There were twelve great battles against the heathen hordes that had
molested them from across the terrible seas, and each of these battles
he won.
molested them from across the terrible seas, and each of these battles
he won.
Tennyson
]
"Reign, King, and live and love, and make the world better, and may your
queen be one with you, and may all the Knights of the Order of the Round
Table fulfill the boundless purposes of their king. "
There was spread a glorious marriage feast. Great lords came thither
from far away Rome, which once was the mistress of all the world, but
now was slowly fading away. These Roman lords called for the tribute
from Arthur that they had always received from Britain ever since Caesar
with his Roman legions had conquered it long years before.
But Arthur, the king and bridegroom, pointed to his snowy knights and
said: "These knights of mine have sworn to fight for me in all my wars
and to worship me as their king. The old order of things has passed away
and a new order will take its place. We are fighting for our fair father
Christ, while you have been growing so feeble and so weak and so old
that you cannot even drive away the heathen from your Roman walls any
more. So we will not pay tribute to you nor be your slaves. This is to
be our own free country which we will defend and maintain. "
_The great lords from Rome drew back very angrily_ and went home and
told their king all about what Arthur had said. So Arthur had to battle
with Rome, but he won in the end.
Arthur trained his Knights of the Round Table so that they all felt like
one great, vast strong man, all of one will. Thus he became mightier
than any of the other kings in any part of Britain. And when he fought
with them he always conquered them. In that way he drew in all the
little kingdoms under him, so that he was the one king of the land, and
they all fought together for him.
There were twelve great battles against the heathen hordes that had
molested them from across the terrible seas, and each of these battles
he won. So he made one great realm and he reigned over it, the king.
[Illustration: THE GREAT LORDS FROM ROME DREW BACK. ]
GARETH AND LYNETTE.
Old King Lot and good Queen Bellicent had three sons. Gawain and Modred
were Knights of the Round Table at Arthur's court, and young Gareth, who
was his mother's pet, sighed to think he had to stay home and be cuddled
and fondled like a baby boy instead of riding off like a venturesome
soldier fighting gloriously for the king and winning a great name.
"There! " he cried impatiently, one chilly spring day as he stood by the
brink of a rivulet and saw a bit of a pine tree caught from the bank by
the dashing, swollen waters of the stream and whirled madly away.
"That's the way the king's enemies would fall before my spear, if I had
a spear to use! That stream can do no more than I can, even although it
is merely icy water all cold with the snows while I'm tingling with hot
blood and have strong arms. When Gawain came home last summer and asked
me to tilt with him and Modred was the judge, didn't I shake him so in
his saddle that he said I had half overcome him? Humph! and mother
thinks I'm still a child! "
_Gareth went in to the queen_ and said: "Mother, if you love me listen
to a story I will tell. Once there was an egg which a great royal eagle
laid high above on the rocks somewhere almost out of sight and there was
a lad which saw the splendor sparkling from it, and the lightnings
playing around it and the little birds crying and clashing in the nest.
The boy thought if he could only reach that egg he would be richer than
a houseful of kings, and he was nearly driven from his sense with his
desire for it.
"Reign, King, and live and love, and make the world better, and may your
queen be one with you, and may all the Knights of the Order of the Round
Table fulfill the boundless purposes of their king. "
There was spread a glorious marriage feast. Great lords came thither
from far away Rome, which once was the mistress of all the world, but
now was slowly fading away. These Roman lords called for the tribute
from Arthur that they had always received from Britain ever since Caesar
with his Roman legions had conquered it long years before.
But Arthur, the king and bridegroom, pointed to his snowy knights and
said: "These knights of mine have sworn to fight for me in all my wars
and to worship me as their king. The old order of things has passed away
and a new order will take its place. We are fighting for our fair father
Christ, while you have been growing so feeble and so weak and so old
that you cannot even drive away the heathen from your Roman walls any
more. So we will not pay tribute to you nor be your slaves. This is to
be our own free country which we will defend and maintain. "
_The great lords from Rome drew back very angrily_ and went home and
told their king all about what Arthur had said. So Arthur had to battle
with Rome, but he won in the end.
Arthur trained his Knights of the Round Table so that they all felt like
one great, vast strong man, all of one will. Thus he became mightier
than any of the other kings in any part of Britain. And when he fought
with them he always conquered them. In that way he drew in all the
little kingdoms under him, so that he was the one king of the land, and
they all fought together for him.
There were twelve great battles against the heathen hordes that had
molested them from across the terrible seas, and each of these battles
he won. So he made one great realm and he reigned over it, the king.
[Illustration: THE GREAT LORDS FROM ROME DREW BACK. ]
GARETH AND LYNETTE.
Old King Lot and good Queen Bellicent had three sons. Gawain and Modred
were Knights of the Round Table at Arthur's court, and young Gareth, who
was his mother's pet, sighed to think he had to stay home and be cuddled
and fondled like a baby boy instead of riding off like a venturesome
soldier fighting gloriously for the king and winning a great name.
"There! " he cried impatiently, one chilly spring day as he stood by the
brink of a rivulet and saw a bit of a pine tree caught from the bank by
the dashing, swollen waters of the stream and whirled madly away.
"That's the way the king's enemies would fall before my spear, if I had
a spear to use! That stream can do no more than I can, even although it
is merely icy water all cold with the snows while I'm tingling with hot
blood and have strong arms. When Gawain came home last summer and asked
me to tilt with him and Modred was the judge, didn't I shake him so in
his saddle that he said I had half overcome him? Humph! and mother
thinks I'm still a child! "
_Gareth went in to the queen_ and said: "Mother, if you love me listen
to a story I will tell. Once there was an egg which a great royal eagle
laid high above on the rocks somewhere almost out of sight and there was
a lad which saw the splendor sparkling from it, and the lightnings
playing around it and the little birds crying and clashing in the nest.
The boy thought if he could only reach that egg he would be richer than
a houseful of kings, and he was nearly driven from his sense with his
desire for it.
