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