Page:The Garden of Romance - 1897.djvu/70

58 as they talked together, there came a man of Cornwall riding by them, which was named King Marke; and when he saw these two bodies dead, and understood how they were dead by one of the two knights abovesaid, then made King Marke great sorrow for the true love that was between them, and said, "I will not depart from hence till I have on this earth made a tomb." And there he pitched his pavilions, and sought through all the country to find a tomb. And in a church they found one was rich and fair, and then the king let put them both in the earth, and put the tomb on them, and wrote both their names on the tomb, "Here lieth Lanceor the king's son of Ireland; that at his own request was slain by the hands of Balin, and how his lady Colombe, and paramour, slew herself with her love's sword, for dole and sorrow."

The meanwhile as this was doing, came Merlin unto King Marke, and seeing all his doing, said, "Here in this place shall be the greatest battle between two knights that ever was or ever will be, and the truest lovers, and yet none of them shall slay other;" and there Merlin wrote their names upon the tomb with letters of gold, that should fight in that place, whose names were Launcelot du Lake, and Tristram de Liones. "Thou art a marvellous man," said King Marke unto Merlin, "that speakest of such marvels; thou art a boisterous fellow, and an unlikely, to tell of such deeds. What is thy name?" said King Marke. "At this time," said Merlin, "I will not tell; but at that time, when Sir Tristram shall be taken with his sovereign lady, then ye shall know and hear my name, and at that time ye shall hear tidings that shall not please you. Then," said Merlin to Balin,