CHAPTER XII. SIR EWAINE AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE FOUNTAIN.
ONE time, as King Arthur was at Caerleon, it befell that though, becauseit was not the time of any high festival, most of the Knights of theRound Table were absent seeking adventures, yet there were in the palaceSir Kay, and Sir Gawaine, and Sir Ewaine his cousin, the son of Morganle Fay, and Sir Konon, a good knight of the kings household, and someother knights. They were sitting one night about the fire in Sir Kay'schamber relating adventures; and Sir Konon told a marvellous story, how,some time before, he had found his way to a strange fountain--seeingmany wonderful sights by the road--and had there been overthrown by aknight in black armour. To this story Ewaine especially listened withclose attention, and when it was ended he asked Sir Konon which way hehad taken to go to the fountain. Konon described it to him; and the nextday Ewaine took his horse and armour and a great spear in his hand, androde forth determined to pursue the adventure.
In a while he came to a beautiful valley, with green meadows on eitherside and a river in the midst. By the side of the river was a path, andSir Ewaine followed this path till evening. Then he came to an immenseand stately castle, the largest he had ever seen; and in front of itwere two fair youths, with yellow curling hair, and wearing garments ofyellow satin, shooting with bows made of ivory and arrows of whalebone,pointed with gold. Standing by was a stately knight, richly dressed.Ewaine advanced and saluted him; and he courteously returned thegreeting, and led him into the castle. There, in a splendid hall, werefour and twenty damsels working at embroidery and tapestry, and theywere the fairest women Ewaine had ever beheld. As soon as the lordand his guest entered, six of the damsels advanced and took chargeof Ewaine's horse; six others relieved him of his armour, which theyproceeded to clean; the third six prepared a banquet; while the othersbrought to the guest rich attire in place of his travel-soiled garments.Then all sat down to the banquet, which was the most splendid thatEwaine had ever partaken of. After they had eaten, the knight informedthe lord of the castle that he had come to achieve the adventure of acertain wonderful fountain, where was a knight in black armour. The lordsmiled, and said that the quest would not end to his advantage; but asSir Ewaine persisted, he said:--
"Sleep here to-night, and to-morrow rise early, and take the road upwardthrough the valley till you come to a wood. A little way within thewood you will find a road branching off to the right; and this you mustfollow till you come to a great glade with a mound in the centre. Onthe top of the mound you will see a black man of great stature, who willshow you the way to the fountain."
Ewaine thanked the lord for his courtesy, and on the next day he set outaccording to the instruction which had been given him. In due time hearrived at the wood, which he found to be swarming with all kinds ofwild animals, in such numbers as he had never before beheld. When hecame to the mound, there sat the black man on the top of it. He was ofvast bulk, and exceedingly ill-favoured, for he had but one eye in themiddle of his forehead. In his hand he held an iron club, which wouldhave been a burden for four strong knights. He said nothing to Ewaine,but looked at him steadfastly. Then said Ewaine, "Hast thou any powerover all these animals that I see about thee?"
"That shalt thou soon see, little man," answered the black; and heraised his club and smote a stag that was feeding near him, so that itcried out vehemently. Immediately all the animals in the wood crowdedround the black man, in such numbers that Ewaine could scarce find roomto stand in the glade. Then their master bade them go and feed; andstraightway they bowed their heads to him in homage and dispersed.Ewaine now asked of him the way to the fountain.
"Take," he answered, "the path that leads to the head of the glade, andascend the wooded steep to its summit. There thou wilt find a large openspace, and in the midst a tall tree with thick spreading branches. Underthis tree is the fountain; and by its side a marble slab, on which isa silver bowl fastened by a chain of silver. If thou wouldst prove theadventure of the fountain, take the bowl and throw some water on theslab."
Ewaine went up the steep as the black man had told him, and came to thefountain. There he took the bowl and cast some water on the slab; andimmediately there came the loudest burst of thunder he had ever heard,as though heaven and earth were meeting. Then followed a terrible showerof hail, the stones of which were so large and so many that no man norbeast could have endured them unprotected and lived. Ewaine shelteredhimself and his horse as well as he could under the tree with hisshield. When he looked on the tree, not a leaf was left upon it; butthe sky became clear, and a flight of birds came to the tree and sang astrain of such ravishing sweetness as the knight had never heard before.While he was listening to it, he heard a voice that cried to him, "Oknight, what has brought thee hither? What evil have I done to thee,that thou shouldst act toward me and my possessions as thou hast doneto-day? Dost thou not know that the shower has left in my dominionsneither man nor beast alive that was exposed to it?" Then Ewaine lookedforth and beheld approaching a knight dad in black velvet, armed inblack armour, and riding a coal-black horse. The two encountered withgreat force, and both broke their spears without losing their saddles.Then they drew their swords and fought some time, till at last Ewainesmote the black knight so hard on the helm that the sword cut throughhis skull to the very brain. The black knight felt that he had receiveda mortal wound, and fled; and Ewaine followed hard after him. Presentlythey came to a great castle. The fleeing knight entered through thegate, but the portcullis was let fall upon Ewaine, and it struck hishorse just behind the saddle, cutting him in two, and striking off therowels of the knight's spurs. Then was Ewaine shut in between the twogates, and he knew not what to do. But through an aperture in the gatehe could see a street with a row of houses on each side. There came tothe gate a maiden, richly clad, who desired him to open it.
"Heaven knows, fair lady," said he, "it is no more possible for me toopen the gate than it is for thee to set me free."
"Truly," she answered, "I will do what I can to release thee, for thouart a full gallant knight." She passed to him through the aperture aring, and said, "Take this ring, and put it on thy finger with the stoneinside thy hand; and so long as thou concealest it, it will concealthee. When they have consulted together, they will come forward to seizethee in order to put thee to death; but they will not be able to findthee. I will wait within, and thou wilt be able to see me, though Icannot see thee; therefore come and place thy hand on my shoulder, andaccompany me where I shall go."
Ewaine did all as the damsel had told him. The people of the castle camepresently and opened the gate to seize him; and when they could findnothing but the half of his horse, they were sorely grieved. But Ewainewent to the maiden and put his hand on her shoulder, and she led him toa large and beautiful chamber that was richly adorned. There she servedhim with delicious food in vessels of gold and silver. While Ewaine waseating, he heard a great clamour in the castle, and asked the cause ofit.
"The lord of this castle has just died," answered the maiden. Thenshe prepared for him a noble couch, on which he lay down and sleptall night. In the morning he was awakened by a loud sound of wailing."Wherefore is this outcry?" he asked.
"They are carrying the body of the dead lord to the place of burial,"answered the damsel. Then Ewaine rose and looked out of the window. Inthe street he beheld an immense crowd of armed men and of women in richattire, and in the midst of the throng was a bier, on which lay the bodyof the knight he had slain. Behind it walked a lady with long yellowhair that fell over her shoulders, and her dress of yellow satin wasall rent; she smote her hands together, and wailed bitterly. She wasthe fairest lady Ewaine had ever seen, and as soon as he beheld her hebecame inflamed with love for her. He inquired of the maiden who thelady was.
"She is my mistress, and one of the fairest and most noble of women. Sheis called the Countess of the Fountain; and the knight whom thou didstslay yesterday was her husband."
"Verily," said Ewaine, "she is the woman that I love best in all theworld."
> "Then," said the damsel, "she shall also love thee not a little."
So after she had waited on Ewaine when he broke his fast, she bade himlie on the couch and sleep and she would go and woo for him. Then sheshut the door of the chamber after her and went straight to the castle.There was nothing but mourning and sorrow, and the countess in herchamber could not bear the sight of any one through grief. The damsel,whose name was Luned, and who was a favourite attendant of the countess,went in and saluted her; but the countess sharply reproached her for notmourning as all the rest did.
"Truly," said Luned, "I thought thy good sense was greater than Ifind it to be. Is it well for thee to mourn for that good man, or foranything else that thou canst not have?"
"I declare solemnly," said the countess, "that in the whole world thereis not a man equal to him!"
"Not so," answered Luned; "an ill-favoured man that is alive is now asgood as or better than he."
At this the countess was exceedingly wrathful, and declared to Lunedthat she would banish her. Luned replied that the only cause for it washer desire to render her a service of which she stood in need; and shewas going away affecting great anger, when the countess called her back.
"In truth," said she, "evil is thy disposition; but if thou knowest whatis to my advantage, declare it to me."
"That will I," quoth Luned. "Thou knowest that unless thou canst defendthe fountain thou canst not maintain thy dominions; and no one candefend the fountain except a knight of King Arthur's court. Now will Igo thither, and ill betide me if I return hence without a warrior whocan guard the fountain as well or better than he who kept it formerly."
"That will be hard to perform," said the countess. "Go, however, andmake proof of that which thou hast promised."
Luned accordingly set out under pretence of going to the court; but inreality she only returned to the chamber where she had left Ewaine,and remained there with him as long as it would have taken her to goto Caerleon and return again. Then she went again to the countess, whoasked her what news she brought from the court.
"I bring you the best of news," said Luned, "for I have compassed theobject of my mission. When shall I present to you the knight who hasaccompanied me hither?"
The countess appointed the next day at noon for the interview; andat that time, accordingly, Luned conducted Ewaine, for whom shehad provided suitable attire, to the chamber of the lady, who gazedsteadfastly upon him, and said, "Luned, this knight has not the look ofa traveller."
"What harm is there in that, lady?" answered Luned boldly, as was herwont.
"I am certain that he it was, and no other, who conquered and slew mylord."
"So much the better for thee," returned Luned; "for had he not beenstronger than thy lord he could not have slain him. For what is pastthere is no remedy."
Ewaine feared for what would come next, for as he gazed on the countesshis passion had grown greater than before. But not unmoved had sheherself looked upon the comely knight.
"Go back to thine abode," she said to Luned, "and I will take counsel."
The next day she assembled all the chief men among her subjects, andshowed them that her dominions could not be defended except by someknight of great prowess. "Therefore," she said, "if you can choose suchan one from among yourselves, let him take me; and if not, give yourconsent that I should take a husband from elsewhere to defend mydominions."
They came to the determination that it would be better for the countessto marry some one from elsewhere; and thereupon she caused her nuptialswith Ewaine to be straightway solemnized; and the men of the earldom didhim homage. He defended the fountain against all comers, and for threeyears he reigned in that country, and was much beloved by his subjects.
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At the end of that time King Arthur, who had grown very uneasy becauseof Ewaines protracted absence, set out with many knights to theValley of the Fountain to find what had become of him. They were allentertained as nobly as Ewaine himself had been by the knight who dweltin the stately castle with the twenty-four damsels. The next day theywent forward to the place of the fountain; and there Sir Kay, with theking's permission; undertook the adventure, and threw the water on themarble slab. After the thunder and the hail-storm, came a knight inblack armour, who encountered Sir Kay and easily overthrew him. ThenArthur and his company encamped on the plain, and the next day SirKay, who was not satisfied with his first repulse, again challenged theknight, who this time not only unhorsed him, but wounded him severely.Thereafter all the knights the king had brought with him, exceptSir Gawaine, successively encountered the black knight, and were alloverthrown one after another. Then at last Gawaine met him, but hedid not carry his own shield. For two days the two met and fought onhorseback with spears, and neither could gain the advantage. On thethird day they fought with increased fury, and both were unseated. Thenthey fell to with their swords, and struck many terrible blows. At lasta blow from Ewaine turned Sir Gawaines helm on one side, so that hisface could be seen. "Ah!" cried Ewaine, "I knew thee not for my cousin,because thou hadst not thine own shield. Take my sword, for thou hastconquered." But Gawaine said that Ewaine was the victor, and theydisputed this till the king decided that neither had vanquished theother. Then they embraced, and Arthur and his knights were exceedinglyrejoiced to see Sir Ewaine once more. He led them all to the Castle ofthe Fountain, where they were splendidly entertained for three months.
After that King Arthur returned to his own dominions, and he entreatedthe countess to permit Ewaine to go with him for three months. Sheassented, though it was very painful to her. But when Ewaine was oncemore among his kindred and friends, he forgot all about his lady and histerritory, and remained about three years instead of three months!
Now one day, as Ewaine was sitting in the hall of the king's palaceat Caerleon, there came in a damsel riding on a bay horse; and shedismounted and went up to him, and took the ring off his finger. "Thus,"said she, "should be treated the deceiver, the traitor, the faithless,the disgraced." Then she got on her horse again and departed. But Ewainesuddenly remembered the countess, and how he had deserted her; and hismind was so filled with shame and sorrow that he well-nigh lost hisreason. He wandered away from Caerleon into wild and desert places, andremained there till his apparel wore out, and his hair and beard grewlong, and his body was sore wasted. And as he wandered, he came to afair park belonging to the countess whom he had deserted. There he laydown by a small lake; and he was so weak that he became insensible. Ithappened that the countess came forth with her maidens to walk in thepark, and they saw him lying there. They saw that life was still in him;and the countess went back to her palace, and gave to one of her maidensa flask containing precious ointment. "Go," said she, "with this balsamand a horse and clothing to that man who lieth in the park, and anointhim with the balsam near the heart. If there is life in him, he willarise; and then watch what he will do."
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The maiden obeyed, and poured the whole of the balsam upon Ewaine; thenshe withdrew a little-and watched. Soon he rose up and looked at hisperson, and became ashamed of the unseemliness of his appearance; so heclothed himself, and with some difficulty mounted on the horse. Then thedamsel saluted him; and he asked her what land that was. "Truly," shesaid, "it belongs to a widowed countess. At the death of her husband shehad two earldoms, but now this park and castle are all that are left toher, the rest having been taken from her by a young earl, her neighbour,because she refused to become his wife."
"That is pity," said Ewaine. Then she led him to the castle, and tookhim to a pleasant chamber, where she waited on him till he was quiterecovered; and in three months he had become more mighty and more comelythan ever he was before. One day he heard a great tumult outside thecastle walls, and he asked the maiden what was the cause.
"The earl of whom I spoke to thee," she said, "has come before thecastle with a numerous army to subdue the countess." Then Ewaine askedher to obtain for him from the countess the loan of a horse and arms;and when he
had got them he went forth, and penetrated the hostile armytill he came to the earl himself, whom he dragged out of his saddle,and carried him off, in spite of all the efforts of his knights, to thecastle. Then he took him to the countess, and threw him down before her,and said, "Behold, here is a gift in requital for thy precious balsam."
Then the earl restored to the countess all that he had taken from her;and as a ransom for his life he gave her the half of his own dominions,and much gold and silver. After that Ewaine took his departure; and ashe rode through a wood he heard a loud yelling, which was repeated asecond and third time. He went to the spot whence the sound proceeded,and came to a huge craggy mound, whereon a black lion and a horribleserpent were fighting. Ewaine drew his sword and smote the serpent intwain. Then he continued on his way; but the lion followed him, andplayed about him as though it had been a hound. Thus they journeyed ontogether. When it was time to rest for the night, Ewaine dismounted,turned his horse loose to graze, and kindled a fire; and the lion,having left him, presently returned with a large roebuck, which it threwdown before him. Ewaine roasted some of the flesh for himself, and therest of it he gave to the lion. While he was eating, he heard a deepsigh that seemed to come from within a rock near at hand. He called outto know whether the sigh proceeded from a mortal; and a voice answeredthat it did. "Who art thou?" asked Ewaine.
"I am," said the voice, "Luned, the handmaiden to the Countess of theFountain. I am imprisoned here on account of the knight that came fromKing Arthur's court and married the countess. He was the friend I lovedmost in the world; and after he had departed, two of the knights of thecourt traduced him. I told them that they two were not a match for himalone. So they have imprisoned me in this stone vault; and I am to beput to death if he come not to deliver me by a certain day, which is nofurther off than the day after to-morrow. I have no one to seek him forme. His name is Ewaine, the son of King Urience."
"Art thou certain that if he knew all this the knight would come torescue thee?" asked Ewaine.
"I am most certain of it," she answered.
In the morning Ewaine asked the damsel if there were any place nearwhere he could get lodging. She directed him to an earl's castle near.Thither he went, and the lion with him; and at the castle was he rightnobly entertained. But he found the earl and everybody else in thecastle exceedingly sorrowful; so he asked the reason.
"I have two sons," said the earl, "and yesterday they went to themountains to hunt. Now there is on the mountain a horrible giant thatkills men and devours them, and he seized my sons. To-morrow he hasfixed an hour to be here; and he threatens that he will then slaymy sons before my eyes, unless I will deliver into his hands my onlydaughter, whom you see here." The maiden sat beside her father; and shewas exceedingly fair, but very sorrowful.
Ewaine said that was very lamentable, and then talked of other matters.The next morning there was a great clamour, which was caused by thecoming of the giant with the two youths. Then Ewaine put on his armour,and went forth to attack the giant; and his lion went with him. When thegiant saw that Ewaine was armed, he rushed fiercely upon him; andthe lion fought against the giant more strongly even than Ewaine did"Truly," said the giant, "I could deal easily with thee were it not forthis lion that is with thee." Upon that, Ewaine took the lion back tothe castle and shut the gate upon him, and then returned to fight thegiant as before. The lion roared furiously, and climbed up till he gotto the top of the castle, and then sprung down from the wall, and rushedagain upon the giant, giving him a stroke with his paw that tore himfrom the shoulder to the hip, so that he fell down dead. Then Ewainerestored the two youths to their father.
The earl besought Ewaine to remain with him, but he would not, and setforth to the place where Luned was imprisoned in the stone vault. Whenhe came there he found a great fire kindled, and the two knights wereleading the maiden to cast her into it. Ewaine asked what chargethey had against her; and they told him of the compact that there wasbetween-them. Then, without making himself known, he proffered himselfto do battle for her in place of Ewaine; and the knights assented. Theyattacked Ewaine, and, inasmuch as he had not his usual strength, hewas sore beset by them; but his lion fell upon them and put them to theworse. So thus was Luned saved from being burned. And Ewaine returnedwith her to the dominions of the Countess of the Fountain; and thence hetook the countess with him to the court of King Arthur, where they livedafterwards in great happiness and renown.