ower? I know not
what thy words mean."

The carline laughed. "Well," said she, "here comes thy morning's bait
borne by shapely hands enough; eat and drink first; and then will I
tell thee my meaning."

Therewith came the maiden forth with the bowl and the loaf; and indeed
she was fair enough, and shy and kind; but Ralph heeded her little, nor
was his heart moved by her at all. She set a stool for him beside the
door and he sat down and ate and drank, though his heart was troubled;
and the maiden hung about, and seemed to find it no easy matter to keep
her eyes off him.

Presently the carline, who had been watching the two, said: "Thou
askest of the meaning of my words; well, deemest thou that I have had
more men than one to love me?" "I know not, mother," said Ralph, who
could scarce hold himself patient. "There now!" quoth the carline,
"look at my damsel! (she is not my daughter, but my brother's,) there
is a man, and a brisk lad too, whom she calleth her batchelor, and is
as I verily deem well-pleased with him: yet lo you how she eyeth thee,
thou fair man, and doth so with her raiment that thou mayst best see
how shapely she is of limb and foot, and toyeth her right hand with her
left wrist, and the like.--Well, as for me, I have had more lovers than
one or two. And why have I had just so many and no more? Nay, thou
needest not make any long answer to me. I am old now, and even before
I was old I was not young: I am now foul of favour, and even before I
became foul, I was not so fair--well then?"

"Yea, what then?" said Ralph. "This then, fair young fool," said she:
"the one whom thou lovest, long hath she lived, but she is not old to
look on, nor foul; but fair--O how fair!"

Then Ralph forgot his fear, and his heart grew greedy and his eyes
glistened, and he said, yet he spoke faintly: "Yea, is she fair?"
"What! hast thou not seen her?" said the carline. Ralph called to mind
the guise in which he had seen her and flushed bright red, as he
answered: "Yea, I deem that I have: surely it was she." The carline
laughed: "Well," said she; "however thou hast seen her, thou hast
scarce seen her as I have." Said Ralph, "How was that?" Said she: "It
is her way here in the summer-tide to bathe her in yonder pool up the
water:" (and it was the same pool wherein Ralph had bathed) "And she
hath me and my niece and two other women to hold up the silken cloth
betwixt her body and the world; so that I have seen h