Page:The tale of Balen (IA taleofbalen00swin).pdf/53

 And riding fleet as fire may glide He found the dead lie side by side, And wailed and rent his hair and cried, 'Who hath done this deed?' And Balen eyed The strange thing loathfully, and said, 'The knight I slew, who found him fain And keen to slay me: seeing him slain, The maid I sought to save in vain, Self-stricken, here lies dead.

'Sore grief was mine to see her die, And for her true faith's sake shall I Love, and with love of heart more high, All women better till I die.' 'Alas,' the dwarf said, 'ill for thee In evil hour this deed was done: For now the quest shall be begun Against thee, from the dawning sun Even to the sunset sea.