The Wood Beyond the World

by William Morris

  CHAPTER XXXV: OF THE KING OF STARK-WALL AND HIS QUEEN

  But while this betid, that murmur without, which is aforesaid, grewlouder; and it smote on the King's ear, and he said again to the elder:"Tell us now of that noise withoutward, what is it?"

  Said the elder: "If thou, King, and the Queen, wilt but arise and standin the window, and go forth into the hanging gallery thereof, then shallye know at once what is this rumour, and therewithal shall ye see a sightmeet to rejoice the heart of a king new come into kingship."

  So the King arose and took the Maid by the hand, and went to the windowand looked forth; and lo! the great square of the place all thronged withfolk as thick as they could stand, and the more part of the carles with aweapon in hand, and many armed right gallantly. Then he went out intothe gallery with his Queen, still holding her hand, and his lords andwise men stood behind him. Straightway then arose a cry, and a shout ofjoy and welcome that rent the very heavens, and the great place was allglittering and strange with the tossing up of spears and the brandishingof swords, and the stretching forth of hands.

  But the Maid spake softly to King Walter and said: "Here then is thewilderness left behind a long way, and here is warding and protectionagainst the foes of our life and soul. O blessed be thou and thy valiantheart!"

  But Walter spake nothing, but stood as one in a dream; and yet, if thatmight be, his longing toward her increased manifold.

  But down below, amidst of the throng, stood two neighbours somewhat anighto the window; and quoth one to the other: "See thou! the new man in theancient armour of the Battle of the Waters, bearing the sword that slewthe foeman king on the Day of the Doubtful Onset! Surely this is a signof good-luck to us all."

  "Yea," said the second, "he beareth his armour well, and the eyes arebright in the head of him: but hast thou beheld well his she-fellow, andwhat the like of her is?"

  "I see her," said the other, "that she is a fair woman; yet somewhatworse clad than simply. She is in her smock, man, and were it not forthe balusters I deem ye should see her barefoot. What is amiss withher?"

  "Dost thou not see her," said the second neighbour, "that she is not onlya fair woman, but yet more, one of those lovely ones that draw the heartout of a man's body, one may scarce say for why? Surely Stark-wall hathcast a lucky net this time. And as to her raiment, I see of her that sheis clad in white and wreathed with roses, but that the flesh of her is sowholly pure and sweet that it maketh all her attire but a part of herbody, and halloweth it, so that it hath the semblance of gems. Alas, myfriend! let us hope that this Queen will fare abroad unseldom amongst thepeople."

  Thus, then, they spake; but after a while the King and his mate went backinto the chamber, and he gave command that the women of the Queen shouldcome and fetch her away, to attire her in royal array. And thither camethe fairest of the honourable damsels, and were fain of being her waiting-women. Therewithal the King was unarmed, and dight most gloriously, butstill he bore the Sword of the King's Slaying: and sithence were the Kingand the Queen brought into the great hall of the palace, and they met onthe dais, and kissed before the lords and other folk that thronged thehall. There they ate a morsel and drank a cup together while all beheldthem; and then they were brought forth, and a white horse of thegoodliest, well bedight, brought for each of them, and thereon theymounted and went their ways together, by the lane which the huge throngmade for them, to the great church, for the hallowing and the crowning;and they were led by one squire alone, and he unarmed; for such was thecustom of Stark-wall when a new king should be hallowed: so came they tothe great church (for that folk was not miscreant, so to say), and theyentered it, they two alone, and went into the choir: and when they hadstood there a little while wondering at their lot, they heard how thebells fell a-ringing tunefully over their heads; and then drew near thesound of many trumpets blowing together, and thereafter the voices ofmany folk singing; and then were the great doors thrown open, and thebishop and his priests came into the church with singing and minstrelsy,and thereafter came the whole throng of the folk, and presently the naveof the church was filled by it, as when the water follows the cutting ofthe dam, and fills up the dyke. Thereafter came the bishop and his matesinto the choir, and came up to the King, and gave him and the Queen thekiss of peace. This was mass sung gloriously; and thereafter was theKing anointed and crowned, and great joy was made throughout the church.Afterwards they went back afoot to the palace, they two alone together,with none but the esquire going before to show them the way. And as theywent, they passed close beside those two neighbours, whose talk has beentold of afore, and the first one, he who had praised the King'swar-array, spake and said: "Truly, neighbour, thou art in the right ofit; and now the Queen has been dight duly, and hath a crown on her head,and is clad in white samite done all over with pearls, I see her to be ofexceeding goodliness; as goodly, maybe, as the Lord King."

  Quoth the other: "Unto me she seemeth as she did e'en now; she is clad inwhite, as then she was, and it is by reason of the pure and sweet fleshof her that the pearls shine out and glow, and by the holiness of herbody is her rich attire hallowed; but, forsooth, it seemed to me as shewent past as though paradise had come anigh to our city, and that all theair breathed of it. So I say, praise be to God and His Hallows who hathsuffered her to dwell amongst us!"

  Said the first man: "Forsooth, it is well; but knowest thou at all whenceshe cometh, and of what lineage she may be?"

  "Nay," said the other, "I wot not whence she is; but this I wot fullsurely, that when she goeth away, they whom she leadeth with her shall bewell bestead. Again, of her lineage nought know I; but this I know, thatthey that come of her, to the twentieth generation, shall bless andpraise the memory of her, and hallow her name little less than theyhallow the name of the Mother of God."

  So spake those two; but the King and Queen came back to the palace, andsat among the lords and at the banquet which was held thereafter, andlong was the time of their glory, till the night was far spent and allmen must seek to their beds.

  CHAPTER XXXVI: OF WALTER AND THE MAID IN THE DAYS OF THE KINGSHIP

  Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had broughtthe Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by theshoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart? Dothnot the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the greatones . . . doth it not all lie heavy on thee, as it doth upon me?"

  She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again,and thou and I alone together therein?"

  He gazed at her eagerly, and she reddened, so that her eyes shone lightamidst the darkness of the flush of her cheeks.

  He spake trembling and softly, and said: "Is it not in one matter betterthan the wilderness? is not the fear gone, yea, every whit thereof?"

  The dark flush had left her face, and she looked on him exceedingsweetly, and spoke steadily and clearly: "Even so it is, beloved."Therewith she set her hand to the girdle that girt her loins, and did itoff, and held it out toward him, and said: "Here is the token; this is amaid's girdle, and the woman is ungirt."

  So he took the girdle and her hand withal, and cast his arms about her:and amidst the sweetness of their love and their safety, and assured hopeof many days of joy, they spake together of the hours when they fared therazor-edge betwixt guile and misery and death, and the sweeter yet itgrew to them because of it; and many things she told him ere the dawn, ofthe evil days bygone, and the dealings of the Mistress with her, till thegrey day stole into the chamber to make manifest her loveliness; which,forsooth, was better even than the deeming of that man amidst the throngwhose heart had been so drawn towards her. So they rejoiced together inthe new day.

  But when the full day was, and Walter arose, he called his thanes andwise men to the council; and first he bade open the prison-doors, andfeed the needy and clothe them, and make good cheer to all men, high andlow, rich and unrich; and thereafter he took counsel with them on manymatters, and
they marvelled at his wisdom and the keenness of his wit;and so it was, that some were but half pleased thereat, whereas they sawthat their will was like to give way before his in all matters. But thewiser of them rejoiced in him, and looked for good days while his lifelasted.

  Now of the deeds that he did, and his joys and his griefs, the tale shalltell no more; nor of how he saw Langton again, and his dealings there.

  In Stark-wall he dwelt, and reigned a King, well beloved of his folk,sorely feared of their foemen. Strife he had to deal with, at home andabroad; but therein he was not quelled, till he fell asleep fair andsoftly, when this world had no more of deeds for him to do. Nor may itbe said that the needy lamented him; for no needy had he left in his ownland. And few foes he left behind to hate him.

  As to the Maid, she so waxed in loveliness and kindness, that it was ayear's joy for any to have cast eyes upon her in street or on field. Allwizardry left her since the day of her wedding; yet of wit and wisdom shehad enough left, and to spare; for she needed no going about, and noguile, any more than hard commands, to have her will done. So loved shewas by all folk, forsooth, that it was a mere joy for any to go about hererrands. To be short, she was the land's increase, and the city'ssafeguard, and the bliss of the folk.

  Somewhat, as the days passed, it misgave her that she had beguiled theBear-folk to deem her their God; and she considered and thought how shemight atone it.

  So the second year after they had come to Stark-wall, she went withcertain folk to the head of the pass that led down to the Bears; andthere she stayed the men-at-arms, and went on further with a two score ofhusbandmen whom she had redeemed from thralldom in Stark-wall; and whenthey were hard on the dales of the Bears, she left them there in acertain little dale, with their wains and horses, and seed-corn, and irontools, and went down all bird-alone to the dwelling of those huge men,unguarded now by sorcery, and trusting in nought but her loveliness andkindness. Clad she was now, as when she fled from the Wood beyond theWorld, in a short white coat alone, with bare feet and naked arms; butthe said coat was now embroidered with the imagery of blossoms in silkand gold, and gems, whereas now her wizardry had departed from her.

  So she came to the Bears, and they knew her at once, and worshipped andblessed her, and feared her. But she told them that she had a gift forthem, and was come to give it; and therewith she told them of the art oftillage, and bade them learn it; and when they asked her how they shoulddo so, she told them of the men who were abiding them in the mountaindale, and bade the Bears take them for their brothers and sons of theancient Fathers, and then they should be taught of them. This theybehight her to do, and so she led them to where her freedmen lay, whomthe Bears received with all joy and loving-kindness, and took them intotheir folk.

  So they went back to their dales together; but the Maid went her waysback to her men-at-arms and the city of Stark-wall.

  Thereafter she sent more gifts and messages to the Bears, but never againwent herself to see them; for as good a face as she put on it that lasttime, yet her heart waxed cold with fear, and it almost seemed to herthat her Mistress was alive again, and that she was escaping from her andplotting against her once more.

  As for the Bears, they throve and multiplied; till at last strife arosegreat and grim betwixt them and other peoples; for they had become mightyin battle: yea, once and again they met the host of Stark-wall in fight,and overthrew and were overthrown. But that was a long while after theMaid had passed away.

  Now of Walter and the Maid is no more to be told, saving that they begatbetween them goodly sons and fair daughters; whereof came a great lineagein Stark-wall; which lineage was so strong, and endured so long a while,that by then it had died out, folk had clean forgotten their ancientCustom of king-making, so that after Walter of Langton there was neveranother king that came down to them poor and lonely from out of theMountains of the Bears.