e folk that love
thee."

Richard held his peace at this word, but Ralph said: "I thank thee,
Master Clement, for thy love and thy helping hand; and will promise
thee to abide thee here eight days at the least; and meanwhile I will
ponder the matter well."

CHAPTER 15

Ralph Dreams a Dream Or Sees a Vision

Therewithall they parted after more talk concerning small matters, and
Ralph wore through the day, but Richard again did him to wit, that on
the morrow he would find his old friends of Swevenham in the Market.
And Ralph was come to life again more than he had been since that evil
hour in the desert; though hard and hard he deemed it that he should
never see his love again.

Now as befalleth young men, he was a good sleeper, and dreamed but
seldom, save such light and empty dreams as he might laugh at, if
perchance he remembered them by then his raiment was on him in the
morning. But that night him-seemed that he awoke in his chamber at
Whitwall, and was lying on his bed, as he verily was, and the door of
the chamber opened, and there entered quietly the Lady of the Woodland,
dight even as he had seen her as she lay dead beside their cooking fire
on that table of greensward in the wilderness, barefoot and garlanded
about her brow and her girdlestead, but fair and fresh coloured as she
was before the sword had pierced her side; and he thought that he
rejoiced to see her, but no wild hope rose in his heart, and no sobbing
passion blinded his eyes, nor did he stretch out hand to touch her,
because he remembered that she was dead. But he thought she spake to
him and said: "I know that thou wouldst have me speak, therefore I say
that I am come to bid thee farewell, since there was no farewell
between us in the wilderness, and I know that thou are about going on a
long and hard and perilous journey: and I would that I could kiss thee
and embrace thee, but I may not, for this is but the image of me as
thou hast known me. Furthermore, as I loved thee when I saw thee
first, for thy youth, and thy fairness, and thy kindness and thy
valiancy, so now I rejoice that all this shall endure so long in thee,
as it surely shall."

Then the voice ceased, but still the image stood before him awhile, and
he wondered if she would speak again, and tell him aught of the way to
the Well at the World's End; and she spake again: "Nay," she said, "I
cannot, since we may not tread the way together hand in hand; and this
is part