The Canterbury Pilgrims | Page 5

Thebes. There he killed Creon and his followers, and the mournful
ladies were able to wash the bodies of their lords and give them
honourable burial. Now it chanced that among those whom Theseus
fought were two young knights, Palamon and Arcite. They were sorely
wounded in the fight and had been I left for dead; but after the battle
they were discovered wounded, and taken back to Athens as Theseus'
prisoners.
For many a day they were shut up in a room in a high tower
overlooking Theseus' garden. Very woeful were they, until one May
morning Palamon looked through his barred window and saw a lovely
maid walking in the garden below. It was early morning, with the dew
still on the flowers and the first beams of the sun glistening on all
things. The maid was as fair as the flowers that she gathered to make
her garland. Her hair was golden and hung in a long plait, and the
blossoms she gathered for her garland were red and white. For very joy
she sang so sweet a song that Palamon beholding her loved her with all
his heart, yet thought she was too beautiful to be a maid of earth. He
looked long, and sighed, "O goddess, if thou wilt but help me to be free,
I will be always thy trusty servant." Hearing him thus speak, Arcite also
looked out, and he too at once loved the wondrous beauty of the maid.
"May I die unless I have her," he said, and sighed too. At this Palamon
was angry. "Traitor," he said, "do you now break the vow we made
each other long ago--never to betray each other, and never to cross each
other in love? I saw and loved the maid first. She must be mine."
"No," answered Arcite. "You thought she was a goddess; I loved her
first as a woman. She must be _mine._" So they fell to quarrelling
loudly and cruelly. At last Arcite said, "We waste our time to quarrel
thus. Neither of us can ever win her. Poor prisoners we are, and
doomed to die here without a thought from happier men. Some rich
lord will carry her away. Ours she cannot be." And they were very sad.
Now it chanced that a certain duke who was a friend of Arcite came to

visit Theseus, and persuaded him to set young Arcite free. Theseus did
so, but only on condition that Arcite should leave Athens for ever. "If
from this time forth you are found in this land," he said, "your head will
be forfeit." So Arcite went to Thebes, very heavy-hearted, because
although he was now free, he might never more see the maid of the
garden. Palamon's case was equally hard, for although he might see his
beloved, never might he speak to her nor woo her, for he must remain a
poor neglected prisoner, high up in the castle tower. Now tell me, you
lovers, if you can, whose lot was the worse? Is it better to be free and
never see one's lady, or to be a prisoner and see her every day?--Judge
for yourselves. I must go on with my story.
Arcite lived in Thebes, so sorrowfully that he fell a-weeping whenever
music was played, and soon grief had so changed his countenance that
no man would have recognised him. At last he could bear this state no
longer, but made up his mind to go to Athens, and there seek his lady.
He came therefore to the palace of Theseus and hired himself as a
servant. He was strong and able to draw water and hew wood. In course
of time he was made a chamberlain, and at length, since he was always
mannerly and courteous and obedient, Theseus promoted him, and he
became a squire and one of his best beloved followers.
Meanwhile Palamon languished in prison, till, made desperate by
despair, he one night drugged his jailer and escaped. When day came
he sought refuge in a wood, intending to wait there for the dark to cover
his escape. As Fortune willed it, that very morning, Arcite (now calling
himself Philostratus) rode out into the wood to enjoy the fresh sweet air
of the May morning, and dismounted from his horse near the very bush
where Palamon lay hid. There he paced up and down, restless, and
spoke aloud to himself of all his sorrows. "I am royally born," he said,
"yet I must pretend to serve Theseus, my mortal enemy. Palamon my
brother is a captive. Unhappy are we both--better to die of love for my
lady than live this miserable life." At this mention of his love,
Palamon's heart was stirred to wrath, and forth he rushed from his
hiding-place.