Page:The tale of Balen (IA taleofbalen00swin).pdf/62

 Then Merlin bade them turn and take Rest, for their good steeds' weary sake, Between the highway and the brake, Till starry midnight bade them wake: Then 'Rise,' he said, 'the king is nigh, Who hath stolen from all his host away With threescore horse in armed array, The goodliest knights that bear his sway And hold his kingdom high.

'And twenty ride of them before To bear his errand, ere the door Turn of the night, sealed fast no more, And sundawn bid the stars wax hoar; For by the starshine of to-night He seeks a leman where she waits His coming, dark and swift as fate's, And hearkens toward the unopening gates That yield not him to sight.