hung a great horn, as great as ever was seen, made out of the tusk of an elephant. "That," said the damsel, "the Knight of the Marshes has hung there; if any one blow it, he will make himself ready, and come forth and meet 5 him in battle. But I pray you blow it not till noon is past, for they say that till it is noon his strengtn increases till it be as the strength of seven men." "Nay," said Sir Fairhands, "give me no such counsel; I will meet him at his best, for I will either win all the honor that may be 10 won, or die in the field." Thereupon he leapt lightly to the tree, and blew upon the horn so eagerly that all the castle rang again. And many of the knights that were besieging the castle looked out of their pavilions, and many of the castle looked out 15 of their windows. And when the Knight of the Marshes heard it, he made haste to prepare himself. Two barons buckled on his spurs, and an earl set the helmet on his head, and his squires brought him a shield and spear, and all that he had upon him was blood-red. 20 "Sir," said the damsel to her knight, the damsel's name, you should know, was Linet, "there is your enemy, and at yonder window is my sister, Dame Lyones." "Where?" said he. And she pointed with her finger. "Verily," said he, "she is the fairest lady that ever I be 25 held, if I can see so far. for her will I fight." Truly she shall be my lady, and And he looked smiling to the win dow. And Dame Lyones curtsied to him to the ground. But the Knight of the Marshes cried: "Have done with thy looking. Know that she is my lady, for whom I have fought many battles." "Then you have spent much labor in vain," said Sir Fairhands, "for she loves thee not. Know, therefore, that I will rescue her from thee, 5 or die in the field." "You had best take warning," said the other, "by the knights that hang there upon the trees.". "Nay," said Sir Fairhands, "that is a shameful sight, and it has given me a greater courage than if you had been an honorable knight." - A. J. CHURCH: Heroes of Chivalry and Romance. let it suffice, let it be sufficient; curt'sied, made a "courtesy," by bending the knees; pa vil'ions, tents. Composition: Friendly Letters. Instead of writing a composition on one of Sir Gareth's adventures, write a letter to a friend, asking him if he has ever read this story. Advise him to do so if he has not, and tell him why you think he will enjoy it. Before you begin your letter read the following one carefully. It was written by the great English scientist, Thomas H. Huxley, to his daughter, when he was away from home on a vacation. Notice the following things in regard to it: — 1. Where the place and date are written, and how they are punctuated. 2. Where the salutation is written, and how it is punctuated. 3. Where the body of the letter begins. 4. The complimentary close where it is placed and how punctuated. DEAREST BABS, HOTEL BEAU Séjour, We could not stand "beautiful Venice, the pride of the sea," any longer. It blew, and rained, and "colded" for eight and forty hours 10 R consecutively, so we packed up and betook ourselves here by way of Milan and Genoa. At Milan it was so like London on a wet day, that except for the want of smoke we might have been in our own dear native land. The quick train from Genoa here is believed to go fully twentyfive miles an hour, but we took the slow train at 9.30, and got here some time in the afternoon. But, mind you, it is a full eighty miles, and when we were at full speed between the stations-very few donkeys could have gone faster. But the coast scenery is very pretty and we didn't mind. We shall stop some days and give San Remo a chance a week unless the weather turns bad. Mother sends heaps of love to all, including Charles. at least Ever your loving FATHER. How many paragraphs are there in this letter? What is the first one about? The second? The third? The fourth? You will notice that whenever the thought changes, a new paragraph is made. Be careful to do this in your own letter. 38 THE ADVENTURE OF SIR GARETH (Concluded) THEN the two put their spears in rest, and charged, and smote each other on the shields with so strong a blow that the girths of their saddles were burst, and both fell to the ground, holding their bridles in their 5 hands. All that saw them thought that the necks of both had been broken, but the two fighters rose from the ground, and drew their swords, and put their shields before them, and made at each other. Like two lions Then by they fought together, till it was past noon. common consent they parted for a while till they could take breath, and then did battle again till even. Nor could any of these who beheld say which was likelier to be conqueror, for both had given and suffered many 5 grievous blows, and their shields and armors were sorely hacked and hewn. Then again by common consent they their pages unlaced their harness, so rested a while, and that they might be cooled by the wind. Then Sir Fairhands, looking up, saw Dame Lyones at 10 a window, with so smiling a face that he took great heart at the sight and bade the Knight of the Marshes come on again. "That will I," said he. So their pages laced up their helmets and their harness, and they fell to fighting again. Then the knight of the siege dealt 15 Sir Fairhands a cunning blow within the hand so that his sword fell from it, and, after this, so strong a buffet on the helmet that he fell to the earth. Then his adversary threw himself upon him to hold him down. But the damsel Linet cried aloud, "Where is your cour-20 age, Sir Fairhands? My sister weeps to see you." When Sir Fairhands heard this, he leapt up with great strength, and got his feet again, and caught his sword in his hand. Then there was another battle, but Sir Fairhands redoubled his strokes, and in no long time had smitten the 25 sword out of his adversary's hand, and had laid him even with the ground. So the Knight of the Marshes yielded himself, and prayed for mercy. But Sir Fairhands bethought him of the knights that he had seen so shamefully hanged, and said, "I cannot give you mercy, seeing you have put so many knights to a 5 shameful death." "Hear now the cause," said the other. "Once I loved a lady whose brother was slain by Sir Lancelot, and I made her a promise that I would fight ever with King Arthur's knights, and that I would so put to death 10 whomsoever I should vanquish." And many nobles and knights came up and entreated of the conqueror that he would spare the fallen knight, saying: ""Tis better for you. to have him and us for your men. And if you slay him, it will not undo the evil that he has done" 15 Then said Sir Fairhands: "I am loath to slay the knight, though he has done many shameful deeds; and indeed I blame him the less because he has done these things at a lady's bidding. Therefore I give him pardon, but on these conditions: first, that he yield to the Lady 20 Lyones, and make amends to her for all the wrongs he has done her; second, that he go to the court of King Arthur and beg forgiveness of Sir Lancelot for his ill will toward him." "This will I do," said the knight. Now the knights that had yielded themselves to Sir 25 Fairhands, who shall be called henceforth by his true name of Sir Gareth, went to King Arthur, according as they had been bidden, and swore loyalty to him. First |