"Alas," said the king, "so long as I have lived had I known of this it had been well: it has not happened fairly but fallen foul that this fiend hath destroyed the fair lady. I had leifer than all France this fifteen winters that I had been before that fellow a furlong away when he laid hold of that lady and led her to the mountains; I had left behind my life ere she had suffered harm. But can you tell me the crag where lives that man? I will go to that place and speak with him, to deal with that tyrant for treason to his lord, and make a truce for a time till it may happen better."
"Sire, see ye yon foreland with yonder two fires? there lurks that fiend—ask when thou mayest, upon the crest of the crag by a cold well that encloses the cliff within its clear stream: there wilt thou find dead folk without number, more florins i' faith than in all the rest of France, and more treasure hath that traitor unlawfully got than there was in Troy, I trow, what time it was conquered."
Then the noble king sighed for pity of those people, went right to a tent and rested no longer, he welters and wrestleth with himself and wringeth his hands—there was no wight in the world that knew what he wanted. He called Sir Cayous that served with the cup and Sir Bedivere the bold that bore his great brand.
"Look to it that after evensong ye be armed full well and mounted on horses by yonder thicket—by yon blithe stream, for I will pass privately in pilgrimage that way at supper-time when the lords are served to seek a saint by yon salt streams on St. Michael's Mount where miracles are seen."
After evensong King Arthur himself went to his wardrobe and took out his clothes—he armed him in a jerkin with a rich golden fringe, and above that laid a jeryn of Acre right over, and above that a coat of gentle mail—a tunic of Jerodyn with edges frayed. He drew on a bacenett of burnished silver—the best that was in Basill with rich borders: the crest and the crown enclosed so fair with clasps of bright gold adorned with stones—the visor and the aventail equipped so fair without a flaw, with eyelets of silver;
his gauntlets gaily gilded and engraven at the borders with grains and balls of most glorious hue; he bore a broad shield and calls for his sword, he jumped on a brown steed and waits on the heath. He rises in his stirrups and stands aloft, he strains himself stoutly and looks forth, then he spurs the bay steed and rides to the thicket and there his knights await him gallantly arrayed.
They rode by that river that runneth so swift where the trees overstretch with fair boughs, the roe and the reindeer run recklessly there in thickets and rose-gardens to feast themselves. The thickets were in blossom with may-flowers, with falcons and pheasants of fair hues—all the birds lived there which fly with wings, for there sang the cuckoo full loud on the bushes, with all birds of merriment they gladden themselves: the voice of the nightingale's notes was sweet, they strove with the throstles three hundred at once, that this murmur of water and singing of birds might cure him of ill who never was whole.
Then move these folk quickly and alighted on foot and fastened their fair steeds afar off; then the king sternly told his knights to abide with their horses and come no further, "For I will seek this saint by myself and speak with this master man that guards this mountain, and then shall ye partake of the Sacrament one after the other honourably at St. Michael's full mighty with Christ!"
The king climbs the crag with cliffs full high, to the top of the crag he climbs aloft; lifts up his umbrer and looks about him keenly, receiving the cold wind on