, whither men 20 say she has fled. Wait for me, I pray you, for fifteen days, and then if you hear naught of me return to your own lands."

Sir Lancelot rode forth alone, nor would he suffer any to follow him despite their prayers and entreaties.

Thus he rode some seven or eight days until, at last, he came to a nunnery where he saw in the cloister 30 many nuns waiting on a fair lady, none other, indeed, than Queen Guinevere herself. And she, looking up, saw Lancelot and, at the sight, grew so pale that her ladies feared for her; but she recovered and bade them go and bring Sir Lancelot to her presence. When he had come, she said to him:

"Sir Lancelot, glad am I to see you once again that I may bid you fare40 well; for in this world shall we never meet again."

"Sweet Madam," answered Sir Lancelot, "I was minded, with your leave, to bear you to my own country, where I doubt not but I should guard

you well and safely from your enemies."

"Nay, Lancelot," said the queen, "that may not be; I am resolved never to look upon the world again, 50 but here to pass my life in prayer and in such good works as I may. But you, go you back to your own land and take a fair wife, and you both shall ever have my prayers."

"Madam," replied Sir Lancelot, "you know well that shall never be. And since you are resolved to lead a life of prayer, I, too, will forsake the world if I can find a hermit to 60 share his cell with me; for ever your will has been mine."

Long and earnestly he looked upon her as though he might never gaze enough; then, getting to horse, he rode slowly away.

Nor did they ever meet again in life. For Queen Guinevere abode in the great nunnery of Amesbury where Sir Lancelot had found her, 70 and presently, for the holiness of her life, she was made abbess.

THE PASSING OF QUEEN GUINEVERE
AND OF SIR LANCELOT

But Sir Lancelot, after he had left her, rode on his way till he came to the cell where Sir Bedivere dwelt with the hermit; and when Sir Bedivere had told him all that had befallen, of the great battle in the West, and of the passing away of Arthur, Sir Lancelot flung down his arms and so implored the holy hermit to let him remain there as the servant of God. So Sir Lancelot donned the serge gown and abode in the hermitage as the priest of God.

Presently there came riding that way the good Sir Bors, Lancelot's

nephew; for, when Sir Lancelot returned not to Dover, Sir Bors and many another knight went forth in search of him. There, then, Sir Bors remained and, within a half year, many who in former days had been fellows of the Round Table joined themselves to these three; and the fame of their piety spread far and wide. 10 So six years passed and then, one night, Lancelot had a vision. It seemed to him that one said to him:

"Lancelot, arise and go in haste to Amesbury. There shall There shall you find Queen Guinevere dead, and it shall be for you to bury her."

Sir Lancelot arose at once and, calling his fellows to him, told them his dream. Immediately, with all 20 haste, they set forth toward Amesbury and, arriving there the second day, found the queen dead, as had been foretold in the vision. So with the state and ceremony befitting a great queen, they buried her in the

Abbey of Glastonbury.

Lancelot it was who performed the funeral rites; but when all was done, he pined away, growing weaker daily.

At the end of six weeks, he called 30 to him his fellows and, bidding them all farewell, desired that his dead body should be conveyed to the Joyous Garde, there to be buried, for that in the church at Glastonbury he was not worthy to lie.

That same night he died, and was buried, as he had desired, in his own castle. So passed from the world the bold Sir Lancelot du Lac, bravest, 40 most courteous, and most gentle of knights, whose peer the world has never seen nor ever shall see.

After Sir Lancelot's death, Sir Bors and the pious knights, his companions, took their way to the Holy Land, and there they died in battle against the Turk. So ends this story of King Arthur and his noble fellowship of the Round Table.

Outline for Testing Silent Reading 1. Sir Modred's jealousy. 2. His plot. 3. The combat. 4. Feuds. 5. The law in respect to treason. 6. The king's decree. 7. Plans for the execution. 8. The rescue. 9. The deaths of Sir Gareth and Sir Gaheris. 10. Sir Gawain's vow. 11. Arthur's siege of the Joyous Garde. 12. The return of the queen. 13. The banishment of Lancelot. 14. King Arthur and Gawain in France. 15. The fight between Lancelot and Gawain. 16. Modred, the traitor, in Britain. 17. The death of Sir Gawain. 18. The battle in the West. 19. King Arthur's dream. 20. The adder. 21. The death of Modred. 22. Sir Bedivere and the sword Excalibur. 23. The death of Arthur. 24. Guinevere in the nunnery. 25. The deaths of Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot.

QUESTIONS AND TOPICS

1. Why were Arthur and his knights successful in restoring order in the kingdom? What value have union and loyalty in any cause?

2. When did this union of King Arthur and his knights begin to weaken? Whose unfaithfulness and treachery began its destruction? What was the great fault in Modred that prevented his being loyal?

3. Trace the progress of disunion from its beginning in Modred's jealousy as follows: jealousy; plot; combat; deaths; vengeance; false accusation; decree of death by burning; rescue; deaths; vow of vengeance; war.

4. How did "true knights" regard Sir Lancelot?

5. Find lines which show that Arthur did not think himself greater than the law.

50

Can good government exist without respect for law?

6. What proof did Sir Lancelot give of his love for the king, even while at war with him? Find lines which show that the king loved Lancelot, in spite of all that had come between them.

7. Was King Arthur at fault when he allowed himself to be persuaded by Sir Gawain to make war on Sir Lancelot?

8. Find lines that show how Sir Gawain's love and generosity triumphed over his desire for vengeance.

9. Over what did King Arthur grieve when he lay wounded after the "battle in the West"?

10. Tell the story of Guinevere, using the following outline: Marriage, life at court, friendship of Lancelot, treachery of Modred, trial of the queen, sentence, rescue, return, shelter in the Tower of London, the nunnery, death, burial.

11. How does the fact that these old stories have lived for centuries show that we like "to become partners in all the brave deeds of the past," as told you in the Introduction on page 123?

12. What have the fine ideals of these legends-union for defense of the weak, mercy to all, and wrongful gain to nonehad to do with making the legends live?

13. The last sentence on page 123 tells of the benefit we gain from reading stories of adventure. What is this benefit? In what way do you feel that your reading of the King Arthur stories has benefited you?

Class Reading. 1. The quarrel between Gawain and Lancelot, page 152, line 72, to page 153, line 68. 2. The casting away of Excalibur, page 158, line 70, to page 159, line 68. 3. The passing of Arthur, page 159, line 69, to page 160, line 36. 4. A volunteer may bring to class and read "The Passing of Arthur," Tennyson, beginning with line 330.

Theme Topics.

1. The method used

by the knights of Arthur's court to right wrong compared with methods used in our day. 2. Adventures of firemen, policemen, coast-guards, railway-engineers, doctors, nurses, etc. 3. A medieval tournament compared with a modern football game. 4. Some heroes in aviation, polar, and other scientific expeditions, who might qualify for a present-day Order of the Round Table.

Suggested Problem. The swords of famous heroes of old were known by name; King Arthur's sword was Excalibur; the sword of Siegfried, the Norse hero, was known as Balmung; and the sword of Roland, the French hero, was named Durendal. A group of volunteers may prepare for the class a brief report on famous swords. Information may be found in an unabridged dictionary under the names of the swords and the heroes.

Library Reading. Heroes of Modern Adventure, Bridges and Tiltman; The Voyages of Captain Scott, Turley; A Boy's View of the Arctic, Rawson; We, Lindbergh; Skyward, Byrd; The Arcturus Adventure, Beebe; David Goes Voyaging, Putnam.

SIR PATRICK SPENS
The king sits in Dunfermline town,
Drinking the blude-red wine:
"O whare will I get a skeely skipper
To sail this new ship o' mine?"

O up and spake an eldern knight
Sat at the king's right knee:
"Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailor
That ever sailed the sea."

Our king has written a braid letter
And sealed it wi' his hand,
And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens,
Was walking on the sand.

"To Noroway, to Noroway,

To Noroway o'er the faem;

The king's daughter to Noroway,

'Tis thou maun bring her hame."

5

10

15

Half ower, half ower to Aberdour, 85

It's fifty fathoms deep;

And there lies gude Sir Patrick Spens, Wi' the Scots lords at his feet.

85. Half ower, etc., half way home.

NOTES AND QUESTIONS EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Ballad

The old folk ballads, of which "Sir Patrick Spens" is an excellent example, have all come down to us from the far-off past. Such ballads are not the work of any one author, but, like the stories of King Arthur, were preserved mainly in the memories of men. Some of them were sung or recited to the music of the harp or lute by minstrels who wandered from village to village, and from castle to castle, entertaining their hearers in return for food

who were maintained by kings and nobles to entertain them and to celebrate their deeds and honors.

Often these ballads were made by the people themselves, not by professional singers, and were expressions of their love of adventure. Indeed, the best definition of a popular, or folk, ballad is "a tale telling itself in song." This means that it always tells a story; that it has no known author, being composed by several people. or by a community and then handed down

orally from generation to generation with

out ever being put into writing; and finally, that it is sung, not recited. In this way such folk ballads as "Sir Patrick Spens" were handed down in different versions, before they were written down and became a part of what we call literature.

When the invention of the printing press made it possible to put these old ballads into permanent form, they were collected from the recitations of old men and women, and printed. Thus they have become a precious literary possession telling us something of the life, the history, the superstitions, and the beliefs of distant times, besides thrilling us with their stirring stories. The beauty of these old ballads lies in the stories they tell, in their