195 Thou therefore take my brand Excalibur, Which was my pride: for thou rememberest how In those old days, one summer noon, an arm Rose up from out the bosom of the lake, Clothed in white samite,1 mystic, wonderful,
200 Holding the sword?and how I rowed across And took it, and have worn it, like a king; And, wheresoever I am sung or told In aftertime, this also shall be known: But now delay not: take Excalibur,
205 And fling him far into the middle mere:0 middle of the lake Watch what thou seest, and lightly0 bring me word.' quickly
9. Cf. Malory, Morte Darthur 21.7: 'Some men place. And men say that he will come again.' yet say in many parts of England that King Arthur 1. A rich silk fabric, is not dead, but by the will of our Lord in another
.
1 138 / ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON
To him replied the bold Sir Bedivere: 'It is not meet,' Sir King, to leave thee thus, fitting Aidless, alone, and smitten through the helm? A little thing may harm a wounded man; Yet I thy hest? will all perform at full, command Watch what I see, and lightly bring thee word.'
So saying, from the ruined shrine he stepped, And in the moon athwart' the place of tombs, across Where lay the mighty bones of ancient men, Old knights, and over them the sea-wind sang Shrill, chill, with flakes of foam. He, stepping down By zigzag paths, and juts of pointed rock, Came on the shining levels of the lake.
There drew he forth the brand Excalibur, And o'er him, drawing it, the winter moon, Brightening the skirts of a long cloud, ran forth And sparkled keen with frost against the hilt: For all the haft? twinkled with diamond sparks, hilt Myriads of topaz-lights, and jacinth?-work red gem Of subtlest jewelry. He gazed so long That both his eyes were dazzled as he stood, This way and that dividing the swift mind, In act to throw: but at the last it seemed Better to leave Excalibur concealed There in the many-knotted waterflags, That whistled stiff and dry about the marge.0 shore So strode he back slow to the wounded King.
Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere: 'Hast thou performed my mission which I gave? What is it thou hast seen? or what hast heard?'
And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere: 'I heard the ripple washing in the reeds, And the wild water lapping on the crag.'
To whom replied King Arthur, faint and pale: 'Thou hast betrayed thy nature and thy name. Not rendering true answer, as beseemed Thy fealty, nor like a noble knight: For surer sign had followed, either hand, Or voice, or else a motion of the mere. This is a shameful thing for men to lie. Yet now, I charge thee, quickly go again, As thou art lief? and dear, and do the thing beloved I bade thee, watch, and lightly bring me word.'
Then went Sir Bedivere the second time Across the ridge, and paced beside the mere, Counting the dewy pebbles, fixed in thought; But when he saw the wonder of the hilt,
.
THE PASSING OF ARTHUR / 1207
How curiously and strangely chased,2 he smote 255 His palms together, and he cried aloud:
'And if indeed I cast the brand away, Surely a precious thing, one worthy note, Should thus be lost forever from the earth, Which might have pleased the eyes of many men.
260 What good should follow this, if this were done? What harm, undone? Deep harm to disobey, Seeing obedience is the bond of rule. Were it well to obey then, if a king demand An act unprofitable, against himself?
265 The King is sick, and knows not what he does. What record, or what relic of my lord Should be to aftertime, but empty breath And rumors of a doubt? But were this kept, Stored in some treasure-house of mighty kings,
270 Some one might show it at a joust of arms, Saying, 'King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, Wrought by the lonely maiden of the Lake. Nine years she wrought it, sitting in the deeps Upon the hidden bases of the hills.'
275 So might some old man speak in the aftertime To all the people, winning reverence. But now much honor and much fame were lost.'
So spake he, clouded with his own conceit,3 And hid Excalibur the second time, 280 And so strode back slow to the wounded king.
Then spoke King Arthur, breathing heavily: 'What is it thou hast seen? or what hast heard?'
And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere: 'I heard the water lapping on the crag, 285 And the long ripple washing in the reeds.'
To whom replied King Arthur, much in wrath: 'Ah, miserable and unkind, untrue, Unknightly, traitor-hearted! Woe is me! Authority forgets a dying king,
290 Laid widowed of the power in his eye That bowed the will. I see thee what thou art, For thou, the latest- left of all my knights, In whom should meet the offices of all, Thou wouldst betray me for the precious hilt;
295 Either from lust of gold, or like a girl Valuing the giddy pleasure of the eyes. Yet, for a man may fail in duty twice, And the third time may prosper, get thee hence:
2. Decorated. 'Curiously': skillfully. 3. Vain and foolish fancies.
.
1 138 / ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON
But, if thou spare to fling Excalibur, 300 I will arise and slay thee with my hands.'
Then quickly rose Sir Bedivere, and ran, And, leaping down the ridges lightly, plunged Among the bullrush beds, and clutched the sword, And strongly wheeled and threw it. The great brand
305 Made lightnings in the splendor of the moon, And flashing round and round and whirled in an arch, Shot like a streamer of the northern morn,4 Seen where the moving isles of winter shock5 By night, with noises of the Northern Sea.
