nobles and the kings and the great men in the land
gathered about the cathedral and tried one after one to draw the sword.
And none could stir it. But Arthur drew the sword so easily that he
needed but to lay one hand upon the hilt to have it come into his
grasp--and after much amazement and doubt and further trials the people
of Britain proclaimed Arthur as their King.

It was soon seen that this lad who had been reared in obscurity and was
hitherto unknown, was to be a greater King than even his father had
been before him. For Arthur quelled the wars that had been ravaging the
country and brought justice and peace to all the land; and those that
rose against him he punished with a hand of iron. But all the people
loved the young King, who was knightly and chivalrous, and the fame of
his deeds rang through his dominions. For in all Britain there was no
knight better than he with sword and lance,--no surer horseman or
bolder warrior than the King himself. And for a time he conducted
himself according to the fashion of noble knights and rode abroad
combatting evil and conquering all those who sought to oppose him.

Everywhere that Arthur went the enchanter Merlin watched over him, and
on more than one occasion Merlin saved his life. And the wise old man
with his enchanter's art looked into the future and saw where Arthur
would gain the strength and power that has made his name live down to
the present day,--aye, and that will make it shine long after those who
read this book are laid away in their own tombs and forgotten!

Merlin knew that in a certain lake that lay in a land of enchantment in
Arthur's dominions, there was a marvelous sword called "Excalibur,"
possessed of such great power that all those who fought against it must
fall,--while in the scabbard of the sword there rested the healing
virtue that nobody who wore it could ever be wounded or lose any blood
in battle.

Many knights had tried to gain this sword, but a terrible fate had
befallen them without exception,--for nobody could claim it who was not
true at heart, and who knew not the meaning of the word fear. The sword
itself was held in a mighty arm that uplifted itself from the center of
the lake, and this arm was clothed in the purest white, marvelous to
look upon.

Merlin took Arthur to the edge of the lake, and the King beheld the
great arm holding the sword above the water; and when he saw it he was
possessed of the desire to have it for his ow