"It was indeed," said the story-teller. "It was meant to be, for the title Pendragon signified in those days that he who bore it was the chief leader in war, which is a terrible thing. Uther Pendragon, the King, married Ingraine, who was beautiful and good, and Arthur was their son, but for some reason or other it was thought well that the boy should be brought up in ignorance of who his parents were, and on the advice of Merlin he was sent away to a certain lord of Uther's land, one of the noblest and most faithful of his day, who would look carefully after the bringing up of the child, and see to it that he should become well fitted in every way for the position he was some day to occupy. Merlin had looked into the future, and had seen that Arthur would grow to be a better man if he were kept away from his father's court, where in all probability every one would have flattered and spoiled him, and lead him to believe that he was a much finer fellow than he really was. So Arthur was sent to Sir Ector, who brought him up as his own son, and no one but the King and Queen and Merlin really knew that he was a Prince, and would some day become King of England." "I'm glad they don't do things that way nowadays. I'd hate to be brought up by one of the neighbors without knowing that you were my papa." "Must have been worse than going to boarding-school," said Mollie. [Illustration: JOURNEYING TOWARDS LONDON.] "Well, however that may be," said the story-teller, "it was a good thing for Arthur, for he was well brought up, and he made a good friend in Sir Ector's son Kaye, with whom he spent most of his time, and whom he believed to be his brother, and when Uther died and it became necessary to put some one in his place, he made his claims to the office of King much greater by having to prove that he was fitted for it, not so much because of the fact that he was Uther's son, which some ill-natured, jealous Princes who wanted to be King said he was not, but because of his wonderful prowess, which he showed when the time came. It was but two years after Arthur was born that King Uther was taken sick, and all the rebellious lords in his kingdom thought that the time had come for them to rise up against him, but Merlin went to the King and told him that even though he was ill it was necessary for him to go out and fight the enemy, and Uther, sick as he was, went into the battle carried on a litter and took command of his forces. Aided by two splendid knights, who were among his closest friends, Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias, Uther fought a great battle at St. Albans with the forces from the North, in which he was victorious, and after which he returned to London. Here within a short while he died, first having gathered his Barons about him, and at the suggestion of Merlin proclaimed his son Arthur his successor. Then, as the chronicles tell, the kingdom was in great danger for a long time. Years passed, and all the lords who were strong and