[Illustration: AN ARM ROBED IN WHITE SAMITE.]
So Bedivere lifted him up and walked as swiftly as he could from the ridge, heavily, heavily down to the beach. As they reached the shore they saw a black barge beside the water filled with stately people all dressed in black. Among the people were three queens wearing crowns of gold.
So they came to the barge and the three queens held out their hands and took the king.
The tallest and fairest of them held his head upon her lap loosed his shattered helmet and chafed his hands, and moaned tenderly over him.
"Ah, my lord Arthur," cried Sir Bedivere, "where shall I go now? For the old times are past now and the whole Round Table is broken."
"Go and pray," cried the king. "Farewell, for I am going a very long way to the lovely Island-valley of Avilion where it will never hail nor rain nor snow, and where the loud winds never blow. It lies in deep meadows, beautiful with lawns and fruit trees and flowery glens."
Then the barge set sail and oar, and moved away from the shore.
He walked away from the shore and climbed up to the highest peaks and ridges about him and looked far, far away. And from far away out beyond the world he thought he heard sounds from a beautiful city as if every one in it all together were welcoming a great King who had just come back from his wars.
Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note. There are inconsistencies with italicising text that refers to illustrations. I have left these as in the original text.
Corrections made include the following: p34. ecstacy => ecstasy p37. meaintime => meantime p52. magnificientn => magnificent p66. Springly => Springing p75. Geriant => Geraint p90. jealously => jealousy p100. though => through p101. passed => past p101. musn't => mustn't p106. heathern => heathen p106. Gunievere => Guinevere p117. to => that p146. Mordred => Modred
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tales from Tennyson, by Molly K. Bellew