Le Morte Darthur / by Syr Thomas Malory ; the original edition of William Caxton now reprinted and edited with an introduction and glossary by H. Oskar Sommer ; with an essay on Malory's prose style by Andrew Lang

¶ Capitulum Quintum /

ANd anone the yoman came pryckynge after as fast as euer he myghte / and asked syre Percyuale yf he sawe ony knyghte rydynge on his blak stede / ye sir for soth said he / why syr aske ye me that / A syre that stede he hath benome me with strength / wherfor my lord wylle slee me / in what place he fyndeth me / Wel saide syre Percyual what woldest thow that I dyd thou seest wel that I am on foote / but and I had a good hors / I shold brynge hym soone ageyne / Sir said the yoman take myn hakney and doo the best ye can / and I shall sewe yow on foote to wete how that ye shalle spede / Thenne sir Percyual alyghte vpon that hakney / and rode as faste as he myghte / And at the laste he sawe that knyghte / And thenne he cryed knyghte torne ageyne / and he torned / and set his spere ageynst syr Percyuale / and he smote the hakney in the myddes of the brest that he felle doune dede to the erthe / and there he had a grete falle / and the other rode his waye / And thenne syr Percyual was wood wrothe / and cryed abyde wycked knyghte coward and fals herted knyghte torne ageyne / and fyghte with me on foote / but he ansuerd not / but paste on hys waye / whanne syr Percyual sawe he wold not torne he caste aweye his helme and suerd / and sayd / now am I a veray wretche / cursyd / and moost vnhappy aboue all other knyghtes So in this sorowe he abode all that day tyl hit was nyghte / & thenne he was faynte & leyd hym doun and slepte tyl it was mydnyghte / & thenne he awaked & sawe afore hym a woman whiche sayd vnto hym ryght fyersly / Syre Percyuale what

[leaf 324v] dost thow here / he ansuerd I doo neyther good nor grete ylle / Yf thow wylt ensure me said she that thow wylt fulfylle my wylle / whanne I somone the I shall lene the myn owne hors whiche shalle bere the whyder thou wylt / Syr Percyual was glad of her profer and ensured her to fulfylle alle her desyre / thenne abydeth me here / and I shalle goo fetche yow an hors / And soo she cam soone ageyne and broughte an hors with her that was inly blak / whan Percyual beheld that hors / he merueylled that it was soo grete and soo wel apparaylled / and not for thenne he was soo hardy / & he lepte vpon hym / & took none hede of hym self / And soo anone as he was vpon hym / he threst to hym with his spores / and soo rode by a forest / and the mone shone clere / And within an houre and lasse he bare hym four dayes Iourney thens vntyl he came to a rough water the whiche roryd / and his hors wold haue borne hym in to hit