ourned.

"'My lord liege Arthur, and all ye that hear,
Know that for this most gentle maiden's death
Right heavy am I; for good she was and true,
But loved me with a love beyond all love
In women, whomsoever I have known.
Yet to be loved makes not to love again;
Not at my years, however it hold in youth.
I swear by truth and knighthood that I gave
No cause, not willingly, for such a love:
To this I call my friends in testimony,
Her brethren, and her father, who himself
Besought me to be plain and blunt, and use,
To break her passion, some discourtesy
Against my nature: what I could, I did.
I left her and I bade her no farewell;
Tho', had I dreamt the damsel would have died,
I might have put my wits to some rough use,
And help'd her from herself.'"
TENNYSON, _Lancelot and Elaine_.

Haunted by remorse for this involuntary crime, Lancelot again wandered away
from Camelot, but returned in time to save Guinevere, who had again been
falsely accused. In his indignation at the treatment to which she had been
exposed, Lancelot bore her off to Joyeuse Garde, where he swore he would
defend her even against the king. Arthur, whose mind, in the mean while,
had been poisoned by officious courtiers, besieged his recreant wife and
knight; but although repeatedly challenged, the loyal Lancelot ever refused
to bear arms directly against his king.

When the Pope heard of the dissension in England he finally interfered; and
Lancelot, assured that Guinevere would henceforth be treated with all due
respect, surrendered her to the king and retreated to his paternal estate
in Brittany. As Arthur's resentment against Lancelot had not yet cooled, he
left Guinevere under the care and protection of Mordred, his nephew,--some
versions say his son,--and then, at the head of a large force, departed for
Brittany.

[Sidenote: Treachery of Mordred.] Mordred the traitor immediately took
advantage of his uncle's absence to lay claim to the throne; and loudly
declaring that Arthur had been slain, he tried to force Guinevere to marry
him. As she demurred, he kept her a close prisoner, and set her free only
when she pretended to agree with his wishes, and asked permission to go to
London to buy wedding finery.

When Guinevere arrived in that city she intrenched herself in the Tower,
and sent word to her husband of her perilous position. Without any d