Dorigen 10 The Wizard

They took their horses and rode fast

With the rising sun right in their eyes,

Tristan always far ahead and urging on his brother,

Angrily shouting back to him to hurry more.

Poor Anselm had as much as he could do,

To stay upon his steed,

More used he was to a stool and desk

Than to a saddle and the stirrups hard

From which his feet would always jump

And leave him grabbing for the mane.

He could not rise to the gentle trot,

But bounced along and hit the leather at each step.

Next day for certain he’d be saddle sore.

He was not good at cantering at all.

To gallop was far beyond his skill,

And I am sure that if he’d tried

He’d have finished down at the roadside,

And that’s the truth. 

We all have different strengths

And all of us have some weak point

Which as best we can we try to hide.

But finally they neared Orleans

And Anselm gave a prayer of thanks

When he saw the great west front  

Of the cathedral there and the slim spire behind

With its weather cock that never crowed

But turned all day to left and right

To spot those coming up along the road

Long time before they reached the gate.

But as they rode up to the wall,

A man approached and said,

‘I know why you have come.’

And then he told them all they had in mind.

He was the wizard they had come to find.

Anslem asked about his friends from earlier years

But the wizard said that all of them had died,

And at this news poor Anselm cried
And freely flowed his tears.

  

They rode to where this wizard lived,

Right in the heart of the old town.

A massive door of oak there was
Studded with old nails of iron.

And on the right engraved in brass

The names of all those living there

Upon a plaque next to the door.

He took them up a staircase all of stone

With steps well worn and windows arched,

Which wound up to his rooms,

And as he opened the stout wooden door

They were amazed at the fine tapestries they saw

The carpets of a deep red hue and curtains rich

Bunched in thick folds of purple and of gold.

A large oak table with six chairs to match

Stood in the centre of the lofty room  

And polished benches ran along the walls.

He made them well at home with food and drink

With fruit well ripe and shining in the bowl

Though then it was mid-winter time

And outside nothing grew on bush or tree.

He took a jug of bubbling wine

And poured it into goblets fine

Which he handed to them both,

And then he raised his glass and made a toast

That each should gain the thing he wanted most.

He took them to a room with one white wall.

There was a row of chairs before

And in these chairs he bade them sit,

And told them to look hard.

Then first some colours, then some shapes

And then some figures came to life

Upon the wall though there was nothing there at all.

They saw a park of great extent full of wild deer

With massive antlers running here

Among the leafy oaks and beech.

A hundred were caught by the baying hounds

In the frantic chase of the great hunt.

Then they saw falconers with their hawks

Upon the bank of a fair river which flowed past,

Hunting the heron flying there.

So wide this river was and with such trees

It might have been the River Wye 

That flows past Tintern and the wooded dales,

One side in England and one side in Wales.

And then he showed them scenes of Dorigen

Walking in the garden near her home,

And Tristan thought he saw himself there too

Dancing with her hand in hand,

And as he looked it seemed to him she smiled.

How he made these scenes appear,

The wizard would not say,

But suddenly he clapped his hands

And all those sights went clear away.

While they looked at these amazing things

They had never left the house

But the three of them stayed by themselves

In the wizard’s study where he kept his books

Row after row on the crowded shelves.

After supper and another glass of wine

The three sat down to business.

The wizard was no fool and well he knew

How to bargain and negotiate

And how the wisest men are generous

When they have eaten well and had a drink or two.

And so he then began,

‘What should I have to take away the rocks

From all the coast of Brittany and then,

From the Gironde to the mouth of the Seine?’

He threw this clause in for good measure

To show he did not stint his magic powers.

But he was firm and made it crystal clear

That for less than one thousand pounds of gold

He would not lift a finger.

Tristan was overjoyed at this.

‘What is a thousand pounds!’ he said.

‘I’d pay twice that if I had to!’

His brother worried more.

‘How can you find so much unless you sell

Your house and home and your inheritance?

Between us we have nothing like so much to hand.’

But Tristan laughed and answered then,

‘The whole wide world would I give if I could

For just one hour with Dorigen.’

And dreaming of what he wanted most,

He then shook hands with his strange host,

And the deal was struck and all agreed.