letter I have here in my hand, and lay me on the
bed. Set it on a barge, and let our dumb servant steer it down
the river to Camelot."

Her father wept, and promised to do all that she asked.

Sir Lancelot had gone to the Court, where he was received with
great rejoicing. For many days the knights and ladies held great
feasting in his honor, and the king and the queen would hardly
allow him to leave their presence. One day while the three stood
looking out of the palace window, they saw a black barge come
slowly down the river.

It stopped at the palace door, and the king, going down, saw on
it the beautiful maiden Elaine, pale in death. She was dressed in
white satin, and bore a lily in her left hand and a letter in her
right. The king ordered two of his knights, the good Sir Galahad
and Sir Perceval, to carry Elaine into his great hall. Then
Arthur read the letter, which said:

"Most noble lord, Sir Lancelot of the Lake: I, Elaine, the maid
of Astolat, come to take my last farewell of you, for you left me
without a farewell. I loved you, and my love had no return, and
so I died."

The knights and ladies wept. Sir Lancelot said to Arthur:

"My king, I grieve for the death of this maiden, but as I did not
love her, I could not wed her."

The king answered:

"You are not to blame, Sir Lancelot. The world has in it much
that is sad as well as much that is joyous. There are happenings
for which no human being can be blamed. It would be a fitting
deed, however, if you had this maiden richly buried."

Sir Lancelot ordered a splendid funeral, such as should be given
to a queen. Over Elaine's grave was raised a beautiful tomb on
which was carved her figure, with the left hand holding a lily;
at her feet lay the shield of Sir Lancelot, and the sad story of
her death was written on the tomb in letters of gold and blue.

[Illustration: Two Crossed Swords and a Shield]

[Illustration] THE SEARCH FOR THE HOLY GRAIL

In Arthur's Court there were many virtuous knights and ladies,
but the best of all was a beautiful maiden, sister to Sir
Perceval. She was so good that the evil in the world oppressed
her, and she could be happy only when she was praying for all
people to be made better.

Once a good old man told her what was meant by the Holy Grail.

"Grail," he said, "is the word for the cup out of which our Lord
Jesus drank, the night that he held the last supper with his
disciples. Therefore, it is called