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 vj

THenne he loked by hym and was ware of a damoysel that came ryde ful fast as the hors myghte ryde on a fayr palfroy / and whan she aspyed that launceor was slayne / she made sorowe oute of mesure and sayd O Balyn two bodyes thou hast slayne and one herte and two hertes in one body / and two soules thow hast lost / And therwith she toke the swerd from her loue that lay ded and fylle to the ground in a swowne / And whan she aroos she made grete dole out of mesure / the whiche sorowe greued Balyn passyngly sore / and he wente vnto her for to haue taken the swerd oute of her hād but she helde it so fast / he myghte not take it oute of her hand onles he shold haue hurte her / and sodenly she sette the pomell to the ground / and rofe her self thorow the body / whan balyn aspyed her dedes he was passynge heuy in his herte and ashamed that so fair a damoysell had destroyed her self for the loue of his deth / Allas said Balyn me repēteth sore the deth of this knyght for the loue of this damoysel / for ther was moche true loue betwixe them bothe / and for sorowe myght not lenger behold hym but torned his hors and loked toward a grete forest and ther he was ware by the armes of his broder Balan / and whan they were mette they putte of her helmes and kyssed to gyders and wepte for ioye and pyte / Thenne Balan sayd / I

[leaf 42r] lytel wende to haue met with yow at this sodayne auenture / I am ryght glad of your delyueraunce and of youre dolorous prysonement / for a mā told me in the castel of four stones that ye were delyuerd / & that man had sene you in the court of kynge Arthur / & therfor I cam hyder in to this countrey / for here I supposed to fynde you / anon the knyȝt balyn told his broder of his aduenture of the swerd & of the deth of the lady of the lake / & how kyng arthur was displeasyd with hym wherfor he sente this knyȝt after me that lyeth here dede / & the dethe of this damoysel greueth me sore / so doth it me said Balan / but ye must take the aduenture that god will ordeyne yow / Truly said Balyn I am ryght heuy that my lord Arthur is displeasyd with me / for he is the moost worshipful knyght that regneth now on erthe / & his loue will I gete or els I wil put my lyf in auenture / for the kyng Ryons lyeth at a syege atte castel Tarabil & thyder will we drawe in all hast to preue our worship & prowesse vpon hym / I wil wel said Balan that we do & we wil helpe eche other as bretheren ouȝt to do /