Stories of the Days of King Arthur

by Charles Henry Hanson

“If I am alive,” quoth Geraint, “by to-morrow afternoon, madam, you shall hear tidings of me;” and so he departed, and followed the knight, the lady, and the dwarf. They rode past Caerleon, and over the ford of the Usk, and then went up a lofty ridge of ground till they came to the top of it. There stood a fair town, and on the other side of it a great castle. As the knight passed through the town all the people in it saluted him and the lady. The three rode on and went into the castle, where Geraint saw many people welcome them. He himself looked into every house in the town, to see if there were any that he knew, from whom he might borrow a suit of armour; but he had never seen any of the people before. Every house he saw was full of men and arms and horses; and the people were polishing shields, and burnishing swords, and washing armour, and shoeing horses.

Geraint looked about him, to see where he should lodge, and he perceived at a little distance from the town an old palace that once had been full nobble, but now was falling into decay. He went toward it, and found that it was approached by a bridge of marble. On the bridge he saw sitting an old man, clad in poor and tattered garments. Upon him Geraint gazed steadfastly for a long time.

“Young man,” said he, “wherefore art thou thoughtful?”

“I am thoughtful,” answered Geraint, “because I know not where to go to-night.”

“Wilt thou abide with me?” said the old man, “and thou shalt have of the best that I can give thee.”

So he led the way into the hall, and Geraint followed him. In the hall Geraint dismounted and left his horse, and his host took him into an upper chamber where were two women. One was old and decrepit, but it seemed to Geraint that when she was young she must have been exceedingly fair. The other was a young damsel, and he thought he had never seen a maiden more full of comeliness, grace, and beauty than she. But both of the women were attired in old and worn-out garments. The old man bade the girl attend to their guest; and she disarrayed him, and then unsaddled his horse and gave it straw and com. After that the old man bade her go to the town and bring the best she could find, both of food and liquor. While she was away, the old people conversed pleasantly with Geraint. In a while she returned, bringing with her a youth who bore a flagon of mead and the quarter of a young bullock. In her hands and in her veil she carried a quantity of bread “I could not obtain better than this,” she said, “nor with better would I have been trusted.”

“Surely it is good enough,” said Geraint. So the food was made ready, and Geraint and the old people sat down to the table, while the maiden waited upon them.

When they had finished eating, Geraint talked with the old man, and asked him to whom the palace belonged “Truly,” answered the other, “it was I that built it, and to me also belonged the town and the castle you have seen.”

“Alas!” said Geraint, “how comes it that you have lost them?”

“I lost a great earldom as well as these,” answered the other, “and it was in this wise. I had a nephew, the son of my brother, and I took his possessions to myself; and when he came to his strength he demanded his property of me, but I withheld it from him. Thereupon he waged war against me, and took from me all that I possessed.”