ve: "Merlin, thou art welcome, and I will give thee all
that thou desirest, of my land, of silver and of gold." He weened
through Merlin to win all the land, but it happened all otherwise ere
the day's end came. The king thus asked his dear friend Merlin, "Say
me now, Merlin, man to me dearest, what betoken the dragons that made
the din, and the stone, and the water, and the wondrous fight? Say me,
if thy will is, what betokeneth all this? And afterwards thou must
counsel me how I shall guide me, and how I may win my kingdom from
Hengest, my wife's father, who hath harmed me greatly." Then answered
Merlin to the king that spake with him: "King, thou art unwise, and
foolish in counsel, thou askest of the dragons that made the din, and
what betokened their fight, and their fierce assaults? They betoken
kings that yet are to come, and their fight, and their adventure, and
their fated folk! But if thou wert so wise a man, and so prudent in
thought, that thou haddest inquired of me of thy many sorrows, thy
great care, that is to come to thee, I would say to thee of thy
sorrow." Then quoth Vortiger the king: "Dear friend Merlin, say me of
the things that are to come to me." "Blithely," quoth Merlin, with
bold voice, "I will say to thee; but ever it will thee rue. King,
king, be-see thee (see to thyself), sorrow is to thee given of
Constantine's kin!--his son thou killedest; thou causedest Constance
to be slain, who was king in this land; thou causedst thy Peohtes to
betray (or destroy) him basely; therefore thou shalt suffer sorrows
most of all! Afterwards thou drewest upon thee foreign people, the
Saxons to this land, therefore thou shalt be destroyed! Now are the
barons of Britain arrived; it is, Aurelie and Uther--now thou art
thereof aware;--they shall come to-morrow, full truly, in this land at
Totnes, I do thee well to wit, with seven hundred ships; and now they
sail speedily in the sea. Thou hast much evil done to them, and now
thou must the harm receive; thou hast on both sides bane that to thee
shall seem; for now thy foes are before thee, and thy enemies behind.
But flee, flee thy way, and save thy life--and flee whither that thou
fleest, they will pursue after thee! Ambrosie Aurelie he shall have
first this kingdom; but he through draught of poison shall suffer
death. And afterwards shall Uther Pendragon have this kingdom; but thy
kin shall kill him with poison; but ere he suffer death, he shall din
(contest) make.