They went down and along a narrow valley, until they suddenly stood
in front of the sea, the green waters of which were breaking in upon a
small and lonely creek. What strange light was this that fell from
the white skies above, rendering all the objects around them sharp its
outline and intense in color? The beach before them seemed of a pale
lilac, where the green waves broke in a semicircle of white. On their
right some masses of ruddy rock jutted out into the cold sea, and
there were huge black caverns into which the waves dashed and roared.
On their left and far above them towered a great and isolated rock,
its precipitous sides scored here and there with twisted lines of red
and yellow quartz; and on the summit of this bold headland, amid
the dark green of the sea-grass, they could see the dusky ruins--the
crumbling walls and doorways and battlements--of the castle that is
named in all the stories of King Arthur and his knights. The bridge
across to the mainland has, in the course of centuries, fallen away,
but there, on the other side of the wide chasm, were the ruins of the
other portions of the castle, scarcely to be distinguished in parts
from the grass-grown rocks. How long ago was it since Sir Tristram
rode out here to the end of the world, to find the beautiful Isoulde
awaiting him--she whom he had brought from Ireland as an unwilling
bride to the old king Mark? And what of the joyous company of knights
and ladies who once held high sport in the courtyard there? Trelyon,
looking shyly at his companion, could see that her eyes seemed
centuries away from him.
Pages:
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235