ught. He was a knight, armed from head to
heel, mounted upon a strange-looking beast, whose form I could not
understand. The words which I heard him sing were like these:

Heart be stout,
And eye be true;
Good blade out!
And ill shall rue.

Courage, horse!
Thou lackst no skill;
Well thy force
Hath matched my will.

For the foe
With fiery breath,
At a blow,
It still in death.

Gently, horse!
Tread fearlessly;
'Tis his corse
That burdens thee.

The sun's eye
Is fierce at noon;
Thou and I
Will rest full soon.

And new strength
New work will meet;
Till, at length,
Long rest is sweet.

And now horse and rider had arrived near enough for me to see, fastened
by the long neck to the hinder part of the saddle, and trailing its
hideous length on the ground behind, the body of a great dragon. It was
no wonder that, with such a drag at his heels, the horse could make
but slow progress, notwithstanding his evident dismay. The horrid,
serpent-like head, with its black tongue, forked with red, hanging out
of its jaws, dangled against the horse's side. Its neck was covered with
long blue hair, its sides with scales of green and gold. Its back was of
corrugated skin, of a purple hue. Its belly was similar in nature, but
its colour was leaden, dashed with blotches of livid blue. Its skinny,
bat-like wings and its tail were of a dull gray. It was strange to see
how so many gorgeous colours, so many curving lines, and such beautiful
things as wings and hair and scales, combined to form the horrible
creature, intense in ugliness.

The knight was passing me with a salutation; but, as I walked towards
him, he reined up, and I stood by his stirrup. When I came near him, I
saw to my surprise and pleasure likewise, although a sudden pain, like
a birth of fire, sprang up in my heart, that it was the knight of the
soiled armour, whom I knew before, and whom I had seen in the vision,
with the lady of the marble. But I could have thrown my arms around him,
because she loved him. This discovery only strengthened the resolution
I had formed, before I recognised him, of offering myself to the knight,
to wait upon him as a squire, for he seemed to be unattended. I made
my request in as