grew more sorrowful
than before, for his hurt made him helpless and he could not hope
either to guide the vessel or manage her so that he might return to
shore. Resigning himself to circumstances, he lay down upon the ornate
bed and sank into a deep and dreamless slumber.

[Illustration: GUGEMAR COMES UPON THE MAGIC SHIP]

When he awoke he found to his intense surprise that the ship had come
to the port of an ancient city. Now the king of this realm was an aged
man who was wedded to a young, fair lady, of whom he was, after the
manner of old men, intensely jealous. The castle of this monarch
frowned upon a fair garden enclosed from the sea by a high wall of
green marble, so that if one desired to come to the castle he must do
so from the water. The place was straitly watched by vigilant
warders, and within the wall so carefully defended lay the Queen's
bower, a fairer chamber than any beneath the sun, and decorated with
the most marvellous paintings. Here dwelt the young Queen with one of
her ladies, her own sister's child, who was devoted to her service and
who never quitted her side. The key of this bower was in the hands of
an aged priest, who was also the Queen's servitor.

One day on awaking from sleep the Queen walked in the garden and
espied a ship drawing near the land. Suddenly, she knew not why, she
grew very fearful, and would have fled at the sight, but her maiden
encouraged her to remain. The vessel came to shore, and the Queen's
maiden entered it. No one could she see on board except a knight
sleeping soundly within the pavilion, and he was so pale that she
thought he was dead. Returning to her mistress, she told her what she
had seen, and together they entered the vessel.

No sooner did the Queen behold Gugemar than she was deeply smitten
with love for him. In a transport of fear lest he were dead she placed
her hand upon his bosom, and was overjoyed to feel the warmth of life
within him and that his heart beat strongly. At her touch he awoke and
courteously saluted her. She asked him whence he came and to what
nation he belonged.

"Lady," he replied, "I am a knight of Brittany. But yesterday, or so
it seems to me, for I may have slumbered more than a day, I wounded a
deer in the forest, but the arrow with which I slew her rebounded and
struck me sorely. Then the beast, being, I trow, a fairy deer, spake,
saying that never would this wound be healed save by one damsel in the
whole world, and her I