HOW KILHUGH RODE TO ARTHUR'S HALL

By James Baldwin

This is a British legend of the days "when good King Arthur ruled the land." In his castle at Caerleon, according to legend, Arthur had gathered the most famous of his knights about the Round Table; and thither every aspiring knight journeyed in quest of adventure.

Prince Kilhugh blushed. The love of Olwen, the daughter of Thistlehair, filled his heart, although he had not heard her name before. His face flushed with happiness, and his eyes shone with joy.

"What is the matter, my son?" asked his father. "Why 5 are you so gay and glad?"

"Father," answered Kilhugh, "my stepmother says that no one but Olwen shall be my wife."

"Well," quoth the king, "I doubt not there will be trouble enough before that saying comes true. But do 10 not fear, my son. Thou art first cousin to King Arthur. Who but he should cut thy hair and be thy lord? Go to him, and crave this of him as a boon."

To Arthur's Hall, therefore, Prince Kilhugh made ready to go; and his father chose fifty of his bravest knights 15 to go with him, that he might present himself to King Arthur in a befitting manner.

So gayly the youth rode forth upon a steed of dappled gray, four summers old, with shell-shaped hoofs and well-knit limbs. His saddle was of burnished gold, his bridle 20 of shining gold chains. His saddle cloth was of purple silk, with four golden apples embroidered in the four corners.

The war horn slung over his shoulder was of ivory; the sword that hung by his side had a golden hilt and a two-edged 5 blade inlaid with a cross of gold that glittered like the lightning of heaven. His shoes, from the knee to the tip of the toe, were embossed with gold worth three hundred cattle; and his stirrups also were of gold.

In his hand he held two spears, with shafts of silver and10 heads of tempered steel, and of an edge so sharp as to wound the wind and cause the blood to flow. Two white-breasted greyhounds bounded before his steed. Broad collars set with rubies were on their necks; and to and fro they 15 sprang, like two sea swallows sporting around him. The blades of reed grass bent not beneath him, so light was his courser's tread, as he journeyed toward the gate of Arthur's palace.

The Wide White Hall of Arthur had been built by Rearfort,20 the architect. Eight and forty were the rafters of its roof. It would hold all Arthur's companions and his nobles, his warriors, his retainers, and his guests.

While Kilhugh was riding thither, the tables were set for the evening meal. The king, with his knights, his friends, and his attendants, were in their places around 25 the board. And the gate of the outer court was locked.

As the prince rode on, he beheld from afar the walls and towers of Arthur's Hall. When he drew rein within the shadow of the vast portal, he saw that the door was closed and barred, and an armed warrior, stalwart and strong, 30 was standing before it.

"O chieftain," he said, "is it King Arthur's custom to have a gatekeeper stationed here?"

"It is," replied the warrior sternly; "and if thou dost not hold thy peace, scant shall be thy welcome. I am Arthur's porter every New Year's Day, and that is why I 5 am here now."

"And who is the porter at other times?" asked Prince Kilhugh.

"At other times the gate is guarded by four lusty chieftains who serve under me," answered the Dusky Hero with 10 the Mighty Grasp. "The names of the first two are Blandmien and Speedguest. The third is Grumgruff, a man who never did anyone a favor in his life. The fourth is Rumbleroll, who goes on his head to save his feet. He neither holds it up to the sky like a man, nor stretches it 15 out toward the ground like a brute; but he goes tumbling about the floor, like nothing but a rolling stone."

"Unbar the door and let me in," commanded Kilhugh.

"Nay, that I will not," answered the Dusky Hero with the Mighty Grasp. 20

"And why not?" cried the prince.

"The knife is in the meat and the drink is in the horn, and there is revelry in Arthur's Hall; and no man may enter in save the son of a king from a friendly land. But never shall it be said that a wayfarer was turned harshly25 away from Arthur's door. Food enough for thee and thy fifty men shall be prepared; collops shall be cooked and peppered for all. In the stables there is fodder for thy horses and food in plenty for thy dogs. And thou shalt fare as well in the guest chamber as in the hall; only be30 content, and disturb not the king and his knights at the table."

"Nay, I will have nothing of all this," said young Kilhugh. "If thou wilt open the door, well and good. But if not, I will bring dishonor upon Arthur and shame upon thee. Here, on the spot where I stand, I will shout thrice and make the welkin ring. Sounds more deadly than 5 those three shouts have never been heard in this land. They shall resound from Land's End to Cold Blast Ridge in Ireland, and turn the hearts of youths and maidens cold as stone. Matrons shall grow wan and weakly and many a mother's child shall die of fright—so dreadful 10 will be my voice."

The Dusky Hero with the Mighty Grasp stood firm, although his heart misgave him. "No clamor that thou canst make," said he, "will ever admit thee here against King Arthur's wishes. However, I will go and tell him 15 thou art here."

Well might he be perturbed by Kilhugh's threat. For he remembered what had once happened in the days of King Lud, when all Britain had been shaken by a fearful shriek. At the sound of it, men had grown pale and feeble, 20 women listless and sad, and youths and maidens forlorn and woebegone. Beasts deserted their young ones, birds left their nestlings, trees cast off their fruit, the earth yielded no harvest.

Pondering upon these things, the Dusky Hero with the 25 Mighty Grasp strode into the hall. King Arthur saw him and called out, "Hast thou come with tidings from the door?"

The Dusky Hero bowed, and answered in stately phrase, becoming a knight of the Table Round: 30

"Half of my life is past, noble king, and half of thine. I have been with thee in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, and in the Island of Corsica. I was thy companion when thou didst spread the terror of the sword from Scandinavia to Spain. I fought by thy side in the Battle of Shades, when we brought away twelve hostages from the Dim Land under 5 the Sea. I have been in Jerusalem and in Castle Covert-and-Clearing, built all of dead men's bones. I have been in Turning Castle, and in the Castle of Riches; and there thou knowest we saw nine kings of nations, all comely men of noble mien. Yet, I protest and declare that I never 10 before saw a youth so handsome and dignified as that one who is now sitting astride his horse and waiting outside the door of this hall."

Then cried the king, "Thou didst walk hither to tell me of him; now hie thee back to him, running at full speed. 15 Invite him to come in; and let every man who sees the light, and every man who blinks the eye, stand ready to do him honor."

The Dusky Hero with the Mighty Grasp returned to the great door. He drew back bolt and bar, and set it 20 wide open before the prince and his train. The men at arms dismounted at the horse block in the courtyard, but Kilhugh still sat upon his steed and rode into the Hall.

"Hail to thee, King Arthur!" he cried. "I greet thee and thy guests and thy companions and thy warriors. 25 My greeting is to the lowest as well as to the highest of all that have a seat within this Hall. May thy name, King Arthur, and thy fame and thy renown be forever held in glorious memory throughout the length and the breadth of this land!" 30

"Hail to thee, noble youth!" returned Arthur. "Thou art right welcome. Here is a place for thee between two of my knights. Sit down, and my minstrels will play for thee."

But Kilhugh made answer: "I have not come hither, sire, to eat and drink, but to crave of thee a boon. If thou wilt grant it me, I will do thee such service as thou mayest 5 command; and I will carry the praise of thy bounty and thy power into every land. But if thou dost refuse, I will spread ill reports of thee to the four quarters of the world."

Then King Arthur was greatly pleased, and he said: "Ask thy boon, young chieftain. Thou shalt have whatever 10 thy tongue may name, as far as the wind dries and the rain moistens and the sun revolves and the sea encircles and the earth extends. Thou shalt have anything that is mine, except my ship that bears me over the sea, and the mantle in which I can walk unseen, and my good sword,15 and my keen lance, and my shield, and my gleaming dagger, and Guinevere my wife. Ask what thou wilt."

"My request is, that thou wilt cut my hair," answered Kilhugh.

"Thy request is granted," quoth the king.20

Then Arthur called for a golden comb and a pair of scissors with silver loops. And he combed the hair of the prince, as he sat upon his steed, and cut it front and back.

"Now tell me thy name," he said.

"My name is Kilhugh," replied the prince. "My father 25 is Prince Kilith, and my mother was a sister of the fair Ygerne."

"Then we are cousins," cried Arthur, "and I give thee leave to ask another boon. Ask what thou wilt." "Promise me, for the honor of thy kingdom, to grant 30 my boon," said Kilhugh.

"I promise."

"Then do I crave of thee to obtain for me Olwen, the daughter of Thistlehair, chief of the Giants, to be my wife. . . . For the sake of the daughters of the Island of the Mighty, I crave thy help to seek this maiden. For the sake of Guinevere and of her sister; for the sake of Lynette 5 of the Magic Ring; for the sake of Cordelia the daughter of King Lear, the loveliest maiden in this island; and for the sake of Iseult la Belle, and of Elaine, and of Angarad of the Golden Hand—for the sake of these and many others, I crave thy help." 10

Then said Arthur, "O prince and cousin, I have never heard of this maiden, Olwen; I have never heard of her kindred. But I will send messengers to seek her; only grant them time to find her and return."

"To-day is New Year's Day," answered the prince. 15 "I give them from this hour till the last day of the year."

And having said these words, he dismounted from his steed and went and sat by King Arthur's side in the midst of the heroes of the Table Round.

—Fifty Famous Rides and Riders.

1. This is a capital story in its representation of the knight in olden days. Do you think Kilhugh would be an agreeable fellow to have in your class? Give reasons for your answer.

2. What other legends of Arthur do you know?

3. The Arthurian tales have long furnished English writers with themes for stories and songs. Tennyson's Idylls of the King, for example, is a group of narrative poems describing the adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.