And now, from just beyond a jutting hill, Came hideous sounds, as of a giant mill That hisses, roars, and sputters, clicks and clacks;-- It was the Green Knight sharpening his axe! And Gawayne, coming past the corner, found him, With ghastly mouldering skulls and bones strewn round him, In joyous fury urging the keen steel Against the surface of his grinding wheel. The place was a wild hollow, circled round With barren hills, and on the bottom ground Stood the Green Chapel, moss-grown, solitary;-- In sooth, it seemed the devil's mortuary! The Green Knight's back was turned, and he stirred not Till Gawayne hailed him sharply; then he shot One glance--as when, o'erhead, a living wire Startles the night with flashes of green fire;-- Then hurried forward, bland as bland could be, And greeted Gawayne with green courtesy. "Dear sir, I ask a thousand pardons; pray Forgive me. You are punctual to the day; That's good! Of course I knew you would not fail. How do you do? You look a trifle pale; I trust, with all my heart, you are not ill? Just the cold air? It does blow rather chill! What can I do to cheer you? Let me see;-- Suppose I brew a cup of hot green tea? You'ld rather not? You're pressed for time? Of course, I understand; then just get off your horse, And I'll do all I can to expedite Our little business for you. There, that's right; And now your helmet? Thanks; and if you please Perhaps you'll kindly kneel down on your knees, As I did when I came to Camelot; So! Are you all ready? Will you bide the blow?" And Gawayne said "I will," in such soft notes As happy bridegrooms utter, when their throats Are paralyzed with blest anticipation;-- (What Gawayne looked for was decapitation!) And then the Green Knight swung his axe in air With a loud whirr; and Gawayne, kneeling there, Shrank back an inch; and the green giant stayed His threatening hand, and with a cold sneer said: "You shrink, sir, from the axe; I can't hit true Unless you hold still, as I did for you." "Your pardon," Gawayne said, with bated breath; "This time I swear to hold as still as death." He did so, and the Green Knight swung again His axe, and whirled it round his head, and then, Pausing a second time, said: "Very good! You're holding quite still now; I knew you would!" Gawayne, in anger, said: "Jest, if you like, After the blow; tarry no longer; strike!" So once again the ponderous axe was raised; But this time down it came, and lightly grazed Sir Gawayne's neck. He felt the hot blood flow, And saw red drops that sank deep in the snow, And then he jumped up, faced his foe, and cried: "Enough: you owed me one blow, though I died; But be you man or beast or devil abhorred, I yield no further; with my mortal sword I do defy you; and if mortal man May hope against" ... But the Green Knight began A low melodious laugh, like running brooks Whose pebbly babble fills the shadowy nooks Of green-aisled woodlands, when the winds are still.