u art the last of our race," he said. "Fate hath swept away all my
kinsmen, all the mighty earls. Now I too must follow them."

That was the last word of the aged King. From his bosom the soul fled
to seek the dwellings of the just. At Wiglaf's feet he lay quiet and
still.

HOW KING ARTHUR CONQUERED ROME

ADAPTED BY E. EDWARDSON

King Arthur had just brought a great war to an end, and in honor of
his victory he was holding a royal feast with the kings and princes
that were his vassals and all the knights of the Round Table, when
twelve grave and ancient men entered the banquet-hall where he sat
at table. They bore each an olive-branch in his hand, to signify that
they were ambassadors from Lucius the Emperor of Rome, and after they
had reverently made obeisance to King Arthur, they delivered their
message as follows:

"The high and mighty Emperor Lucius sends you greeting, O King of
Britain, and he commands you to acknowledge him as your lord, and
to pay the tribute which is due from this realm, and which, it is
recorded, was paid by your father and others who came before him.
Yet you rebelliously withhold it and keep it back, in defiance of
the statutes and decrees made by the first Emperor of Rome, the noble
Julius Caesar, who conquered this country. And be assured that if you
disobey this command, the Emperor Lucius will come in his might and
make war against you and your kingdom, and will inflict upon you a
chastisement that shall serve for ever as a warning to all kings and
princes not to withhold the tribute due to that noble empire to which
belongs dominion over the whole world."

Thus they spoke, and King Arthur having heard their request, bade
them withdraw, saying that he would take the advice of his counselors
before giving them his answer; but some of the younger knights that
were in the hall declared that it was a disgrace to all who were
at the feast that such language should be used to the King in their
hearing, and they would fain have fallen upon the ambassadors and
slain them. But King Arthur, hearing their murmurs, declared that any
insult or wrong suffered by the ambassadors should be punished with
death. Then he sent them to their quarters, escorted by one of his
knights, who was ordered to provide them with whatever they wanted.

"Let nothing be grudged these men of Rome," said the King "though the
demand they make is an affront alike to me and to you who are of my
court. I should