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第17章

the story of the glittering plain-第17章

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the door of his pavilion。  Thither went Hallblithe straight; and

thrust through the throng; and stood before the King; who greeted him

kindly; and was no less sweet of face than on that other day。



Hallblithe hailed him not; but said:  〃King; look on my anguish; and

if thou art other than a king of dreams and lies; play no longer with

me; but tell me straight out if thou knowest of my troth…plight

maiden; whether she is in this land or not。〃



Then the King smiled on him and said:  〃True it is that I know of

her; yet know I not whether she is in this land or not。〃



〃King;〃 said Hallblithe; 〃wilt thou bring us together and stay my

heart's bleeding?〃



Said the King:  〃I cannot; since I know not where she is。〃



〃Why didst thou lie to me the other day?〃 said Hallblithe。



〃I lied not;〃 said the King; 〃I bade bring thee to the woman that

loved thee; and whom thou shouldst love; and that is my daughter。

And look thou!  Even as I may not bring thee to thine earthly love;

so couldst thou not make thyself manifest before my daughter; and

become her deathless love。  Is it not enough?〃



He spake sternly for all that he smiled; and Hallblithe said:  〃O

King; have pity on me!〃



〃Yea;〃 said the King; 〃pity thee I do:  but I will live despite thy

sorrow; my pity of thee shall not slay me; or make thee happy。  Even

in such wise didst thou pity my daughter。〃



Said Hallblithe:  〃Thou art mighty; O King; and maybe the mightiest。

Wilt thou not help me?〃



〃How can I help thee?〃 said the King; 〃thou who wilt not help

thyself。  Thou hast seen what thou shouldst do:  do it then and be

holpen。〃



Then said Hallblithe:  〃Wilt thou not slay me; O King; since thou

wilt not do aught else?〃



〃Nay;〃 said the King; 〃thy slaying wilt not serve me nor mine:  I

will neither help nor hinder。  Thou art free to seek thy love

wheresoever thou wilt in this my realm。  Depart in peace!〃



Hallblithe saw that the King was angry; though he smiled upon him;

yet so coldly; that the face of him froze the very marrow of

Hallblithe's bones:  and he said within himself:  〃This King of lies

shall not slay me; though mine anguish be hard to bear:  for I am

alive; and it may be that my love is in this land; and I may find her

here; and how to reach another land I know not。〃



So he turned from before the face of the King as the sun was setting;

and he went down the land southward betwixt the mountains and the

sea; not heeding whether it were night or day; and he went on till it

was long past midnight; and then for mere weariness laid him down

under a tree; not knowing where he was; and fell asleep。



And in the morning he woke up to the bright sun; and found folk

standing round about him; both men and women; and their sheep were

anigh them; for they were shepherd folk。  So when they saw that he

was awake; they greeted him; and were blithe with him and made much

of him:  and they took him home to their house; and gave him to eat

and to drink; and asked him what he would that they might serve him。

And they seemed to him to be kind and simple folk; and though he

loathed to speak the words; so sick at heart he was; yet he told them

how he was seeking his troth…plight maiden; his earthly love; and

asked them to say if they had seen any woman like her。



They heard him kindly and pitied him; and told him how they had heard

of a woman in the land; who sought her beloved even as he sought his。

And when he heard that; his heart leapt up; and he asked them to tell

him more concerning this woman。  Then they said that she dwelt in the

hill…country in a goodly house; and had set her heart on a lovely

man; whose image she had seen in a book; and that no man but this one

would content her; and this; they said; was a sad and sorry matter;

such as was unheard of hitherto in the land。



So when Hallblithe heard this; as heavily as his heart fell again; he

changed not countenance; but thanked the kind folk and departed; and

went on down the land betwixt the mountains and the sea; and before

nightfall he had been into three more houses of folk; and asked there

of all comers concerning a woman who was sundered from her beloved;

and at none of them gat he any answer to make him less sorry than

yesterday。  At the last of the three he slept; and on the morrow

early there was the work to begin again; and the next day was the

same as the last; and the day after differed not from it。  Thus he

went on seeking his beloved betwixt the mountains and the plain; till

the great rock…wall came down to the side of the sea and made an end

of the Glittering Plain on that side。  Then he turned about and went

back by the way he had come; and up the country betwixt the mountains

and the plain northward; until he had been into every house of folk

in those parts and asked his question。



Then he went up into that fair country of the dales; and even anigh

to where dwelt the King's Daughter; and otherwhere in the land and

everywhere; quartering the realm of the Glittering Plain as the heron

quarters the flooded meadow when the waters draw aback into the

river。  So that now all people knew him when he came; and they

wondered at him; but when he came to any house for the third or

fourth time; they wearied of him; and were glad when he departed。



Ever it was one of two answers that he had:  either folk said to him;

〃There is no such woman; this land is happy; and nought but happy

people dwell herein;〃 or else they told him of the woman who lived in

sorrow; and was ever looking on a book; that she might bring to her

the man whom she desired。



Whiles he wearied and longed for death; but would not die until there

was no corner of the land unsearched。  Whiles he shook off weariness;

and went about his quest as a craftsman sets about his work in the

morning。  Whiles it irked him to see the soft and merry folk of the

land; who had no skill to help him; and he longed for the house of

his fathers and the men of the spear and the plough; and thought;

〃Oh; if I might but get me back; if it were but for an hour and to

die there; to the meadows of the Raven; and the acres beneath the

mountains of Cleveland by the Sea。  Then at least should I learn some

tale of what is or what hath been; howsoever evil the tidings were;

and not be bandied about by lies for ever。〃







CHAPTER XV:  YET HALLBLITHE SPEAKETH WITH THE KING







So wore the days and the moons; and now were some six moons worn

since first he came to the Glittering Plain; and he was come to Wood…

end again; and heard and knew that the King was sitting once more in

the door of his pavilion to hearken to the words of his people; and

he said to himself:  〃I will speak yet again to this man; if indeed

he be a man; yea; though he turn me into stone。〃



And he went up toward the pavilion; and on the way it came into his

mind what the men of the kindred were doing that morning; and he had

a vision of them as it were; and saw them yoking the oxen to the

plough; and slowly going down the acres; as the shining iron drew the

long furrow down the stubble…land; and the light haze hung about the

elm…trees in the calm morning; and the smoke rose straight into the

air from the roof of the kindred。  And he said:  〃What is this? am I

death…doomed this morning that this sight cometh so clearly upon me

amidst the falseness of this unchanging land?〃



Thus he came to the pavilion; and folk fell back before him to the

right and the left; and he stood before the King; and said to him:

〃I cannot find her; she is not in thy land。〃



Then spake the King; smiling upon him; as erst:  〃What wilt thou

then?  Is it not time to rest?〃



He said:  〃Yea; O King; but not in this land。〃



Said the King:  〃Where else than in this land wilt thou find rest?

Without is battle and famine; longing unsatisfied; and heart…burning

and fear; within it is plenty and peace and good will and ple

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