"Rain, rain, and sun! a rainbow in the
sky!

A young man will be wiser by and by;
An old man's wit may wander ere he die.

Rain, rain, and sun! a rainbow on the iea! And truth is this to me, and that to thee; And truth or clothed or naked let it be.

Rain, sun, and rain! and the free blossom blows:

Sun, rain, and sun! and where is he who knows?

From the great deep to the great deep he goes."

Tho' men may wound him that he will not die,

But pass, again to come, and then or now
Utterly smite the heathen underfoot,
Till these and all men hail him for their
king.'

She spake and King Leodogran rejoiced, But musing 'Shall I answer yea or nay?' Doubted, and drowsed, nodded and slept, and saw,

Dreaming, a slope of land that ever grew, Field after field, up to a height, the peak Haze-hidden, and thereon a phantom king, Now looming, and now lost; and on the slope

The sword rose, the hind fell, the herd was driven,

Fire glimpsed; and all the land from roof and rick,

In drifts of smoke before a rolling wind, Stream'd to the peak, and mingled with the haze

And made it thicker; while the phantom king

Sent out at times a voice; and here or there

Stood one who pointed toward the voice, the rest

Slew on and burnt, crying, 'No king of

ours,

No son of Uther, and no king of ours'; Till with a wink his dream was changed, the haze

Descended, and the solid earth became As nothing, but the King stood out in heaven,

Crown'd. And Leodogran awoke, and sent Ulfius, and Brastias, and Bedivere,

Back to the court of Arthur answering yea.

Then Arthur charged his warrior whom he loved

And honor'd most, Sir Lancelot, to ride forth

And bring the Queen, and watch'd him from the gates;

And Lancelot past away among the flowers

For then was latter April - and return'd Among the flowers, in May, with Guine

vere.

To whom arrived, by Dubric the high saint, Chief of the church in Britain, and before The stateliest of her altar-shrines, the King

That morn was married, while in stainless white,

The fair beginners of a nobler time, And glorying in their vows and him, his knights

Stood round him, and rejoicing in his joy. Far shone the fields of May thro' open

door,

eyes,

'King and my lord, I love thee to the death!'

And holy Dubric spread his hands and spake:

'Reign ye, and live and love, and make the world

Other, and may thy Queen be one with thee,

And all this Order of thy Table Round Fulfil the boundless purpose of their King!'

So Dubric said; but when they left the shrine

Great lords from Rome before the portal stood,

In scornful stillness gazing as they past; Then while they paced a city all on fire With sun and cloth of gold, the trumpets blew,

And Arthur's knighthood sang before the King:

'Blow trumpet, for the world is white with May!

Blow trumpet, the long night hath roll'd away!

Blow thro' the living world-"Let the King reign!"

'Shall Rome or Heathen rule in Arthur's realm?

Flash brand and lance, fall battle-axe upon helm,

Fall battle-axe, and flash brand! Let the King reign!

'Strike for the King and live! his knights have heard

That God hath told the King a secret word. Fall battle-axe, and flash brand! Let the King reign!

'Blow trumpet! he will lift us from the dust.

Blow trumpet! live the strength, and die the lust!

Clang battle-axe, and clash brand! Let the King reign!

'Strike for the King and die! and if thou diest,

The King is king, and ever wills the highest.

Clang battle-axe, and clash brand! Let the King reign!

'Blow, for our Sun is mighty in his May!

Blow, for our Sun is mightier day by day! Let Clang battle-axe, and clash brand!

the King reign!

'The King will follow Christ, and we the King,

In whom high God hath breathed a secret thing.

Fall battle-axe, and clash brand! Let the King reign!'

So sang the knighthood, moving to their hall.

There at the banquet those great lords from Rome,

The slowly-fading mistress of the world, Strode in and claim'd their tribute as of

Might strike it, and awake her with the gleam;

Then fearing rust or soilure fashion'd for it

A case of silk, and braided thereupon

All the devices blazon'd on the shield
In their own tinct, and added, of her wit,
A border fantasy of branch and flower,
And yellow-throated nestling in the nest.
Nor rested thus content, but day by day,
Leaving her household and good father,
climb'd

That eastern tower, and entering barr'd her door,

Stript off the case, and read the naked shield,

Now guess'd a hidden meaning in his arms,
Now made a pretty history to herself
Of every dint a sword had beaten in it,
And every scratch a lance had made upon
it,

Conjecturing when and where: this cut is fresh;

That ten years back; this dealt him at Caerlyle;

That at Caerleon; this at Camelot : And ah, God's mercy, what a stroke was there!

And here a thrust that might have kill'd, but God

Broke the strong lance, and roll'd his enemy down,

And saved him: so she lived in fantasy.

How came the lily maid by that good shield

Of Lancelot, she that knew not even his name?

He left it with her, when he rode to tilt For the great diamond in the diamond jousts,

Which Arthur had ordain'd, and by that

name

Had named them, since a diamond was the prize.

For Arthur, long before they crown'd him king,

Roving the trackless realms of Lyonnesse, Had found a glen, gray boulder and black

tarn.

A horror lived about the tarn, and clave Like its own mists to all the mountain side:

For here two brothers, one a king, had

met

And fought together; but their names were lost;

And each had slain his brother at a blow; And down they fell and made the glen abhorr'd:

And there they lay till all their bones were bleach'd,

ΙΟΙ

And set it on his head, and in his heart Heard murmurs, 'Lo, thou likewise shalt be king.'

Thereafter, when a king, he had the gems

Pluck'd from the crown, and show'd them to his knights

Saying: 'These jewels, whereupon I chanced

Divinely, are the kingdom's, not the King's

For public use: henceforward let there be,

Once every year, a joust for one of these: For so by nine years' proof we needs must learn

Which is our mightiest, and ourselves shall

No sooner gone than suddenly she began:

'To blame, my lord Sir Lancelot, much to blame!

Why go ye not to these fair jousts? the knights

Are half of them our enemies, and the crowd

Will murmur, "Lo the shameless ones, who take

Their pastime now the trustful King is gone!"

Then Lancelot, vext at having lied in vain: 'Are ye so wise? ye were not once wise,

SO

My Queen, that summer when ye loved me first.

Then of the crowd ye took по more account

Than of the myriad cricket of the mead, When its own voice clings to each blade of grass,

And every voice is nothing. As to knights,
Them surely can I silence with all ease.
But now my loyal worship is allow'd
Of all men: many a bard, without offence,
Has link'd our names together in his lay,
Lancelot, the flower of bravery, Guinevere,
The pearl of beauty; and our knights at
feast

Have pledged us in this union, while the
King

Would listen smiling. How then? is there more?

Has Arthur spoken aught? or would yourself,

Now weary of my service and devoir, Henceforth be truer to your faultless lord?'

She broke into a little scornful laugh 'Arthur, my lord, Arthur, the faultles King,

That passionate perfection, my good lord But who can gaze upon the sun in heaven He never spake word of reproach to m He never had a glimpse of mine untruth He cares not for me: only here to-day There gleamed a vague suspicion in hi

eyes:

Some meddling rogue has tamper'd with him - else

Rapt in this fancy of his Table Round, And swearing men to vows impossible To make them like himself; but, friend, to

me

He is all fault who hath no fault at all For who loves me must have a touch of earth;

The low sun makes the color: I am yours Not Arthur's, as ye know, save by the bond.

And therefore hear my words: go to the jousts:

The tiny-trumpeting gnat can break our

dream

Here laugh'd the father saying: 'Fie, Sir Churl,

Is that an answer for a noble knight? Allow him! but Lavaine, my younger here, He is so full of lustihood, he will ride, Joust for it, and win, and bring it in an hour,

And set it in this damsel's golden hair, To make her thrice as wilful as before.'

'Nay, father, nay, good father, shame

me not

Before this noble knight,' said young Lavaine,

'For nothing. Surely I but play'd on Torre: He seem'd so sullen, vext he could not go: A jest, no more! for, knight, the maiden dreamt

That some one put this diamond in her hand,

And that it was too slippery to be held, And slipt and fell into some pool or stream, The castle-well, belike; and then I said That if I went and if I fought and won itBut all was jest and joke among ourselves

Then must she keep it sa felier. All was jest.

But, father, give me leave, an if he will, To ride to Camelot with this noble knight: Win shall I not, but do my best to win; Young as I am, yet would I do my best.'

'So ye will grace me,' answer'd Lancelot, Smiling a moment, 'with your fellowship O'er these waste downs whereon I lost myself,

Then were I glad of you as guide and friend:

And you shall win this diamond,

as I hear, It is a fair large diamond, if ye may, And yield it to this maiden, if ye will.' 'A fair large diamond,' added plain Sir Torre,

'Such be for queens, and not for simple maids.'

Then she, who held her eyes upon the ground,

Elaine, and heard her name so tost about, Flush'd slightly at the slight disparagement Before the stranger knight, who, looking

at her,

Full courtly, yet not falsely, thus return'd: If what is fair be but for what is fair, And only queens are to be counted so, Rash were my judgment then, who deem this maid

Might wear as fair a jewel as is on earth, Not violating the bond of like to like.'

He spoke and ceased: the lily maid Elaine,

Won by the mellow voice before she look'd, Lifted her eyes and read his lineaments.