piritual life, I will now no longer hide me from you,
but ye shall see now a part of my secrets and of my hidden things: now
hold and receive the high meat which ye have so much desired." Then took
he himself the Holy Vessel and came to Galahad; and he kneeled down, and
there he received his Saviour, and after him so received all his
fellows; and they thought it so sweet that it was marvelous to tell.

Then said he to Galahad: "Son, wottest thou what I hold betwixt my
hands?"

"Nay," said he, "but if ye will tell me." "This is," said he, "the holy
dish wherein I ate the lamb on Sher-Thursday.[23] And now hast thou seen
that thou most desire to see, but yet hast thou not seen it so openly as
thou shalt see it in the city of Sarras in the spiritual place.
Therefore thou must go hence and bear with thee this Holy Vessel; for
this night it shall depart from the realm of Logris, that it shall never
be seen more here. And wottest thou wherefor? For he is not served nor
worshipped to his right by them of this land, for they be turned to evil
living; therefore I shall disinherit them of the honour which I have
done them. And therefore go ye three to-morrow unto the sea, where ye
shall find your ship ready, and with you take no more but Sir Percivale
and Sir Bors." Then gave he them his blessing and vanished away.

[Footnote 23: _Sher-Thursday_ or _Maundy Thursday_ is the name given to
Thursday of the Holy Week, the day on which the Last Supper was
celebrated.]

That same night about midnight came a voice among them which said: "My
sons and not my chief sons, my friends and not my warriors, go ye hence
where ye hope best to do and as I bade you."

"Ah, thanked be Thou, Lord, that Thou wilt vouchsafe to call us, Thy
sinners. Now may we well prove that we have not lost our pains."

And anon in all haste they took their harness and departed. But the
three knights of Gaul, one of them hight Claudine, King Claudas' son,
and the other two were great gentlemen. Then prayed Galahad to every
each of them, that if they come to King Arthur's court that they should
salute Sir Launcelot, his father, and of them of the Round Table; and
prayed them if that they came on that part that they should not forget
it.

Right so departed Galahad, Percivale and Bors with him; and so they rode
three days, and then they came to a rivage,[24] and found a ship. And
when they came to the board they found in the middes the table of silver
and the Sang