sight Balan crept on his
feet and hands, and pulled off Balin's helmet, so that he might see
his face. The fresh air revived Balin, and he awoke and said: 'O
Balan, my brother, you have slain me, and I you, and the whole world
shall speak ill of us both.'

'Alas,' sighed Balan, 'if I had only known you! I saw your two swords,
but from your shield I thought you had been another knight.'

'Woe is me!' said Balin, 'all this was wrought by an unhappy knight in
the castle, who caused me to change my shield for his. If I lived, I
would destroy that castle that he should not deceive other men.'

'You would have done well,' answered Balan, 'for they have kept me
prisoner ever since I slew a Knight that guarded this island, and they
would have kept you captive too.' Then came the lady of the castle and
her companions, and listened as they made their moan. And Balan prayed
that she would grant them the grace to lie together, there where they
died, and their wish was given them, and she and those that were with
her wept for pity.

So they died; and the lady made a tomb for them, and put Balan's name
alone on it, for Balin's name she knew not. But Merlin knew, and next
morning he came and wrote it in letters of gold, and he ungirded
Balin's sword, and unscrewed the pommel, and put another pommel on it,
and bade a Knight that stood by handle it, but the Knight could not.
At that Merlin laughed. 'Why do you laugh?' asked the Knight.
'Because,' said Merlin, 'no man shall handle this sword but the best
Knight in the world, and that is either Sir Lancelot or his son Sir
Galahad. With this sword Sir Lancelot shall slay the man he loves
best, and Sir Gawaine is his name.' And this was later done, in a
fight across the seas.

All this Merlin wrote on the pommel of the sword. Next he made a
bridge of steel to the island, six inches broad, and no man could pass
over it that was guilty of any evil deeds. The scabbard of the sword
he left on this side of the island, so that Galahad should find it.
The sword itself he put in a magic stone, which floated down the
stream to Camelot, that is now called Winchester. And the same day
Galahad came to the river, having in his hand the scabbard, and he saw
the sword and pulled it out of the stone, as is told in another
place.

_HOW THE ROUND TABLE BEGAN_

It was told in the story of the Questing Beast that King Arthur
married the daughter of Leodegrance, King of Cameliard, but there wa