he might choose, and half their kingdom with her. 'I came not hither to woo,' said Peredur, 'but if peradventure I took a wife, I should prefer your sister to all others.' And Peredur rode forward, and he heard a noise behind him. And he looked back, and saw a man upon a red horse, and red armor upon him; and the man rode up by his side, and wished him the favor of Heaven and of man. And Peredur greeted the youth kindly. 'Lord, I come to make a request unto thee.' 'What wouldst thou?' 'That thou shouldst take me as thy attendant.' 'Who should I take as my attendant if I did so?' 'I will not conceal from thee what kindred I am of. Etlym Gleddyv Coch am I called, an Earl from the East Country.' 'I marvel that thou shouldst offer to become attendant to a man whose possessions are no greater than thine own; for I have but an earldom like thyself. But now thou desirest to be my attendant, I will take thee joyfully.'
And they went forward to the Court of the Countess, and all they of the Court were glad at their coming; and they were told it was not through disrespect they were placed below the household, but that such was the usage of the Court. For whoever should overthrow the three hundred men of her household would sit next the Countess, and she would love him above all other men. And Peredur, having overthrown the three hundred of her household, sat down beside her, and the Countess said, 'I thank Heaven that I have a youth so fair and so radiant as thou, since I have not obtained the man whom best I love.' 'Whom is he whom best thou lovest? By my faith, Etlym Gleddyv Coch is the man whom I love best, and I have never seen him.' 'Of a truth, Etlym is my companion; and behold here he is, and for his sake did I come to joust with thy household. And he would have done so better than I had it pleased him.' 'Heaven reward thee, fair youth, and I will take the man whom I love above all others.' And the Countess became Etlym's bride from that moment.
And the next day Peredur set forth toward the Mound of Mourning. 'By thy hand, lord, but I will go with thee,' said Etlym. Then they went forward till they came in sight of the mound and the forts. 'Go unto yonder men,' said Peredur to Etlym, 'and desire them to come and do me homage.' So Etlym went unto them, and said unto them thus: 'Come and do homage to my lord.' 'Who is thy lord?' said they. 'Peredur, with the long lance, is my lord,' said Etlym. 'Were it permitted to slay a messenger, thou shouldst not go back to thy lord alive, for making unto kings and earls and barons so arrogant a demand as to go and do him homage.' On this Peredur desired him to go back to them, and to give them their choice, either to do him homage or to do battle with him. And they chose rather to do battle. And that day Peredur overthrew the owners of a hundred tents. And the next day he overthrew the owners of a hundred more; and the third day the remaining third took counsel, to do homage to Peredur. And Peredur inquired of them wherefore they were there. And they told him they were guarding the serpent until he should die. 'For then should we fight for the stone among ourselves, and whoever should be conqueror among us would have the stone.' 'Wait here,' said Peredur, 'and I will go to encounter the serpent.' 'No, no, lord,' said they; 'we will go all together to encounter the serpent.' 'Verily,' said Peredur, 'that will I not permit; for if the serpent be slain, I shall derive no more fame therefrom than one of you.' Then he went to the place where the serpent was, and slew it, and came back to them, and said, 'Reckon up what you have spent since you have been here, and I will repay you to the full.' And he paid to each what he said was his claim. And he required of them only that they should acknowledge themselves his vassals. And he said to Etlym, 'Go back unto her whom thou lovest best, and I will go forwards, and I will reward thee for having been my attendant.' And he gave Etlym the stone. 'Heaven repay thee and prosper thee,' said Etlym.
And Peredur rode thence, and he came to the fairest valley he had ever seen, through which ran a river; and there he beheld many tents of various colors. And he marvelled still more at the number of windmills and of water-mills that he saw. And there rode up with him a tall, auburn- haired man, in a workman's garb, and Peredur inquired of him who he was. 'I am the chief miller,' said he, 'of all the mills yonder.' 'Wilt thou give me lodging?' said Peredur. 'I will, gladly,' he answered. And Peredur came to the miller's house, and the miller had a fair and pleasant dwelling. And Peredur asked money as a loan from the miller, that he might buy meat and liquor for himself, and for the household, and he promised him that he would pay him ere he went thence. And he inquired of the miller wherefore such a multitude were there assembled. Said the miller to Peredur, 'One thing is certain; either thou art a man from afar, or thou art beside thyself. The Empress of Cristonobyl the Great is here; and she will have no one but the man who is most valiant; for riches she does not require. And it was impossible to bring food for so many thousands as are here, therefore were all these mills constructed.' And that night they took their rest.
And the next day Peredur arose, and he equipped himself and his horse for the tournament. And among other tents he beheld one which was the fairest he had ever seen. And saw a beauteous maiden leaning her head out of a window of a tent, and he had never seen a maiden more lovely than she. And upon her was a garment of satin. And he gazed fixedly on the maiden and began to love her greatly. And he remained there, gazing upon the maiden from morning until midday, and from midday until evening; and then the tournament was ended; and he went to his lodging and drew off his armor. Then he asked money of the miller as a loan, and the miller's wife was wroth with Peredur; nevertheless the miller lent him the money. And the next day he did in like manner as he had done the day before. And at night he came to his lodging, and took money as a loan from the miller. And the third day, as he was in the same place, gazing upon the maiden, he felt a hard blow between the neck and the shoulder from the edge of an axe. And when he looked behind he saw that it was the miller; and the miller said unto him, 'Do one of two things; either turn thy head from hence or go to the tournament.' And Peredur smiled on the miller, and went to the tournament; and all that encountered him that day he overthrew. And as many as he vanquished he sent as a gift to the Empress, and their horses and arms he sent as a gift to the wife of the miller, in payment of the borrowed money. And the Empress sent to the Knight of the Mill, to ask him to come and visit her. And Peredur went not for the first nor for the second message. And the third time she sent one hundred knights to bring him against his will, and they went to him, and told him their mission from the Empress. And Peredur fought well with them, and caused them to be bound like stags, and thrown into the mill dyke. And the Empress sought advice of a wise man. 'With thy permission, I will go to him myself.' So he came to Peredur and besought him, for the sake of the lady of his love, to come and visit the Empress. And they went together with the miller. And Peredur went and sat down in the outer chamber of the tent, and she came and placed herself at his side. And there was but little discourse between them. And Peredur took his leave, and went to his lodging.
And the next day he came to visit her, and when he came into the tent there was no one chamber less decorated than the others. And they knew not where he would sit. And Peredur went and sat beside the Empress, and discoursed with her courteously. And while they were there they beheld a black man enter with a goblet full of wine in his hand. And he dropped upon his knee before the Empress, and besought her to give it to no one who would not fight him for it. And she looked upon Peredur. 'Lady,' said he, 'bestow upon me the goblet.' And Peredur drank the wine, and gave the goblet to the miller's wife. And while they were thus, behold there entered a black man, of larger stature than the other, with a wild beast's claw in his hand, wrought into the form of a goblet, and filled with wine. And he presented it to the Empress, and besought her to give it to no one but the man who would fight with him. 'Lady,' said Peredur, 'bestow it upon me.' And she gave it to him. And Peredur drank the wine, and sent the goblet to the wife of the miller. And when they were thus, behold a rough-looking crisp-haired man, taller than either of the others, came in with a bowl in his hands full of wine; and he bent upon his knee, and gave it into the hands of the Empress, and he besought her to give it to none but him who would fight with him for it; and she gave it to Peredur, and he sent it to the miller's wife. And that night Peredur returned to his lodging; and the next day he accoutred himself and his horse, and went to the meadow, and slew the three men. Then Peredur proceeded to the tent, and the Empress said to him, 'Goodly Peredur, remember the faith thou didst pledge me when I gave thee the stone, and thou didst kill the Addanc.' 'Lady,' answered he, 'thou sayest truth, I do remember it.' For she was the maiden who had been sitting on the mound when Peredur had gone in search of the Addanc.
CHAPTER XXXII. TALIESIN.
GWYDDNO GARANHIR was sovereign of Gwaelod, a territory bordering on the sea. And he possessed a weir upon the strand between Dyvi and Aberstwyth, near to his own castle, and the value of an hundred pounds was taken in that weir every May eve, And Gwyddno had an only son named Elphin, the most helpless of youths, and the most needy. And it grieved his father sore, for he thought he was born in an evil hour. By the advice of his council his father had granted him the drawing of the weir that year, to see if good luck would ever befall him, and to give him something wherewith to begin the world. And this was on the twenty-ninth of April.
The next day, when Elphin went to look, there was nothing in the weir but a leather bag upon a pole of the
