ion for the
hate which I feel for this knight; by and by I shall maybe have greater
satisfaction than that."

After that Sir Tristram did not come any more where King Mark was, but he
went straight away from the King's court and into a small castle that King
Mark had given him some while since for his own. There he abided for
several days in great despair of soul, for it seemed to him as though God
had deserted him entirely. There for a while Gouvernail alone was with him
and no one else, but after a while several knights came to him and gave him
great condolence and offered to join with him as his knights-companion. And
there were eighteen of these knights, and Sir Tristram was very glad of
their comradeship.

These said to him: "Sir, you should not lend yourself to such great travail
of soul, but should bend yourself as a true knight should to assume that
burden that God hath assigned you to bear."

So they spoke, and by and by Sir Tristram aroused himself from his despair
and said to himself: "Well, what these gentlemen say is true, and God hath
assuredly laid this very heavy burden upon me; as that is so, I must needs
assume it for His sake."

[Sidenote: Sir Tristram departs from Cornwall] So Sir Tristram and the
knights who were with him abode in that place for a day or two or three,
and then one morning Sir Tristram armed himself and they armed themselves,
and all took their departure from that castle and went down to the sea.
Then they took ship with intent to depart to Ireland upon that quest Sir
Tristram had promised King Mark he would undertake, and in a little they
hoisted sail and departed from Cornwall for Ireland.

But they were not to make their quest upon that pass so speedily as they
thought, for, upon the second day of their voyaging, there arose a great
storm of wind of such a sort that the sailors of that ship had never seen
the like thereof in all of their lives. For the waves rose up like
mountains, and anon the waters sank away into deep valleys with hills of
water upon either side all crested over with foam as white as snow. And
anon that ship would be uplifted as though the huge sea would toss it into
the clouds; and anon it would fall down into a gulf so deep that it
appeared as though the green waters would swallow it up entirely. The air
roared as though it were full of demons and evil spirits out of hell, and
the wind was wet and very bitter with brine. So the ship fled away before
that