ite, that held a fair
sword in the hand. 'Lo,' said Merlin unto the King, 'yonder is the
sword that I spoke of.' With that they saw a damsel going upon the
lake. 'What damsel is that?' said the King. 'That is the Lady of the
Lake,' said Merlin; 'and within that lake is a rock, and therein is as
fair a place as any on earth, and richly beseen; and this damsel will
come to you anon, and then speak fair to her that she will give you
that sword.' Therewith came the damsel to King Arthur and saluted him,
and he her again. 'Damsel,' said the King, 'what sword is that which
the arm holdeth yonder above the water? I would it were mine, for I
have no sword.' 'Sir King,' said the damsel of the lake, 'that sword
is mine, and if ye will give me a gift when I ask it you, ye shall
have it.' 'By my faith,' said King Arthur, 'I will give you any gift
that you will ask or desire.' 'Well,' said the damsel, 'go into yonder
barge, and row yourself unto the sword, and take it and the scabbard
with you; and I will ask my gift when I see my time.' So King Arthur
and Merlin alighted, tied their horses to two trees, and so they went
into the barge. And when they came to the sword that the hand held,
King Arthur took it up by the handles, and took it with him, and the
arm and the hand went under the water; and so came to the land and
rode forth. King Arthur looked upon the sword, and liked it passing
well. 'Whether liketh you better,' said Merlin, 'the sword or the
scabbard?' 'Me liketh better the sword,' said King Arthur. 'Ye are
more unwise,' said Merlin, 'for the scabbard is worth ten of the
sword; for while ye have the scabbard upon you, ye shall lose no
blood, be ye never so sore wounded; therefore keep well the scabbard
alway with you.'"

[Illustration: KING ARTHUR AND MERLIN AT THE LAKE]

Sir Lancelot du Lac, son of King Ban of Benwik, was stolen and brought
up by the Lady of the Lake, from whose enchanted realm he took his
name. But he does not appear at all in true Celtic legend, and is a
mere Norman new-comer.

_Tristrem and Ysonde_

Following the Arthurian 'chronology' as set forth in the _Morte
d'Arthur_, we reach the great episode of Sir Tristrem of Lyonesse, a
legendary country off the coast of Cornwall. This most romantic yet
most human tale must be accounted one of the world's supreme love
stories. It has inspired some of our greatest poets, and moved Richard
Wagner to the composition of a splendid opera.

One of the fir