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 Tercium

ANd soo he putte his hors to pasture / and dyd of hys helme and his shelde and made his prayers vnto the Crosse that he neuer falle in dedely synne ageyne / And soo he leyd hym doune to slepe / And anone as he was on slepe / hit befelle hym there an aduysyon / that there came a man afore hym alle by compas of sterres / and that man had a crowne of gold on his hede / and that man ledde in his felaushyp seuen kynges and two knyghtes / And alle these worshipped the Crosse knelyng vpon their knees / holdyng vp their handes

[leaf 330r] toward the heuen / And alle they sayd fair swete fader of heuen come and vysyte vs and yelde vnto vs eueryche as we haue deserued / Thenne loked launcelot vp to the heuen / and hym semed the cloudes dyd open / and an old man came doun with a company of angels / and alyghte amonge them / & gafe vnto eueryche his blessynge and called them his seruauntes / and good and true knyghtes / And whanne this old man had sayd thus he came to one of tho knyghtes and sayd I haue lost alle that I haue sette in the / For thou hast rulyd the ageynste me as a warryour and vsed wrong werres with vayne glory more for the pleasyr of the world than to please me / therfor thow shalt be confounded withoute thow yelde me my tresour / Alle this aduysyon sawe sir Launcelot at the Crosse / And on the morne he took his hors and rode tyl mydday / and there by aduenture he mette with the same knyght that took his hors / helme and his suerd whan he slepte whan the Sancgreal appiered afore the crosse / whanne sire launcelot sawe hym / he salewed hym not fayre but cryed on hyghe / knyghte kepe the / for thow hast done to me grete vnkyndenes / And thenne they put afore them their speres / and sir launcelot came soo fyersly vpon hym / that he smote hym and his hors doune to the erthe / that he had nyghe broken his neck / Thenne sir Launcelot tooke the knyghtes hors that was his owne afore hand / and descended from the hors he sat vpon and mounted vpon his own hors and teyed the knyghtes owne hors to a tree that he myght fynde that hors whanne that he was arysen

¶ Thenne sir launcelot rode tyl nyghte / and by aduentur he met an heremyte / and eche of hem salewed other / and there he rested with that good man alle nyght / and gaf his hors suche as he myghte gete / Thenne sayde the good man vnto Launcelot / of whens be ye / syr sayd he I am of Arthurs courte / and my name is sir launcelot du lake / that am in the Quest of the Sancgreal / And therfor I pray yow to counceylle me of a vysyon the whiche I hadde et the Crosse / And soo he tolde hym alle /