Mary Macgregor

“ Right merrily then laughed Siegfried. 'The maiden,' said he gaily, 'is in truth none other than Queen Brunhild herself.'
The King and his warriors now moored their vessel and leaped ashore, Siegfried leading with him the King's charger. For each knight had brought his steed with him from the fair land of Burgundy.
More bright than ever beamed the bright eyes of the ladies at the castle window. So fair, so gallant a knight never had they seen, thought the damsels as they gazed upon Sir Siegfried. And all the while King Gunther dreamed their glances were bent on no other than himself. ”

“ In the dining-room he sprang eagerly to the King’s side. ‘A boon, King Arthur, grant me this boon,’ he cried, ‘that I serve you no longer as a kitchen-page, but as a knight.’
Arthur loved the noble-looking lad, and was pleased with his eagerness. ‘I make you my knight, to win glory and honour for our land,’ said the King. But the secret of Gareth’s knighthood was to be kept from all but Sir Lancelot, till the new knight, Sir Gareth, had won for himself great fame. ”

“ The form and the face of the god he moulded into wondrous beauty, so that men gazing saw sunshine on the brow, and in the eyes gladness and warmth as of summer skies.
Even so, if you watch, you may catch on the faces of those whose home is on the hill-side, or by the sea, a glimpse of the beauty and the wonder amid which they dwell.
It was only in very early times that the chief sanctuary of Zeus was at Dodona. Before they had dwelt long in Hellas, the Hellenes built a great temple in the plain of Olympia to their supreme god and named it the Olympian temple. ”

“ Romulus ordered the people to assemble on the Field of Mars, which reached from the city to the river Tiber, for here a festival was to be held. But when the king and his subjects met, a terrible storm arose. Dark and yet darker grew the sky, while fierce gusts of wind, blowing now in one direction, now in another, confused the terrified crowd. Flashes of lighting gleamed across the faces of the throng, then darkness, more dense, fell across the field, hiding each from the other. Thunder rolled until the earth seemed to shake at the sound. ”

“ Now Siegfried was not ready to speak of the fair Princess of whom he had heard in his own country, so he answered the King thus:
'Tidings reached me in my fatherland of the splendour of thy court, O King. Never monarch was more bold, more brave than thou, never ruler had more valiant warriors. Such tales were told to me by the people of my land and I have come to see if they be true. I also, King Gunther, am a warrior, and I, too, shall one day wear a crown, for I am Siegfried, Prince of the Netherlands. Nor shall I be content until I have done great deeds to make the whole world marvel. ”

“ And as he walked the wind touched the strings of the elfin harp and drew forth a wail so full of dole that those who heard it whispered: 'It is a note of death.'
On walked Thomas, slow and sad, and oft he turned to look again at the grim walls of the castle, which he knew he would never see again.
And the moonbeams fell upon the grey tower, and in the soft light the walls grew less grim, less stern, so thought Thomas.
'Farewell,' he cried, 'farewell. Nor song nor dance shall evermore find place within thy walls. On thy hearthstone shall the wild hare seek a refuge for her young. ”

“ If ever I built a temple gracious in thine eyes, or if ever I burnt to thee fat flesh ... of bulls or goats, fulfil thou this my desire; let the Greeks pay by thine arrows for my tears.’
Apollo heard the cry of the priest, and swift was his answer. For he hastened to the tents of the Greeks, bearing upon his shoulders his silver bow, and he sped arrows of death into the camp.
Dogs, mules, men, all fell before the arrows of the angry god. The bodies of the dead were burned on great piles of wood, and the smoke rose black toward the sky. ”

“ Ettarde mocked him, and told her lords to tie him to the tail of a horse and turn him out of the castle.
‘She does it to find out if I love her truly,’ thought Sir Pelleas again, as he struggled back to his tent below the castle.
Another ten lords were sent to fight the faithful knight, and again Pelleas overthrew them, and again he let himself be bound and carried before the Lady Ettarde.
But when she spoke to him even more unkindly than before, and mocked at his love for her, Sir Pelleas turned away. ‘If she were good as she is beautiful, she could not be so cruel,’ he thought sadly. ”

“ When games were held in the great castle hall, ladies clad in garments of richest hue, and sparkling with gems of ruddy gold, would come into the galleries. And ever as they watched the gallant knights their eyes would follow the most gallant of them all, the hero Siegfried. But among these fair counts and ladies the Princess Kriemhild was never to be seen, and Siegfried had no thought to spare for any other damsel. In his heart was ever the image of the maiden whom he had come hither to win. ”

“ Unarmed as he was, Cæsar yet struggled desperately with the assassins, until he caught sight of Decimus Brutus, whom he loved, among his murderers, ready to strike.
Then crying, ‘Et tu, Brute?’ ‘Thou, too, Brutus?’ he covered his face with his toga and fell to the ground, his body covered with many wounds.
Cæsar was dead. And it is said that nature herself mourned for the great man stricken to death by those whom he had befriended. For, for a whole year the sun shone dull and faint, while grey clouds were stretched across the sky like a funeral pall. Cæsar was dead. ”

“ And the simple folk catching glimpses of these flitting forms said one to the other, ‘The gods have come to live among us. Their presence it is that makes the earth so fair, so wonderful.’ As the years passed and the Hellenes grew older, sterner times came. Cities sprang up on hillsides and by river-banks, and the gods were seldom seen. Men went to war, battles were lost and won.
But never, in victory or in defeat, did the people lose their early love of beauty, or that strange, dreamy sense of wonder, which from the beginning was ever plucking at their hearts. ”

“ On earth seven slow long years had passed away since Thomas had been seen in the little village of Ercildoune, and the villagers rubbed their eyes and stared with open mouth as they saw him once again in their midst.
Ofttimes now Thomas was to be seen wandering down from his grim old castle down to the bonny greenwood. Ofttimes was he to be found lying on the bank of the little brook that babbled to itself as it ran through the forest, or under the Eildon tree, where he had met the Elf Queen so long before.
He would be dreaming as he lay there of the songs he would sing to the country folk. ”

“ The Earl’s wife sat there, and she wore a dress that must have been very grand once, but now it was old.
Beside her stood her beautiful daughter, and she wore a faded silk gown, but Geraint thought he had never seen so fair a face.
‘This is the maiden who sang the beautiful song,’ he thought. ‘If I can win her for my bride, she shall come back with me to Queen Guinevere. But the brightest silks the Queen can dress her in, will not make her look more fair than she does in this old gown,’ he murmured to himself. ”

“ Not a clod must be allowed to lie without the furrow. When the plough reached the different spots at which the gates of the city were to stand, it was carefully lifted over the spaces.
As he guided the plough, Romulus cried to his gods that his city might become strong and endure, and ever grow more powerful in the great world.
Out of a clear sky thunder crashed, lightning flashed over the hills as Romulus uttered his petitions, and the people believed that the storm was the answer of the god Jupiter to the prayers of their king. ”

“ All this time, Pluto, King of Hades, was living in his gloomy kingdom underground, longing for some fair maiden to share his throne. But there was not one who was willing to leave the glad light of the sun, no, not though Pluto offered her the most brilliant gems in his kingdom.
One day the dark king came up out of the shadows, riding in his chariot of gold, drawn by immortal horses. Swifter was their pace than that of any mortal steeds.
Persephone was in a meadow with her playfellows when the king drew near. ”

“ Mimer, poor little dwarf, all a-tremble with his fear, cried angrily, 'Thou mayest go shoot if so it please thee, and bring home thy dead prey. Dead bears thou mayest bring hither if thou wilt, but live bears shalt thou leave to crouch in their lair or to roam through the forest.' But Siegfried, the naughty Prince, only laughed at the little Nibelung's frightened face and harsh, croaking voice. ”

“ The lady Janet tossed her head, though over her she felt creeping slow the spell of the little elfin knight. She tossed her head and she cried, 'Nay, I have no fear of you, ye little wee man. Nor will I ever ask leave of you as I come to and fro across the plain of Carterhaugh. Ye shall know that the moor belongs to me, me!' and Janet stamped her foot. 'My father made it all my own.'
But the young Tamlane took the white hand of the lady Janet in his own, and so gentle were his words, so kind his ways, that soon the maiden had no wish to leave the little wee man. ”

“ Soldiers, will you suffer such an indignity? The Gauls are holding out their arms to us, inviting us to come to them and to assist them in revenging their manifold injuries. And the country which we shall invade, so rich in corn and wine and oil, so full of flocks and herds, so covered with flourishing cities, will be the richest prize that could be offered by the gods to reward your valour.’
“I carry here peace and war, choose, men of Carthage, which ye will.” ”

“ But Enid grew sadder and paler every day. She did not wish Geraint to wait on her and forget every one else. She wanted him to be a true knight.
And the people began to scoff and jeer whenever Geraint’s name was spoken. ‘The Prince is no knight,’ they said. ‘The robbers spoil his land and carry off his cattle, but he neither cares nor fights. He does nothing [18] but wait on the fair Lady Enid.’
Enid knew what the people said, and she thought, ‘I must tell Geraint, and then surely he will be ashamed, and become a brave knight once more.’ But always her courage failed. ”