dle of the hall, all
this without leaving his bed; rather did he lie down again and slept as
securely as at first.

(Vv. 539-982.) In the morning, at daybreak, the damsel of the tower had
Mass celebrated on their account, and had them rise and dress. When Mass
had been celebrated for them, the knight who had ridden in the cart sat
down pensively at a window, which looked out upon the meadow, and he
gazed upon the fields below. The damsel came to another window close by,
and there my lord Gawain conversed with her privately for a while about
something, I know not what. I do not know what words were uttered, but
while they were leaning on the window-sill they saw carried along the
river through the fields a bier, upon which there lay a knight, [47] and
alongside three damsels walked, mourning bitterly. Behind the bier they
saw a crowd approaching, with a tall knight in front, leading a fair
lady by the horse's rein. The knight at the window knew that it was the
Queen. He continued to gaze at her attentively and with delight as long
as she was visible. And when he could no longer see her, he was minded
to throw himself out and break his body down below. And he would have
let himself fall out had not my lord Gawain seen him, and drawn him
back, saying: "I beg you, sire, be quiet now. For God's sake, never
think again of committing such a mad deed. It is wrong for you to
despise your life." "He is perfectly right," the damsel says; "for will
not the news of his disgrace be known everywhere? Since he has been upon
the cart, he has good reason to wish to die, for he would be better dead
than alive. His life henceforth is sure to be one of shame, vexation,
and unhappiness." Then the knights asked for their armour, and armed
themselves, the damsel treating them courteously, with distinction and
generosity; for when she had joked with the knight and ridiculed him
enough, she presented him with a horse and lance as a token of her
goodwill. The knights then courteously and politely took leave of the
damsel, first saluting her, and then going off in the direction taken
by the crowd they had seen. Thus they rode out from the town without
addressing them. They proceeded quickly in the direction they had seen
taken by the Queen, but they did not overtake the procession, which
had advanced rapidly. After leaving the fields, the knights enter an
enclosed place, and find a beaten road. They advanced through the woods
until it might be six