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17 - Tales of King Arthur and the Round Table by Andrew Lang · Tales of King Arthur and the Round Table

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  Speaker 1: Section sixteen of Tales of King Arthur and the Round Table.
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  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Tales of King Arthur and the
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  Speaker 1: Round Table by Andrew Lang. The Quest of the Holy Grail,
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  Speaker 1: Part nine, Adventure of Sir Galahad. Sir Galahad rested one
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  Speaker 1: evening at a hermitage, and while he was resting there
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  Speaker 1: came a gentlewoman and asked leave of the hermit to
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  Speaker 1: speak with Sir Galahad, and would not be denied, though
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  Speaker 1: she was told he was weary and asleep. Then the
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  Speaker 1: hermit waked Sir Galahad and bade him rise, as a
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  Speaker 1: gentlewoman had great need of him. So Sir Galahad rose
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  Speaker 1: and asked her what she wished. Galahad said, she, I
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  Speaker 1: will that you arm yourself and mount your horse and
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  Speaker 1: follow me, and I will show you the highest adventure
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  Speaker 1: that ever any knight saw. And Sir Galahad bade her go,
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  Speaker 1: and he would follow wherever she led. In three days
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  Speaker 1: they reached the sea where they found the ship, where
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  Speaker 1: Sir bors and Sir Perceval were lying, and the lady
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  Speaker 1: bade him leave his horse behind, and said she would
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  Speaker 1: leave hers also, but their saddles and bridles they would
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  Speaker 1: take on board the ship. This they did, and were
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  Speaker 1: received with great joy by the two knights. Then the
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  Speaker 1: sails were spread, and the ship was driven before the
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  Speaker 1: wind at a marvelous pace, till they reached the land
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  Speaker 1: of Logris, the entrance to which lies between two great rocks,
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  Speaker 1: with a whirlpool in the middle. Their own ship might
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  Speaker 1: not get safely through, but they left it and went
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  Speaker 1: into another ship that lay there, which had neither man
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  Speaker 1: nor woman in it. At the end of the ship
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  Speaker 1: was written these words, thou man, which shall enter this ship,
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  Speaker 1: beware thou be in steadfast belief. If thou fell, I
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  Speaker 1: shall not help thee. Then the gentlewoman turned and said, Perceval,
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  Speaker 1: do you know who I am? No truly answered he,
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  Speaker 1: I am your sister, and therefore you are the man
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  Speaker 1: in the world that I most love. If you are
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  Speaker 1: without faith or have any hidden sin, beware how you enter,
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  Speaker 1: else you will perish. Fair sister answered he, I shall
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  Speaker 1: enter therein, for if I am an untrue knight, then
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  Speaker 1: I shall perish so they entered the ship, and it
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  Speaker 1: was so rich and well adorned that they all marveled.
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  Speaker 1: In the midst of it was a fair bed, and
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  Speaker 1: Sir Galahad went there too, and found on it a
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  Speaker 1: crown of silk and a sword drawn out of its
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  Speaker 1: sheath half a foot or more. The sword was of
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  Speaker 1: diverse fashions, and the pommel was of stone, wrought about
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  Speaker 1: with colors, and every color with its own virtue. And
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  Speaker 1: the handle was of the ribs of two beasts. The
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  Speaker 1: one was the bone of a serpent, and no hand
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  Speaker 1: that handles it shall ever become weary or hurt. And
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  Speaker 1: the other was a bone of a fish that swims
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  Speaker 1: in euphrates, and whose so handles it shall not think
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  Speaker 1: on joy or sorrow that he has had, but only
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  Speaker 1: on that which he beholds before him. And no man
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  Speaker 1: shall grip this sword, but one that is better than
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  Speaker 1: other men. So first Sir Percivale stepped forward and set
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  Speaker 1: his hand to the sword, but he might not grasp it. Next,
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  Speaker 1: Sir Bors tried to seize it, but he also failed.
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  Speaker 1: When Sir Galahad beheld the sword, he saw that there
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  Speaker 1: was written on it in letters of blood, that he
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  Speaker 1: who tried to draw it should never fail of shame
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  Speaker 1: in his body, or be wounded to the death. By
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  Speaker 1: my faith, said Galahad. I would draw this sword out
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  Speaker 1: of its sheath, but the offending is so great I
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  Speaker 1: shall not lay my hand there too, Sir, answered the gentleman.
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  Speaker 1: Know that no man can draw this sword save you alone.
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  Speaker 1: And she told him many tales of the knights who
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  Speaker 1: had set their hands to it, and of the evil
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  Speaker 1: things that had befallen them. And they all begged Sir
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  Speaker 1: Galahad to grip the sword, as it was ordained that
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  Speaker 1: he should. I will grip it, said Galahad, to give
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  Speaker 1: you courage, but it belongs no more to me than
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  Speaker 1: it does to you. Then he gripped it tight with
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  Speaker 1: his fingers, and the gentlewoman girt him about the middle
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  Speaker 1: with the sword. And after that they left the ship
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  Speaker 1: and went into another, which brought them to land, where
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  Speaker 1: they fell upon many strange adventures. On the shore, they
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  Speaker 1: saw three score knights by a castle to which they repaired.
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  Speaker 1: And the owner of this castle was a gentlewoman on
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  Speaker 1: whom years ago had befallen a great malady of which
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  Speaker 1: there was but one remedy. It was that she must
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  Speaker 1: be anointed with a dish of the blood of a
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  Speaker 1: maid fair and pure, and a king's daughter withal. And
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  Speaker 1: the knights accosted them and counseled them to withdraw, saying
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  Speaker 1: that they might go without harm, only they must needs
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  Speaker 1: have their custom. And this custom was the blood of
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  Speaker 1: Sir Percivale's sister. And Sir Galahad drew his sword with
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  Speaker 1: the two handles and slew whatever withstood him. But knight fell,
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  Speaker 1: and a good knight promised to harbor them for the
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  Speaker 1: knight safely and surely, saying, on the morrow we dare
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  Speaker 1: say you will accord with the custom. Then said Sir
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  Speaker 1: Percivale's sister, fair knights, I fain would heal this fair lady,
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  Speaker 1: For thus shall I gain great worship, and my lineage
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  Speaker 1: withal and better is one harm than twain. And therefore
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  Speaker 1: there shall be no battle. But to morrow, at morn,
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  Speaker 1: I shall yield you your custom of this castle. And
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  Speaker 1: then there was great joy. It chanced that while she
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  Speaker 1: bled on the morrow, she lifted her hands and blessed them,
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  Speaker 1: and she said, madam, I die to make you whole.
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  Speaker 1: For God's love pray for me. With that she fell
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  Speaker 1: in a swoon. Then Galahad and his fellows lifted her
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  Speaker 1: up and staunched her, but she died, and, weeping there
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  Speaker 1: put her body in a barge, as she had wished
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  Speaker 1: in her hand. Sir Percevale put a letter showing how
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  Speaker 1: she had helped them, and they covered her with black silk.
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  Speaker 1: So the wind arose and drove the barge from the land,
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  Speaker 1: and all knights beheld it disappear from sight. End of
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  Speaker 1: Section sixteen.