第 10 节
作者:孤悟      更新:2021-02-21 12:12      字数:9322
  And overthrower from being overthrown。
  With sword we have not striven; and thy good horse
  And thou are weary; yet not less I felt
  Thy manhood through that wearied lance of thine。
  Well hast thou done; for all the stream is freed;
  And thou hast wreaked his justice on his foes;
  And when reviled; hast answered graciously;
  And makest merry when overthrown。  Prince; Knight
  Hail; Knight and Prince; and of our Table Round!'
  And then when turning to Lynette he told
  The tale of Gareth; petulantly she said;
  'Ay wellay wellfor worse than being fooled
  Of others; is to fool one's self。  A cave;
  Sir Lancelot; is hard by; with meats and drinks
  And forage for the horse; and flint for fire。
  But all about it flies a honeysuckle。
  Seek; till we find。'  And when they sought and found;
  Sir Gareth drank and ate; and all his life
  Past into sleep; on whom the maiden gazed。
  'Sound sleep be thine! sound cause to sleep hast thou。
  Wake lusty!  Seem I not as tender to him
  As any mother?  Ay; but such a one
  As all day long hath rated at her child;
  And vext his day; but blesses him asleep
  Good lord; how sweetly smells the honeysuckle
  In the hushed night; as if the world were one
  Of utter peace; and love; and gentleness!
  O Lancelot; Lancelot'and she clapt her hands
  'Full merry am I to find my goodly knave
  Is knight and noble。  See now; sworn have I;
  Else yon black felon had not let me pass;
  To bring thee back to do the battle with him。
  Thus an thou goest; he will fight thee first;
  Who doubts thee victor? so will my knight…knave
  Miss the full flower of this accomplishment。'
  Said Lancelot; 'Peradventure he; you name;
  May know my shield。  Let Gareth; an he will;
  Change his for mine; and take my charger; fresh;
  Not to be spurred; loving the battle as well
  As he that rides him。'  'Lancelot…like;' she said;
  'Courteous in this; Lord Lancelot; as in all。'
  And Gareth; wakening; fiercely clutched the shield;
  'Ramp ye lance…splintering lions; on whom all spears
  Are rotten sticks! ye seem agape to roar!
  Yea; ramp and roar at leaving of your lord!
  Care not; good beasts; so well I care for you。
  O noble Lancelot; from my hold on these
  Streams virtuefirethrough one that will not shame
  Even the shadow of Lancelot under shield。
  Hence:  let us go。'
  Silent the silent field
  They traversed。  Arthur's harp though summer…wan;
  In counter motion to the clouds; allured
  The glance of Gareth dreaming on his liege。
  A star shot:  'Lo;' said Gareth; 'the foe falls!'
  An owl whoopt:  'Hark the victor pealing there!'
  Suddenly she that rode upon his left
  Clung to the shield that Lancelot lent him; crying;
  'Yield; yield him this again:  'tis he must fight:
  I curse the tongue that all through yesterday
  Reviled thee; and hath wrought on Lancelot now
  To lend thee horse and shield:  wonders ye have done;
  Miracles ye cannot:  here is glory enow
  In having flung the three:  I see thee maimed;
  Mangled:  I swear thou canst not fling the fourth。'
  'And wherefore; damsel? tell me all ye know。
  You cannot scare me; nor rough face; or voice;
  Brute bulk of limb; or boundless savagery
  Appal me from the quest。'
  'Nay; Prince;' she cried;
  'God wot; I never looked upon the face;
  Seeing he never rides abroad by day;
  But watched him have I like a phantom pass
  Chilling the night:  nor have I heard the voice。
  Always he made his mouthpiece of a page
  Who came and went; and still reported him
  As closing in himself the strength of ten;
  And when his anger tare him; massacring
  Man; woman; lad and girlyea; the soft babe!
  Some hold that he hath swallowed infant flesh;
  Monster!  O Prince; I went for Lancelot first;
  The quest is Lancelot's:  give him back the shield。'
  Said Gareth laughing; 'An he fight for this;
  Belike he wins it as the better man:
  Thusand not else!'
  But Lancelot on him urged
  All the devisings of their chivalry
  When one might meet a mightier than himself;
  How best to manage horse; lance; sword and shield;
  And so fill up the gap where force might fail
  With skill and fineness。  Instant were his words。
  Then Gareth; 'Here be rules。  I know but one
  To dash against mine enemy and win。
  Yet have I seen thee victor in the joust;
  And seen thy way。'  'Heaven help thee;' sighed Lynette。
  Then for a space; and under cloud that grew
  To thunder…gloom palling all stars; they rode
  In converse till she made her palfrey halt;
  Lifted an arm; and softly whispered; 'There。'
  And all the three were silent seeing; pitched
  Beside the Castle Perilous on flat field;
  A huge pavilion like a mountain peak
  Sunder the glooming crimson on the marge;
  Black; with black banner; and a long black horn
  Beside it hanging; which Sir Gareth graspt;
  And so; before the two could hinder him;
  Sent all his heart and breath through all the horn。
  Echoed the walls; a light twinkled; anon
  Came lights and lights; and once again he blew;
  Whereon were hollow tramplings up and down
  And muffled voices heard; and shadows past;
  Till high above him; circled with her maids;
  The Lady Lyonors at a window stood;
  Beautiful among lights; and waving to him
  White hands; and courtesy; but when the Prince
  Three times had blownafter long hushat last
  The huge pavilion slowly yielded up;
  Through those black foldings; that which housed therein。
  High on a nightblack horse; in nightblack arms;
  With white breast…bone; and barren ribs of Death;
  And crowned with fleshless laughtersome ten steps
  In the half…lightthrough the dim dawnadvanced
  The monster; and then paused; and spake no word。
  But Gareth spake and all indignantly;
  'Fool; for thou hast; men say; the strength of ten;
  Canst thou not trust the limbs thy God hath given;
  But must; to make the terror of thee more;
  Trick thyself out in ghastly imageries
  Of that which Life hath done with; and the clod;
  Less dull than thou; will hide with mantling flowers
  As if for pity?'  But he spake no word;
  Which set the horror higher:  a maiden swooned;
  The Lady Lyonors wrung her hands and wept;
  As doomed to be the bride of Night and Death;
  Sir Gareth's head prickled beneath his helm;
  And even Sir Lancelot through his warm blood felt
  Ice strike; and all that marked him were aghast。
  At once Sir Lancelot's charger fiercely neighed;
  And Death's dark war…horse bounded forward with him。
  Then those that did not blink the terror; saw
  That Death was cast to ground; and slowly rose。
  But with one stroke Sir Gareth split the skull。
  Half fell to right and half to left and lay。
  Then with a stronger buffet he clove the helm
  As throughly as the skull; and out from this
  Issued the bright face of a blooming boy
  Fresh as a flower new…born; and crying; 'Knight;
  Slay me not:  my three brethren bad me do it;
  To make a horror all about the house;
  And stay the world from Lady Lyonors。
  They never dreamed the passes would be past。'
  Answered Sir Gareth graciously to one
  Not many a moon his younger; 'My fair child;
  What madness made thee challenge the chief knight
  Of Arthur's hall?'  'Fair Sir; they bad me do it。
  They hate the King; and Lancelot; the King's friend;
  They hoped to slay him somewhere on the stream;
  They never dreamed the passes could be past。'
  Then sprang the happier day from underground;
  And Lady Lyonors and her house; with dance
  And revel and song; made merry over Death;
  As being after all their foolish fears
  And horrors only proven a blooming boy。
  So large mirth lived and Gareth won the quest。
  And he that told the tale in older times
  Says that Sir Gareth wedded Lyonors;
  But he; that told it later; says Lynette。
  The Marriage of Geraint
  The brave Geraint; a knight of Arthur's court;
  A tributary prince of Devon; one
  Of that great Order of the Table Round;
  Had married Enid; Yniol's only child;
  And loved her; as he loved the light of Heaven。
  And as the light of Heaven varies; now
  At sunrise; now at sunset; now by night
  With moon and trembling stars; so loved Geraint
  To make her beauty vary day by day;
  In crimsons and in purples and in gems。
  And Enid; but to please her husband's eye;
  Who first had found and loved her in a state
  Of broken fortunes; daily fronted him
  In some fresh splendour; and the Queen herself;
  Grateful to Prince Geraint for service done;
  Loved her; and often with her own white hands
  Arrayed and decked her; as the loveliest;
  Next after her own self; in all the court。
  And Enid loved the Queen; and with true heart
  Adored her; as the stateliest and the best
  And loveliest of all women upon earth。
  And seeing them so tender and so close;
  Long in their common love rejoiced Geraint。
  But when a rumour rose about the Queen;
  Touching her guilty love for Lancelot;
  Though yet there lived no proof; nor yet was heard
  The world's loud whisper breaking into storm;
  Not less Geraint believed it; and there fell
  A horror on him; lest his gentle wife;
  Through that great tenderness for Guinevere;
  Had suffered; or should suffer any taint
  In nature:  wherefore going to the King;
  He made this pretext; that his princedom lay
  Close on the borders of a territory;
  Wherein were bandit earls; and caitiff knights;
  Assassins; and all flyers from the hand
  Of J