and swollen with much weeping, and endeavours to ascertain the reason of his grief, but with small success. After endeavouring to comfort Lancelot as much as possible, Galiot goes to visit King Arthur, and a rather long conference takes place between them as they stand at Sir Gawain’s bedside, the queen being also present. In the course of it, Galiot asks Arthur what price he would pay to have the black knight’s perpetual friendship; to which Arthur replies, he would gladly share with him half of everything that he possessed, saving only Queen Guinevere. The question is then put to Gawain, who replies that, if only his health might be restored, he would wish to be the most beautiful woman in the world, so as to be always beloved by the knight. Next it is put to Guinevere, who remarks that Sir Gawain has anticipated all that a lady could possibly wish, an answer which is received with much laughter. Lastly, Arthur puts the question to Galiot himself, who declares that he would willingly, for the black knight’s sake, suffer that all his honour should be turned into shame, whereat Sir Gawain allows himself to be outbidden. The queen then obtains a brief private conference with Galiot, and prays him to obtain for her an interview with the black knight, who promises to do what he can to that end. He accordingly sounds the black knight upon the subject, and, finding him entirely of the same mind, does all he can to promote their acquaintance, and is at last only too successful; and at this point we may suppose the Scottish Romance to have stopped, if indeed it was ever completed. For some account of the Romance of Lancelot, I may refer the reader to Professor Morley’s English Writers, vol. i., pp. 568-570, and 573; to “Les Romans de la Table Ronde,” par M. Paulin Paris; and to the Prefaces to the “Seynt Graal,” edited by Mr Furnivall for the Roxburghe Club, 1861, and “La Queste del Saint Graal,” also edited by the same for the same club in 1864. In the last-named volume short specimens are given from thirteen MSS. at Paris, ten of which contain the Romance of Lancelot. There are also manuscript copies of it in the British Museum, viz., MSS. Harl. 6341 and 6342, Lansdowne 757, and MS. Addit. 10293. [Footnote P9: See Appendix.] III.--THE DIALECT OF THE POEM.