hought haply he was dead. Then he would say,
"Sir, art thou dead?" And ever Sir Launcelot would answer, "Not yet."

Thus they travelled for a great while in that still forest (all so
silent and wonderful) and beneath the clear pale moonlight that caused
everything to appear like to an enchantment of stillness. So, somewhat
after the middle watch of the night, Sir Lavaine beheld before him a
little chapel built up against the rocks of a cliff of stone and beneath
the black and umbrageous foliage of a large oak tree. And the moonlight
shone down past the oak tree and bathed all the front of that little
chapel with pure white silvery light, so still and silent that the
chapel appeared as in a strange and singular picture as it were seen in
a dream.

[Sidenote: _They come to the forest chapel._]

Thither Sir Lavaine led the horses bearing between them the wounded
knight, whose face, as white as the moon above, was turned upward
against the sky. And when Sir Lavaine had come to the door of the chapel
he smote upon it with the butt of his lance; and he smote again, and
therewith the door was opened and there appeared in the doorway the
figure of an aged man with a long white beard like to snow for
whiteness. And that man was the hermit of the forest afore spoken of
several times in these histories.

Then when that reverend hermit beheld where Sir Launcelot lay in the
litter, so sorely wounded, he came to him and felt of his heart. So,
perceiving him to be alive, he aided Sir Lavaine to lift the wounded man
from the litter and to bear him into the hut and to lay him upon a soft
and fragrant couch of leaves and moss.

At that time Sir Launcelot was in a deep swoon like as though he were
dead; yet he was not dead, for after the hermit had bathed his face with
strong wine, and after he had set pungent herbs to his nostrils, by and
by Sir Launcelot revived so as to sigh very deep and to open his eyes.
And Sir Launcelot said, "Where am I? Am I still alive?" The hermit said,
"Yea, Messire." Sir Launcelot said, "I wist that maybe I was dead."

Then the hermit searched Sir Launcelot's wound and bathed it and put
unguents upon it and bound it about with bandages of linen and so Sir
Launcelot was put at ease. And after that Sir Launcelot fell into a deep
sleep so still and profound that it was like to the slumber of a little
child.

* * * * *

Now whilst Sir Launcelot thus slept, Sir Lavaine and t