the chronicle says, to that of thirty torches, and the slaughter which the king accomplished with it was so great that the enemy beat a precipitate retreat, leaving numbers of dead upon the field.

But this brilliant success, however satisfactory in itself, was only the beginning of the war. The confederate kings returned to their own countries, induced several neighbouring princes to join their alliance, and forthwith took measures to raise a great army. Arthur and his knights, on their part, held anxious council as to what it would be most expedient to do, and they were assisted by the wisdom and magic craft of Merlin. The prophet warned them that unless they obtained help they could not contend against the rebels, who counted among them some of the best knights then alive; and he suggested that two trusty knights should be sent over sea to King Ban of Benwick and King Bors of Gannes, who had been feudatories of King Uther Pendragon, and were among the most famous warriors of the time. They were, said Merlin, engaged in a desperate war with King Claudas of Gaul; but he proposed that they should be invited to give their help to King Arthur, on the understanding that when firmly established on the British throne he should in return espouse their quarrel against Claudas.

The advice being Merlin's, was of course excellent, and it was immediately followed. Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias were selected for the mission. They crossed the sea in safety, but while making their way to Benwick were assailed by eight of King Claudas's knights. To Ulfius and Brastias the odds of four to one were not at all alarming: they put their spears in rest and successively overthrew all the eight, leaving them so badly bruised as to be unable to mount their horses. The emissaries then proceeded to Benwick, found there both the kings, delivered their letters, and received a favourable answer. Ban and Bors promised to come over at All-hallowmas with three hundred knights. King Arthur therefore appointed a great tournament for that festival. The kings arrived according to their promise, and were received with much pomp and show. In company with Arthur, they were spectators of the tournament, at which Sir Kay, Sir Lucas, and another distinguished knight of the court, Sir Griflet, did great feats of arms, and gained the prizes. On the following day, a council was held, at which Merlin undertook, on being furnished with tokens of authority from the two kings, to bring over their army to Britain with secrecy and expedition. This he accomplished—transported ten thousand men across the Channel, and conducted them to a concealed camp in the great forest of Bede-graine, which at that time covered most of the country between the rivers Trent and Humber. The enchanter then informed Arthur and his guests of what he had done, and the three kings at once marched northward with twenty thousand men, which was the total strength of the force that Arthur was able to muster. Having effected a junction with the troops of Benwick and Gannes, they waited for the advance of the enemy.

Their patience was not long tried. The confederate princes had got together a formidable host of fifty thousand men, with which they marched towards Bedegraine as soon as they had got definite information of Arthur's whereabouts. The battle which ensued was one of the most severe and obstinately contested in which the king was ever engaged. The confederate kings had a great advantage in numbers, and some of them, especially King Lot, were generals of proved skill and experience; but all these advantages were more than counterbalanced by the knightly prowess of Arthur and his friends, and by the fact that the craft of Merlin was on Arthur's side. The fighting lasted for two days. All the leaders on both sides were again and again unhorsed and put in great peril, only to be rescued by the valour of their fellows. The slaughter was appalling; but at last the confederates were fairly beaten off the field. Though their army was reduced to but fifteen thousand, however, they took up a new position, and held it with indomitable courage. Merlin now intervened. He told Arthur that it was time for him to withdraw. He had won the field, and gained great spoils, which he must divide between his own knights and his allies; but if he were to persist in carrying on the struggle, fortune would begin to incline to the side of his opponents. The wizard added that he could undertake that the rebel kings would not molest Arthur for at least three years to come, inasmuch as full employment had been found for them elsewhere, a great army of Saxons having invaded their territories.

The time had not yet come, however, for Arthur to take peaceable possession of his dominions. King Leodegrance of Cameliard, who has already been mentioned as one of the chief and most loyal feudatories of King Uther Pendragon, was at this time sorely pressed by Rience, the Saxon King of North Wales, who was besieging him in his capital, Carohaise. Merlin informed Arthur of his plight, and advised the king, with Ban and Bors and the knights of the household, to go to his relief, while the soldiery of Benwick and Gannes might be sent home to defend their master's territory against the troublesome Claudas. This advice was followed. Arthur and his companions arrived at Carohaise, and having entered the city without being observed by the besiegers, offered their services to Leodegrance, on condition that no inquiry should be made as to their name or quality. The offer was thankfully accepted, and an opportunity was soon afforded them of proving their efficiency. Rience suddenly attacked the city at the head of a large body of his troops. Arthur and his companions armed themselves and hastened to sally out, headed by Merlin, who carried a wonderful standard—a huge dragon, with barbed tail and gaping jaws, whence there flashed actual sparks of fire. When the little troop of knights, who in all numbered only forty-two, arrived at the gate, they found it locked, and the porter refused to give them egress without an order from King Leodegrance. There was no time for parleying, so Merlin simply stepped forward and lifted the ponderous gate out of its place, with all its locks, bolts, and bars, calmly replacing it when the knights had passed through. He then resumed his position at their head, and they swept down on a detachment of the besiegers who were conducting a convoy to their camp, cut them to pieces, and captured the convoy. Meanwhile Leodegrance, with the bulk of his army, was fighting gallantly in another part of the field; but his troops had not the prowess of Arthur and his companions, nor were they supported by the necromancy of Merlin, so, being wofully outnumbered, it is not surprising that they were defeated. Leodegrance himself was taken prisoner, and was being led off to Rience's camp by an escort of five hundred knights, when Arthur and his little squadron made their appearance, dispersed the escort, and rescued the king. The battle still continued for some hours, during which Arthur distinguished himself by cleaving in twain, by a single stroke of his sword, a giant fifteen feet high who had ventured to encounter him in single combat. Eventually Rience was utterly routed, and very few of his troops escaped extermination. The immense spoils of his camp were given up, by order of King Leodegrance, to Arthur, who forthwith divided them among the people of Carohaise, and thereby much increased his already great popularity. On his return to the city, Arthur was unarmed by the fair hands of Guenever, the king's daughter, whose beauty had already made a deep impression on his heart; while the like honour was done to his companions by the ladies of the court.

While Arthur was thus warring on behalf of King Leode-grance, the confederate kings who had given him so much trouble were carrying on a desperate struggle with the heathen invaders who had descended in swarms upon their territories, and who also carried their ravages into the dominions of Arthur himself. Gawaine, Agravaine, and Gaheris, the sons of King Lot,