Then her father took the letter and bound it in her hand, and by her side he placed a lily. And they clothed her in her fairest dress, and carried her down to the river, and laid her in the barge, alone with the old dumb servant.
And the barge floated quietly down the stream, guided by the old dumb man.
Then when it reached the palace steps, it stopped, and the King and the Queen and all the knights and ladies came to see the strange sight.
And the King took the letter from the fair maid’s hand and read it aloud.
‘I am the Lily Maid of Astolat, and because Sir Lancelot left me, I make unto all ladies my moan. Pray for my soul.’
When they heard it the lords and ladies wept with pity.
And Sir Lancelot buried Elaine sadly. And sometimes when those who loved him were jealous and unkind, he thought tenderly of the pure and simple love of the Lily Maid of Astolat.
