THE TALE OF BALEN
111
And riding past a cross whereon
Broad golden letters written shone,
Saying, 'No knight born may ride alone
Forth toward this castle,' and all the stone
Glowed in the sun's glare even as though
Blood stained it from the crucified
Dead burden of one that there had died,
An old hoar man he saw beside
Whose face was wan as woe.
'Balen the Wild,' he said, 'this way
Thy way lies not: thou hast passed to-day
Thy bands: but turn again, and stay
Thy passage, while thy soul hath sway
Within thee, and through God's good power
It will avail thee:' and anon
His likeness as a cloud was gone,
And Balen's heart within him shone
Clear as the cloudless hour.
