s
vessel has been miraculously preserved for this purpose, and sent here
to convey him safely to Sarras, "the spiritual place." It is the
present home of the Holy Grail, which had already sojourned there
after the death of Joseph of Arimathea.

The ship in which Galahad embarks is steered by an angel, one of the
Guardians of the Holy Grail, and the cup it holds, although closely
veiled from profane glances, casts beams of refulgent light upon
Galahad and his companions Sir Percival and Sir Bors. They two,
however, not being perfectly pure, cannot clearly distinguish the
Grail, whose sight fills the soul of Galahad with ineffable rapture.
Before long the ship arrives at Sarras, the fabulous city, where
Galahad can hang up his sword and shield and take his well-earned
rest, for the Quest is at last achieved! The travellers are welcomed
by an old man, and, when the king of Sarras dies, the people
unanimously elect Galahad their next ruler.

After governing them wisely for a year, Galahad--who prayed in King
Solomon's ship that he might pass out of the world whenever he should
ask it--begged for the death of the body so he might find the eternal
life of the soul.

When he died, the Holy Grail, which had been piously guarded in
Sarras, returned to heaven, for Galahad's work was finished on earth,
as is indicated by the frescos of the Boston library, where angels
guard a Golden Tree of achievement whose branches reach right up into
heaven.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 32: See the author's "Stories of the Wagner Operas" and
"Legends of the Rhine."]

EPICS OF THE NETHERLANDS

In searching among Dutch masterpieces of literature we find that their
greatest epic is "Joannes Boetgezant," or John the Messenger of
Repentance. This epic in six books, on the life of John the Baptist,
was written in 1662 by Vondel, and bears many traits of resemblance to
Milton's Paradise Lost.

It has been conjectured that the most famous of all the animal epics
or beast fables originated in Flanders or Luxembourg, which for a time
was included in the Low Countries. This epic, which has been
translated into every European language and has even found its way
into the Far East, has been frequently remodelled. The oldest extant
MS. in Latin dates back to the eleventh or twelfth century. Among
modern versions the most clever, finished, and popular is Goethe's
"Reinecke Fuchs."[33]

In this poem he describes how the animals assemble at Whits