my household to commend thee to my daughter, who is there, and who
will entertain thee with food and liquor until I return from hunting;
and whatever may be thine errand, such as I can obtain for thee thou
shalt gladly have." And the King sent a little yellow page with him
as an attendant; and when they came to the palace the lady had
arisen, and was about to wash before meat. Peredur went forward, and
she saluted him joyfully, and placed him by her side. And they took
their repast. And whatsoever Peredur said unto her, she laughed
loudly, so that all in the palace could hear. Then spoke the yellow
page to the lady. "By my faith," said he, "this youth is already thy
husband; or if he be not, thy mind and thy thoughts are set upon
him." And the little yellow page went unto the King, and told him
that it seemed to him that the youth whom he had met with was his
daughter's husband, or if he were not so already that he would
shortly become so unless he were cautious. "What is thy counsel in
this matter, youth?" said the King. "My counsel is," he replied,
"that thou set strong men upon him, to seize him, until thou hast
ascertained the truth respecting this." So he set strong men upon
Peredur, who seized him and cast him into prison. And the maiden
went before her father, and asked him wherefore he had caused the
youth from Arthur's Court to be imprisoned. "In truth," he answered,
"he shall not be free to-night, nor to-morrow, nor the day following,
and he shall not come from where he is." She replied not to what the
King had said, but she went to the youth. "Is it unpleasant to thee
to be here?" said she. "I should not care if I were not," he
replied. "Thy couch and thy treatment shall be in no wise inferior
to that of the King himself, and thou shalt have the best
entertainment that the palace affords. And if it were more pleasing
to thee that my couch should be here, that I might discourse with
thee, it should be so, cheerfully." "This can I not refuse," said