no sooner received my greeting than he returned it. {18a} And he went
with me towards the Castle. Now there were no dwellers in the Castle,
except those who were in one hall. And there I saw four and twenty
damsels, embroidering satin, at a window. And this I tell thee, Kai,
that {18b} the least fair of them was fairer than the fairest maid thou
didst ever behold, in the Island of Britain; and the least lovely of them
was more lovely than Gwenhwyvar, the wife of Arthur, when she appeared
loveliest at the Offering, on the day of the Nativity, or at the feast of
Easter. {18c} They rose up at my coming, and six of them took my horse,
and divested me of my armour; and six others took my arms, and washed
them in a vessel, until they were perfectly bright. And the third six
spread cloths upon the tables, and prepared meat. And the fourth six
took off my soiled garments, and placed others upon me; namely, an under
vest and a doublet of fine linen, and a robe, and a surcoat, and a mantle
of yellow satin, and a broad gold band upon the mantle. And they placed
cushions both beneath and around me, with coverings of red linen. And I
sat down. Now the six maidens who had taken my horse, unharnessed him,
as well as if they had been the best Squires in the Island of Britain.
Then, behold, they brought bowls of silver wherein was water to wash; and
towels of linen, some green and some white; and I washed. And in a
little while the man sat down to the table. {19a} And I sat next to him,
and below me sat all the maidens, except those who waited on us. And the
table was of silver; and the cloths upon the table were of linen. And no
vessel was served upon the table that was not either of gold, or of
silver, or of buffalo horn. And our meat was brought to us. And verily,
Kai, I saw there every sort of meat, and every sort of liquor, that I
ever saw elsewhere; but the meat and the liquors were better served
there, than I ever saw them in any other place.

"Until the repast was half over, neither the man nor any one of the
damsels spoke a single word to me; but when the man perceived that it
would be more agreeable to me to converse than to eat any more, he began
to enquire of me who I was. I said I was glad to find that there was
some one who would discourse with me, and that it was not considered so
great a crime at that Court, for people to hold converse together.
'Chieftain,' said the man, 'we would have talked to thee soon