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geraint as he had been used to do when he was at arthur's court frequented tournaments
before geraint the scourge of the enemy i saw steeds white with foam and after the shout of battle a fearful torrent
these tidings came to erbin
not i by my confession unto heaven said she there is nothing more hateful unto me than this
and the tears she shed and the words she had spoken awoke him
and evil betide me said he if thou returnest here until thou knowest whether i have lost my strength so completely as thou didst say
then geraint went to see erbin
sir said he i am going upon a quest and i am not certain when i may come back
take heed therefore unto thy possessions until my return
but one person only will go with me
and he desired enid to mount her horse and to ride forward and to keep a long way before him
and unless i speak unto thee say not thou one word either
and though thou shouldst desire to see my defeat and my death by the hands of those men yet do i feel no dread
and he received him and that not feebly
and say not one word unto me unless i speak first unto thee
i will do as far as i can lord said she according to thy desire
ah maiden said he it is vain to attempt proceeding forward
i cannot by any means refrain from sleep through weariness said he do thou therefore watch the horses and sleep not
and when she saw the dawn of day appear she looked around her to see if he were waking and thereupon he woke
and they left the wood and they came to an open country with meadows on one hand and mowers mowing the meadows
my lord he added will it be displeasing to thee if i ask whence thou comest also
wilt thou follow my counsel said the youth and take thy meal from me
what sort of meal he inquired
then they washed and took their repast
i go now lord said he to meet the knight and to conduct him to his lodging
i will do lord said she as thou sayest
and after they had eaten and drank geraint went to sleep and so did enid also
the dates seem unimportant but throughout the period the officers and men of the ship have been unremittingly busy
bowers attacked the ship's stores surveyed relisted and restowed them saving very much space by unstowing numerous cases and stowing the contents in the lazarette
without steam the leak can now be kept under with the hand pump by two daily efforts of a quarter of an hour to twenty minutes
as the ship was and in her present heavily laden condition it would certainly have taken three to four hours each day
the large green tent was put up and proper supports made for it
the engine room staff and anderson's people on the engines scientists were stowing their laboratories the cook refitting his galley and so forth not a single spot but had its band of workers
the men's space such as it is therefore extends from the fore hatch to the stem on the main deck
under the forecastle are stalls for fifteen ponies the maximum the space would hold the narrow irregular space in front is packed tight with fodder
immediately behind the forecastle bulkhead is the small booby hatch the only entrance to the men's mess deck in bad weather
abaft the fore hatch is the ice house
we managed to get three tons of ice one hundred sixty two carcases of mutton and three carcases of beef besides some boxes of sweetbreads and kidneys into this space
the sacks containing this last added to the goods already mentioned make a really heavy deck cargo and one is naturally anxious concerning it but everything that can be done by lashing and securing has been done
forage i originally ordered thirty tons of compressed oaten hay from melbourne
the scene is wholly enchanting and such a view from some sheltered sunny corner in a garden which blazes with masses of red and golden flowers tends to feelings of inexpressible satisfaction with all things
a great mass of people assembled
k and i lunched with a party in the new zealand company's ship ruapehu
telegram to say terra nova had arrived sunday night
a third sledge stands across the break of the poop in the space hitherto occupied by the after winch
the quantity is two and a half tons and the space occupied considerable
the ship was over two feet by the stern but this will soon be remedied
they must perforce be chained up and they are given what shelter is afforded on deck but their position is not enviable
it is a pathetic attitude deeply significant of cold and misery occasionally some poor beast emits a long pathetic whine
there are generally one or two on watch which eases matters but it is a squash
later in the day the wind has veered to the westward heading us slightly
oates and atkinson with intermittent assistance from others were busy keeping the ponies on their legs
there was nothing for it but to grapple with the evil and nearly all hands were labouring for hours in the waist of the ship heaving coal sacks overboard and re lashing the petrol cases et cetera in the best manner possible under such difficult and dangerous circumstances
no sooner was some semblance of order restored than some exceptionally heavy wave would tear away the lashing and the work had to be done all over again
from this moment about four a m the engine room became the centre of interest
the water gained in spite of every effort
the outlook appeared grim
the amount of water which was being made with the ship so roughly handled was most uncertain
williams had to confess he was beaten and must draw fires what was to be done
the bilge pump is dependent on the main engine
on one occasion i was waist deep when standing on the rail of the poop
the afterguard were organised in two parties by evans to work buckets the men were kept steadily going on the choked hand pumps this seemed all that could be done for the moment and what a measure to count as the sole safeguard of the ship from sinking practically an attempt to bale her out
occasionally a heavy sea would bear one of them away and he was only saved by his chain
now this is how arthur hunted the stag
and the last dog that was let loose was the favorite dog of arthur cavall was his name
then they sounded the death horn for slaying and they all gathered round
one wished that it should be given to the lady best beloved by him and another to the lady whom he loved best
and after midday they beheld an unshapely little man upon a horse and after him a dame or a damsel also on horseback and after her a knight of large stature bowed down and hanging his head low and sorrowfully and clad in broken and worthless armor
i know not who they are said he but i know said guenever this is the knight whom geraint pursued and methinks that he comes not here by his own free will
but geraint has overtaken him and avenged the insult to the maiden to the uttermost
lady said he at the gate there is a knight and i saw never a man of so pitiful an aspect to look upon as he
i do said he he tells me that he is edeyrn the son of nudd
then she replied i know him not
so guenever went to the gate to meet him and he entered
and geraint greets thee well and in greeting thee he compelled me to come hither to do thy pleasure for the insult which thy maiden received from the dwarf now where did he overtake thee
sir said she when thinkest thou that geraint will be here
to morrow lady i think he will be here with the maiden
i am lord said he and i have met with much trouble and received wounds unsupportable
well said arthur from what i hear it behooves guenever to be merciful towards thee
the mercy which thou desirest lord said she will i grant to him since it is as insulting to thee that an insult should be offered to me as to thyself
thus will it be best to do said arthur let this man have medical care until it be known whether he may live
to guenever and her handmaidens said he
and the steward of the household so ordered her
and being young he changed himself and grew to hate the sin that seem'd so like his own of modred arthur's nephew and fell at last in the great battle fighting for the king
and when geraint came to the place where guenever was he saluted her
then they went in and dismounted
heaven protect thee said arthur and the welcome of heaven be unto thee
and inasmuch as thou hast vanquished edeyrn the son of nudd thou hast had a prosperous career
and from that time she became his wife
and the maiden took up her abode in the palace and she had many companions both men and women and there was no maiden more esteemed than she in the island of britain
and a year and a second and a third he proceeded thus until his fame had flown over the face of the kingdom
and he greets thee well as an uncle should greet his nephew and as a vassal should greet his lord
and the neighboring chiefs knowing this grow insolent towards him and covet his land and possessions
and arthur told geraint the cause of the mission and of the coming of the ambassadors to him out of cornwall truly said geraint be it to my advantage or disadvantage lord i will do according to thy will concerning this embassy
what discourse said guenever do i hear between you
said geraint i think i shall have enough of knighthood with me and they set forth
and never was there seen a fairer host journeying towards the severn
and he said to geraint i am a feeble and an aged man and whilst i was able to maintain the dominion for thee and for myself i did so
and every one asked that which he desired
and they were not long in giving so eager was every one to bestow gifts and of those who came to ask gifts none departed unsatisfied