o see the approach of doubt and suffering, which means
that health draws near. There is no place in all our realm where one
sees so clearly and beautifully the instant and perfect mercy of God,
and the joy of pain." And so we passed together out of the guarded gate.

XXIII

"Well," said Amroth, with a smile, as we went out into the forest, "I am
afraid that the last two visits have been rather a strain. We must find
something a little less serious; but I am going to fill up all your
time. You had got too much taken up with your psychology, and we must
not live too much on theory, and spin problems, like the spider, out of
our own insides; but we will not spend too much time in trudging over
this country, though it is well worth it. Did you ever see anything more
beautiful than those pine-trees on the slope there, with the blue
distance between their stems? But we must not make a business of
landscape-gazing like our friend Charmides! We are men of affairs, you
and I. Come, I will show you a thing. Shut your eyes for a minute and
give me your hand. Now!"

A sudden breeze fanned my face, sweet and odorous, like the wind out of
a wood. "Now," said Amroth, "we have arrived! Where do you think we
are?"

The scene had changed in an instant. We were in a wide, level country,
in green water-meadows, with a full stream brimming its grassy banks, in
willowy loops. Not far away, on a gently rising ground, lay a long,
straggling village, of gabled houses, among high trees. It was like the
sort of village that you may find in the pleasant Wiltshire countryside,
and the sight filled me with a rush of old and joyful memories.

"It is such a relief," I said, "to realise that if man is made in the
image of God, heaven is made in the image of England!"

"That is only how you see it, child," said Amroth. "Some of my own
happiest days were spent at Tooting: would you be surprised if I said
that it reminded me of Tooting?"

"I am surprised at nothing," I said. "I only know that it is all very
considerate!"

We entered the village, and found a large number of people, mostly
young, going cheerfully about all sorts of simple work. Many of them
were gardening, and the gardens were full of old-fashioned flowers,
blooming in wonderful profusion. There was an air of settled peace about
the place, the peace that on earth one often dreamed of finding, and
indeed thought one had found on visiting some secluded place--only to
discove