“Heyday!” quoth Croisette, “for that matter, there are other ways of serving a lady than that wise.  Were I a knight meseems I would rather serve a lady nearer at hand than at so great distance as that of which thou speakest.  For in most cases a knight would rather serve a lady who may smile upon him nigh at hand, and not stand so far off from him as a star in the sky.”  But to this Sir Launcelot made no reply but only smiled.  Then in a little Croisette said:  “Dost thou never think of a lady in that wise, Sir Launcelot?”

[Sidenote:  Sir Launcelot speaketh of the Lady Guinevere] “Nay,” said Sir Launcelot, “and neither do I desire so to serve any lady.  For it is thus with me, Croisette—­for all that while of my life until I was eighteen years of age I lived in a very wonderful land beneath a magical lake, of which I may not tell thee.  Then I came out of that lake and into this world and King Arthur made me a knight.  Now because I was so long absent from this world of mankind and never saw aught of it until I was grown into a man, meseems I love that world so greatly that I cannot tell thee how beautiful and wonderful it seems to me.  For it is so wonderful and so beautiful that methinks my soul can never drink its fill of the pleasures thereof.  Yea; methinks I love every blade of grass upon the fields, and every leaf upon every tree:  and that I love everything that creepeth or that flyeth, so that when I am abroad under the sky and behold those things about me I am whiles like to weep for very joy of them.  Wherefore it is, Croisette, that I would rather be a knight-errant in this world which I love so greatly than to be a king seated upon a throne with a golden crown upon my head and all men kneeling unto me.  Yea; meseems that because of my joy in these things I have no room in my heart for such a love of lady as thou speakest of, but only for the love of knight-errantry, and a great wish for to make this world in which I now live the better and the happier for my dwelling in it.  Thus it is, Croisette, that I have no lady for to serve in the manner thou speakest of.  Nor will I ever have such, saving only the Lady Guinevere, the thought of whom standeth above me like that bright star afore spoken of.”

“Ha,” quoth Croisette, “then am I sad for the sake of some lady, I know not who.  For if thou wert of another mind thou mightest make some lady very glad to have so great a knight as thou art to serve her.”  Upon this Sir Launcelot laughed with a very cheerful spirit, for he and the damsel were grown to be exceedingly good friends, as you may suppose from such discourse as this.

[Sidenote:  Sir Launcelot perceives the Castle of Sir Peris] So they wended their way in this fashion until somewhat after the prime of day, and by that time they had come out of that forest and into a very rugged country.  For this place into which they were now come was a sort of rocky valley, rough and bare and in no wise beautiful.  When they had entered into it they perceived, a great way off, a castle built up upon the rocks.  And that castle was built very high, so that the roofs and the chimneys thereof stood wonderfully sharp and clear against the sky; yet the castle was so distant that it looked like a toy which you might easily take into your hand and hold betwixt your fingers.