201

I.

STANZAS FROM QUEEN YSEULT. *

TO the king came Tristram then,
To Moronde the evil man,
Treading softly as he can.

Spake he loftily in place:
A great light was on his face:
‘Listen, king, of thy free grace.

I am Tristram, Roland’s son;
By thy might my lands were won,
All my lovers were undone.

Died by thee queen Blancheflour,
Mother mine in bitter hour,
That was white as any flower.

Tho’ they died not well aright,
Yet, for thou art belted knight,
King Moronde, I bid thee fight.’

A great laughter laughed they all,
Drinking wine about the hall,
Standing by the outer wall.

But the pale king leapt apace,
Caught his staff that lay in place
And smote Tristram on the face.
202
Tristram stood back paces two,
All his face was reddened so,
Round the deep mark of the blow.

Large and bright his king’s eyes grew:
As knight Roland’s sword he drew,
Fiercely like a pard he flew.

And above the staring eyes
Smote Moronde the king flatwise,
That men saw the dear blood rise.

At the second time he smote,
All the carven blade, I wot,
With all the blood was blurred and hot.

At the third stroke that he gave,
Deep the carven steel he drave,
Thro’ king Moronde’s heart it clave.

Well I ween his wound was great
As he sank across the seat,
Slain for Blancheflour the sweet.

Then spake Tristram, praising God;
In his father’s place he stood,
Wiping clean the smears of blood,

That the sword, while he did pray,
At the throne’s foot he might lay;
Christ save all good knights, I say.
203
Then spake all men in his praise,
Speaking words of the old days,
Sweeter words than sweetest lays.

Said one ‘to the dead queen’s hair,
And her brows so straight and fair;
So the lips of Roland were.’

For all praised him as he stood,
That such things none other could
Than the son of kingly blood.

Round he looked with quiet eyes;
‘When ye saw king Moronde rise,
None beheld me on this wise.’

At such words as he did say,
Bare an old man knelt to pray;
‘Christ be with us all to-day.

This is Tristram the good lord;
Knightly hath he held his word,
Warring with his father’s sword.’

Then one brought the diadem,
Clear and golden like pure flame;
And his thanks did grace to them.

Next in courteous wise he bade
That fair honour should be made
Of the dear queen that was dead.
204
So in her great sorrow’s praise,
A fair tomb he bade them raise,
For a wonder to the days.

And between its roof and floor
Wrote he two words and no more,
Wrote Roland and Blancheflour.

________

*  These stanzas are from Queen Yseult. Canto. 4. “Of the birth of Sir Tristram, and how he voyaged into Ireland,” printed in Undergraduate Papers, No. 1, December, 1857.

“In point of interest the Undergraduate Papers stand second only to The Germ in the list of private and semi-private magazine rarities which includes The Snob, The Gownsman, The Gods Hill Gazette, The Oxford and Cambridge Magazine, and others. In the matter of scarcity it passes them all. No more than three perfect copies can be at present located, whilst the British Museum possesses two out of the three numbers only.” — WISE.