Then she begged him to kiss her, which with
a shudder he did, and immediately the spell cast over her by a
witch-step mother was broken, and Gawain beheld a young and lovely
maiden. She was presented to Arthur and Guenevere, and was no longer a
"lothely" lady. Then the ballad goes on:
King Arthur beheld the lady faire,
That was soe faire and bright;
He thanked Christ in Trinity,
For Sir Gawain, that gentle Knight.
King Arthur's table was supposed to have been made round for the same
reason that John o' Groat's was made octagonal--to avoid jealousy
amongst his followers.
[Illustration: CARLISLE CATHEDRAL.]
We visited the cathedral, which had suffered much in the wars, but in
the fine east window some very old stained glass remained, while parts
of the building exhibit the massive columns and circular arches typical
of the Norman architect. Here, in the presence of King Edward I and his
Parliament, Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, was excommunicated by
the Papal Legate for the murder of the Red Comyn in the Church of the
Minorite Friars in Dumfries. Here, too, Sir Walter Scott was married to
Charlotte Carpenter in the presence of Jane Nicholson and John Bird on
December 29th, 1797.
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