The Junior Classics, vol 4 | Page 5

bade Arthur thrust back the sword and
draw it forth again in the presence of all, which he did with ease. But an
angry murmur arose from the barons, who cried that what a boy could
do, a man could do; so, at the archbishop's word, the sword was put
back, and each man, whether baron or knight, tried in his turn to draw it
forth, and failed. Then, for the third time, Arthur drew forth the sword.
Immediately there arose from the people a great shout: "Arthur is King!
Arthur is King! We will have no King but Arthur;" and, though the
great barons scowled and threatened, they fell on their knees before
him while the archbishop placed the crown upon his head, and swore to
obey him faithfully as their lord and sovereign.
Thus Arthur was made King; and to all he did justice, righting wrongs
and giving to all their dues. Nor was he forgetful of those that had been
his friends; for Kay, whom he loved as a brother, he made seneschal
and chief of his household, and to Sir Ector, his foster father, he gave
broad lands.

THE ROUND TABLE
Retold by Beatrice Clay
Thus Arthur was made King, but he had to fight for his own; for eleven
great kings drew together and refused to acknowledge him as their lord,
and chief among the rebels was King Lot of Orkney, who had married
Arthur's sister, Bellicent.
By Merlin's advice, Arthur sent for help overseas, to Ban and Bors, the
two great kings who ruled in Gaul.
With their aid, he overthrew his foes in a great battle near the river

Trent; and then he passed with them into their own lands and helped
them drive out their enemies. So there was ever great friendship
between Arthur and the Kings Ban and Bors, and all their kindred, and
afterward some of the most famous Knights of the Round Table were
of that kin.
Then King Arthur set himself to restore order throughout his kingdom.
To all who would submit and amend their evil ways, he showed
kindness; but those who persisted in oppression and wrong he removed,
putting in their places others who would deal justly with the people.
And because the land had become overrun with forest during the days
of misrule, he cut roads through the thickets, that no longer wild beasts
and men, fiercer than the beasts, should lurk in their gloom, to the harm
of the weak and defenceless. Thus it came to pass that soon the peasant
plowed his fields in safety, and where had been wastes, men dwelt
again in peace and prosperity.
Among the lesser kings whom Arthur helped to rebuild their towns and
restore order, was King Leodegrance of Cameliard. Now Leodegrance
had one fair child, his daughter Guenevere; and from the first he saw
her, Arthur gave her all his love. So he sought counsel of Merlin, his
chief adviser. Merlin heard the king sorrowfully, and he said: "Sir king,
when a man's heart is set, he may not change. Yet had it been well if ye
had loved another."
So the king sent his knights to Leodegrance, to ask of him his daughter;
and Leodegrance consented, rejoicing to wed her to so good and
knightly a king. With great pomp, the princess was conducted to
Canterbury, and there the king met her, and they two were wed by the
archbishop in the great cathedral, amid the rejoicings of the people.
On that same day did Arthur found his Order of the Round Table, the
fame of which was to spread throughout Christendom and endure
through all time. Now the Round Table had been made for King Uther
Pendragon by Merlin, who had meant thereby to set forth plainly to all
men the roundness of the earth. After Uther died, King Leodegrance
had possessed it; but when Arthur was wed, he sent it to him as a gift,
and great was the king's joy at receiving it. One hundred and fifty
knights might take their places about it, and for them Merlin made
sieges or seats. One hundred and twenty-eight did Arthur knight at that
great feast; thereafter, if any sieges were empty, at the high festival of

Pentecost new knights were ordained to fill them, and by magic was the
name of each knight found inscribed, in letters of gold, in his proper
siege. One seat only long remained unoccupied, and that was the Siege
Perilous. No knight might occupy it until the coming of Sir Galahad;
for, without danger to his life, none might sit there who was not free
from all stain of sin.
With pomp and ceremony did each knight take upon him the vows of
true knighthood: to obey the king; to