eth Sir Ewaine the ring of
forgetfulness._]

Thereupon saying, she smote her hands together, and in answer there came
a fair young page clad in cloth of gold and with long, curling ringlets
of golden hair hanging down upon his shoulders. To this youth the lady
gave sundry commands, and he departed, returning anon bearing in his
hands a patten of gold and upon the patten was a fair white napkin of
fine linen, and upon the napkin a ring of gold very cunningly wrought,
and inset with a bright shining yellow stone. These the fair young page
brought to the Lady Vivien, kneeling upon one knee, and she took the
ring from the patten and gave it to Sir Ewaine, saying: "Sir, behold
this ring! This I give to thee to wear as a pledge of the amity that
lieth betwixt us." Therewith Sir Ewaine took the ring and set it upon
his finger.

Now that ring was enchanted with very potent spells. For it was a ring
of forgetfulness, so that whosoever wore it, that person would forget
whatever the Lady Vivien would have him disremember.

[Sidenote: _Sir Ewaine forgetteth the Lady Lesolie._]

So when Sir Ewaine set the ring upon his finger, that moment he forgot
all about the Lady of the Fountain. And he forgot all the pledges that
had passed betwixt himself and that lady, and he forgot all the other
things that belonged to that part of his life. But all else he
remembered: to wit, how he had undertaken that Adventure of the
Fountain, and how he had overthrown the knight-champion of the Fountain
and all other parts of his life.

Then Sir Ewaine looked at the Lady Vivien very strangely, like to one
who is newly awakened from a sleep, and he said, "What is it we were
speaking of anon?" And at that the Lady Vivien laughed and said, "Sir,
it matters not." Sir Ewaine said, "Meseems I have had a dream, but I
cannot remember what it was"; and then the Lady Vivien laughed again and
said, "Neither does it matter what was thy dream." And she said: "It
only matters that we are friends, and that thou wearest my pledge of
amity upon thy hand. Now I prithee never remove that ring from thy
finger, for from that moment the friendship that now exists shall cease
betwixt us." Sir Ewaine said: "This ring shall remain upon my finger for
aye, and I shall never take it from my finger even for a single moment."

So Sir Ewaine rested with great pleasure for that night at the castle of
the Lady Vivien, and, when the next morning was come, he departed from
the cast