Then they journeyed back to Caerleon, where the knights made great
joy of the return of their lord. And presently, thither came Sir
Pellinore, craving pardon of the King, who made but jest of his own
misadventure. And afterwards Sir Pellinore became of the Table
Round, a knight vowed, not only to deeds of hardihood, but also to
gentleness and courtesy; and faithfully he served the King,
fighting ever to maintain justice and put down wrong, and to defend
the weak from the oppressor.




CHAPTER IV

OF THE TREACHERY OF QUEEN MORGAN LE FAY


There was a certain Queen whose name was Morgan le Fay, and she was
a powerful sorceress. Little do men know of her save that, in her
youth, she was eager for knowledge and, having learnt all human
lore, turned her to magic, becoming so skilled therein that she was
feared of all. There was a time when great was her enmity towards
King Arthur, so that she plotted his ruin not once only nor twice;
and that is a strange thing, for it is said that she herself was
the kinswoman of the King. And truly, in the end, she repented her
of her malice, for she was, of those that came to bear Arthur to
the Delightful Islands from the field of his last bitter conflict;
but that was long after.

Now when this enchantress learned how the Lady of the Lake had