er as at a
vision of the dead. In great doubt was he whether this lady was in
truth his beloved.

"Come, Gugemar," rallied Meriadus, "let this damsel try to unravel the
knot in your shift which has puzzled so many fair dames."

Gugemar called to his squire and bade him fetch the shift, and when it
was brought the lady, without seeming effort, unravelled the knot. But
even yet Gugemar remained uncertain.

"Lady," he said, "tell me, I pray you, whether or not you wear a
girdle with which I girt you in a realm across the sea," and placing
his hands around her slender waist, he found there the secret belt.

All his doubts dispelled, Gugemar asked his loved one how she had come
to the tower of Meriadus. When he had heard, he then and there
requested his ally to yield him the lady, but the chieftain roundly
refused. Then the knight in great anger cast down his glove and took
his departure, and, to the discomfiture of Meriadus, all those knights
who had gathered for the tournament and had offered to assist Meriadus
accompanied Gugemar.

[Illustration: GUGEMAR'S ASSAULT ON THE CASTLE OF MERIADUS]

In a body they rode to the castle of the prince who was at war with
Meriadus, and next day they marched against the discourteous
chieftain. Long did they besiege his castle, but at last when the
defenders were weak with hunger Gugemar and his men assailed the place
and took it, slaying Meriadus within the ruins of his own hall.
Gugemar, rushing to that place where he knew his lady to be, called
her forth, and in peace brought her back with him to his own demesne,
where they were wed and dwelt long and happily.

There are several circumstances connected with this beautiful old tale
which deeply impress us with a belief in its antiquity. The incident
of the killing of the deer and the incurable nature of Gugemar's wound
are undoubtedly legacies from very ancient times, when it was believed
to be unlucky under certain circumstances to kill a beast of the
chase. Some savage races, such as the North American Indians, consider
it to be most unlucky to slay a deer without first propitiating the
great Deer God, the chief of the Deer Folk, and in fact they attribute
most of the ills to which flesh is heir to the likelihood that they
have omitted some of the very involved ritual of the chase. It will be
remembered that Tristrem of Lyonesse also had an incurable wound, and
there are other like instances in romance and myth.

The vessel