Before another wood, the royal crown Sparkled, and swaying upon a restless elm Drew the vague glance of Vivien, and her Squire;

Amazed were these; 'Lo there,' she cried, a crown

Borne by some high lord-prince of Arthur's hall,

And there a horse! the rider? where is he?

See, yonder lies one dead within the wood.

Not dead; he stirs!-but sleeping. I will speak.

Hail, royal knight, we break on thy sweet rest,

Not, doubtless, all unearn'd by noble deeds.

But bounden art thou, if from Arthur's hall,

To help the weak. Behold, I fly from shame,

A lustful King, who sought to win my love

Thro' evil ways: the knight, with whom I rode,

Hath suffer'd misadventure, and my squire

Hath in him small defence; but thou,

Sir Prince,

Wilt surely guide me to the warrior King,
Arthur the blameless, pure as any maid,
To get me shelter for my maidenhood.
I charge thee by that crown upon thy
shield,

And by the great Queen's name, arise and hence.'"

And Balin rose, 'Thither no more! nor Prince

Nor knight am I, but one that hath

defamed

The cognizance she gave me here I dwell

Savage among the savage woods, here die

But when their foreheads felt the cooling air,

Balin first woke, and seeing that true face,

Familiar up from cradle-time, so wan, Crawl'd slowly with low moans to where he lay,

And on his dying brother cast himself Dying; and he lifted faint eyes; he felt One near him; all at once they found the world,

Staring wild-wide; then with a childlike wail,

And drawing down the dim disastrous brow

That o'er him hung, he kiss'd it, moan'd and spake:

'O Balin, Balin, I that fain had died To save thy life, have brought thee to thy death.

Why had ye not the shield I knew? and

The night has come. I scarce can see thee now.

Goodnight! for we shall never bid again Goodmorrow-Dark my doom was here, and dark

It will be there. I see thee now no

more.

I would not mine again should darken thine,

Goodnight, true brother.'

Balan answer'd low 'Goodnight, true brother here! goodmorrow there!

We two were born together, and we

die

Together by one doom:' and while he spoke

Closed his death-drowsing eyes, and slept the sleep

With Balin, either lock'd in either's arm.

To leave the hall, and, Vivien following him,

Turn'd to her: Here are snakes within the grass;

And you methinks, O Vivien, save ye fear

The monkish manhood, and the mask of pure

Worn by this court, can stir them till they sting.'

And Vivien answer'd, smiling scornfully,

'Why fear? because that foster'd at thy

court

I savour of thy-virtues? fear them? no. As Love, if Love be perfect, casts out fear,

So Hate, if Hate be perfect, casts out fear.

My father died in battle against the King,

My mother on his corpse in open field; She bore me there, for born from death was I

Among the dead and sown upon the wind-

And then on thee! and shown the truth betimes,

That old true filth, and bottom of the well,

Where Truth is hidden. Gracious lessons thine

And maxims of the mud! "This Arthur pure!

Great Nature thro' the flesh herself hath made

Gives him the lie! There is no being