8 Idylls of the King
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aid magic by, and sat him down, and wroteAll things and whatsoever Merlin did In one great annal-book, where after-yearsWill learn the secret of our Arthur’s birth.’ To whom the King Leodogran replied,‘O friend, had I been holpen half as wellBy this King Arthur as by thee to-day,Then beast and man had had their share of me:But summon here before us yet once moreUlfius, and Brastias, and Bedivere.’ Then, when they came before him, the King said,‘I have seen the cuckoo chased by lesser fowl,And reason in the chase: but wherefore nowDo these your lords stir up the heat of war,Some calling Arthur born of Gorlois,Others of Anton? Tell me, ye yourselves,Hold ye this Arthur for King Uther’s son?’ And Ulfius and Brastias answer’d, ‘Ay.’Then Bedivere, the first of all his knightsKnighted by Arthur at his crowning, spake—For bold in heart and act and word was he,Whenever slander breathed against the King— ‘Sir, there be many rumours on this head:For there be those who hate him in their hearts,Call him baseborn, and since his ways are sweet,And theirs are bestial, hold him less than man:And there be those who deem him more than man,And dream he dropt from heaven: but my beliefIn all this matter—so ye care to learn—Sir, for ye know that in King Uther’s time 155 165 7c 175 ee ee a ee eee ee ee Oe ee Tee ee eee
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