ned.

"O, king!" he cried, "your mightiest, yes; and yet, far better it
would be if I were like Sir Galahad. A great sin is on my soul,
and it was to be rid of this sin that I undertook the quest of
the Holy Grail. A hermit told me that only by putting this sin
away should I ever see the vision. I strove so hard against it
that my old sickness came upon me. I became mad, and rode up and
down among waste places, fighting with small men who overthrew
me. The day has been when the very sound of my name would have
made them tremble.

"At last I came to the sea and saw a boat anchored near the
shore. I stepped into it, loosed the anchor, and floated away.
For seven days I sailed, and at last I came to an old castle. I
entered and heard a voice singing. I followed it up, up for a
thousand steps. At last I came to a door, which burst open before
me. Perhaps I dreamed, and yet I believe I saw the Holy Grail,
though it was veiled and guarded by great angels. I thought I saw
all this, and then I swooned away. When I came to myself, I was
alone in the room. It was many days before I made my way back to
Camelot."

For a long time there was silence in the hall, and then Sir
Gawain said:

"Sir king, I can fight, and I always shall fight for you. But I
do not believe in this vision. All the knights were mad, like Sir
Lancelot. They did not really have the vision; it was but fancy."

Then the king spoke gravely to Sir Gawain.

"Sir Gawain, you are indeed not fit for such a vision, but you
should not doubt that others have seen it. I was right, my
knights, when I said that most of you would follow a wandering
fire. How many of those who left me have not returned, and never
will!"

The knights looked at the empty chairs. The king went on:

"Sir Galahad was the only one who completely saw the vision. He
was indeed blessed, and fit for such a quest. You who were unfit
should have stayed with me to help govern this land."

The knights were silent and sad; then the king said:

"My dear knights whom I love, always remember this: whether you
seek for a vision, or do humble service as Sir Perceval will for
his fellow-monks, or fight to right wrongs as Sir Lancelot does,
whatever you do your aim must be to make yourself useful to the
world by the work for which you are best fitted."

The king rose from the Round Table and left the company, Sir
Lancelot following him. Then the other knights departed, one by
one, and the great hal