hear tidings sooner than ye ween.' * * * * * That night lay King Solomon before the ship with a small fellowship. And when King Solomon was on sleep, him thought there came from heaven a great company of angels, and alighted into the ship and took water which was brought by an angel in a vessel of silver, and besprent [_besprinkled_] all the ship; and after he came to the sword, and drew letters on the hilt. And after went to the ship's board, and wrote there other letters, which said: 'Thou man that wilt enter within me, beware that thou be full within the faith, for I ne [_not_] am but faith and belief.' When Solomon espied these letters he was abashed, so that he durst not enter, and so drew him aback, and the ship was anon shoven in the sea, and he went so fast that he lost sight of him within a little while. And then a little voice said, 'Solomon, the last knight of thy lineage shall rest in this bed.' Then went Solomon and awaked his wife and told her of the adventures of the ship. Now a great while the three fellows [_Galahad, and his two friends_] beheld the bed and the three spindles. Then they were at certain that they were of natural colors, without painting. Then they lifted up a cloth which was above the ground, and there they found a rich purse by seeming. And Percival took it, and found therein a writ, and so he read it, and devised the manner of the spindles, and of the ship, whence it came, and by whom it was made. "Now," said Galahad, "where shall we find the gentlewoman that shall make new girdles to the sword?" "Fair sir," said Percival's sister, "dismay you not, for by the leave of God I shall let make a girdle to the sword, such one as shall belong thereto." And then she opened a box, and took out girdles which were seemly wrought with golden threads, and thereupon were set full of precious stones, and a rich buckle of gold. "Lo, lords," said the gentlewoman, "here is a girdle that ought to be set about the sword; and wit ye well that the greatest part of this girdle was made of my hair, the which I loved full well while I was a woman of the world; but as soon as I wist that this adventure was ordained me, I clipped off my hair, and made this girdle in the name of God." "Ye are well found," said Sir Bors, "for truly ye have put us out of a great pain, wherein we should have entered ne had your teaching been." Then went the gentlewoman and set it upon the girdle of the sword. "Now," said the three fellows, "what is the right name of the sword, and what shall we call it?" "Truly," said she, "the name of the sword is the Sword with the Strange Girdles, and the scabbard, Mover of Blood; for no man that hath blood in him shall never see the one part of the scabbard which was made of the tree of life." Then they said unto Sir Galahad, "In the name of Jesu Christ, we pray you that ye gird you with this sword, which hath been so much desired in the realm of Logris."