And fierce and strong was the heathen, when 'Tabronit,' he cried, For there, 'neath the mount Kaukasus did the queen, Sekundillé', abide; Thus gained he afresh high courage 'gainst him who ne'er knew of yore The weight of such deadly combat, for in sooth was he pressed full sore-- 140 To defeat was he aye a stranger, and ne'er had he seen its face, Tho' his foemen right well must know it, as they yielded them to his grace! With skill do they wield their weapons, and sparks spring from the helmets fair, And a whistling wind ariseth as the blades cleave the summer air; God have Gamuret's son in His keeping! and the prayer it shall stand for both, 145 For the twain shall be one nor, I think me, to own it were either loth. For had they but known each other their stake ne'er had been so great, For blessing, and joy, and honour, were risked on that combat's fate, For he who shall here be victor, if true brother and knight he be, Of all this world's joy is he forfeit, nor from grief may his heart be free! 150 Sir Parzival, why delay thee to think on thy queen and wife, Her purity and her beauty, if here thou wouldst save thy life? For the heathen, he bare two comrades who kindled his strength anew, The one, in his strong heart, steadfast, lay ever a love so true; And the other, the precious jewels that burnt with a mystic glow, 155 Thro' whose virtue his strength waxed greater, and his heart must fresh courage know. And it grieveth me sore that the Christian was weary and faint with fight, Nor swiftly might he avoid him, and his blows they were robbed of might; And if the twain fail to aid thee, O thou gallant Parzival, Thy queen and the Grail, then I think me this thought it shall help thee well, 160 Shall thy fair babes thus young be orphaned? Kardeiss and Lohengrin, Whom thy wife, e'en as thou didst leave her, for her joy and her hope must win-- For children thus born in wedlock, the pledge of a love so pure, I ween are a man's best blessing, and a joy that shall aye endure!