e it the inscription:

HERE LIE TWO BRETHREN,
EACH SLAIN BY
HIS BROTHER'S HAND.

She knew not their names, but in the morning Merlin came that way, and
in letters of gold wrote on the tomb, "Here lieth Balin le Savage, the
knight with two swords, and Balan his brother." Then Merlin took the
famous sword, unfastened the pommel, and offered the sword to a knight
to try; but the knight could not handle it, and Merlin laughed in his
face.

"Why do you laugh?" said the knight, angrily.

"For this reason," said Merlin. "No man shall ever handle this sword
except Sir Launcelot or else Galahad, his son."

All this Merlin wrote in letters of gold on the pommel of the sword. The
scabbard of Balin's sword he left on the side of the island where Sir
Galahad would find it.

GERAINT AND ENID[1]

[Footnote 1: Tennyson, in his collection of poems known as the _Idyls of
the King_ worked up in beautiful form many of the legends which had
grown up around the names of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round
Table _Geraint and Enid_ is one of the most popular of these.]

_By_ ALFRED TENNYSON

[Illustration: ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON 1809-1892]

I

The brave Geraint, a knight of Arthur's court,
A tributary prince of Devon, one
Of that great order of the Table Round,
Had married Enid, Yniol's only child,
And loved her, as he loved the light of Heaven.
And as the light of Heaven varies, now
At sunrise, now at sunset, now by night
With moon and trembling stars, so loved Geraint
To make her beauty vary day by day,
In crimsons and in purples and in gems.
And Enid, but to please her husband's eye,
Who first had found and loved her in a state
Of broken fortunes, daily fronted him
In some fresh splendor; and the Queen herself,
Loved her, and often with her own white hands
Array'd and deck'd her, as the loveliest,
Next after her own self, in all the court.
And Enid loved the Queen, and with true heart
Adored her, as the stateliest and the best
And loveliest of all women upon earth.
At last, forsooth, because his princedom lay
Close on the borders of a territory,
Wherein were bandit earls, and caitiff knights,
Assassins, and all flyers from the hand
Of Justice, and whatever loathes a law:
He craved a fair permission to depart,
And there defend his marches; and the King
Mused for a little on his plea, but, last,
Allowing it, the Prince and Enid rode