he dead
man. Tristan, disguised as a poor harper, has himself put on a bark and
arrives in Dublin, where the queen heals him. The queen had a daughter,
Iseult, with fair hair; she begs the harper to instruct the young girl.
Iseult becomes perfect: "She can both read and write, she composes
epistles and songs; above all, she knows many [Briton] lays. She is
sought after for her musical talent, no less than for her beauty, a
silent and still sweeter music that through the eyes insinuated itself
into the heart." All her life she remembered the teaching of Tristan,
and in her sorrows had recourse to the consoling power of music. When
sitting alone and sad, she would sing "a touching song of love," on the
misfortunes of Guiron, killed for the sake of his lady. This lay "she
sings sweetly, the voice accords with the harp, the hands are beautiful,
the lay is fine, sweet the voice and low the tone."[188]

Tristan's task being accomplished, he returns to Cornwall. One day a
swallow drops at the feet of King Marc a golden hair, so soft and
brilliant, so lovable, that the king swears to marry no other woman but
her of the golden hair.[189] Tristan starts in quest of the woman. The
woman is Iseult; he brings her to Cornwall. While at sea the two young
people swallow by mistake an enchanted draught, a "boivre" destined for
Marc and his betrothed, which had the virtue of producing a passion that
only death could end. The poison slowly takes effect; their sentiments
alter. "All that I know troubles me, and all I see pains me," says
Iseult. "The sky, the sea, my own self oppresses me. She bent forward,
and leant her arm on Tristan's shoulder: it was her first caress. Her
eyes filled with repressed tears; her bosom heaved, her lips quivered,
and her head remained bent."

The marriage takes place. Marc adores the queen, but she thinks only of
Tristan. Marc is warned, and exiles Tristan, who, in the course of his
adventures, receives a present of a wonderful dog. This dog wore a bell
on his neck, the sound of which, so sweet it was, caused all sorrow to
be forgotten. He sends the dog to Iseult, who, listening to the bell,
finds that her grief fades from her memory; and she removes the collar,
unwilling to hear and to forget.

Iseult is at last repudiated, and Tristan bears her off by lonely paths,
through forest depths, until they reach a grotto of green marble carved
by giants in ages past. An aperture at the top let in the light, lind