THE HABITS OF HOUNDS 77 



France was before him with a great fellowship of 

 men of arms for to ravish his wife from him. The 

 King Appollo of Lyonnys that was a wonderful 

 good knight of his hounds (hands?) notwithstand- 

 ing that he was unarmed, defended himself and 

 his wife in the best wise that he could unto the 

 time that he was wounded to the death, then he 

 withdrew himself and his wife into a tower. And 

 the King Claudoneus son, the which would not 

 leave the lady, went in and took the lady, and 

 would have defiled her, and then she said to him 

 " Ye have slain my lord, and (now) ye would dis- 

 honour me, certes I would sooner be dead,'' then 

 she drew herself to (from) a window and leapt into 

 the river of Loire that ran under the tower and 

 anon she was drowned. And after that within a 

 little while, the King Appollo of Lyonnys died 

 of his wounds that he had received, and on the 

 same day he was cast into the river. The grey- 

 hound that I have spoke of, the which was always 

 with the king his master, when his lord was cast 

 in the river leapt after him into the river, insomuch 

 that with his teeth he drew his lord out of the 

 river, and made a great pit with his claws in the 

 best wise that he could, and with his muzzle. 

 And so the greyhound always kept his lord about 

 half a year in the pit, and kept his lord from all 

 manner of beasts and fowls. And if any man ask 

 whereof he lived I say that he lived on carrion 



