ently, and said gravely:

"Mother, know you not of what you have dreamed? Even as you told it
first to me, and now again, I seemed to be back on that day, not so
long past, when we buried my father. So it was in the church at
that time, and it was the most terrible thing which you have known.

"Is it wonderful, Wilfrid, that it should come back thus in the
night watches?"

"It is not wonderful," I said.

"Lady, I think that the king is right.

"But, King Ethelbert, if I am to say my mind, I would put off the
journey for the sake of the peace of the queen your mother."

"And thereby offend Offa, and maybe hurt that little playmate of
mine? No, it cannot be. And what should the dream be but that we
say?"

Then the queen said plainly:

"I fear for you, my son--I fear Quendritha. In the days gone by
your wise father was wont to say that if ever danger came from
Mercia to East Anglia, it would be by reason of her ambition and
longing for power and width of realm."

"Why, mother, then surely in gaining the East Anglian throne for
her daughter she gains all she would. And she is Offa's queen, and
in his court can be no danger to me or any man. Presently you shall
surely dream again, and that dream shall show you the old sorrow
turned to joy, for you will have a fair daughter to drive away your
loneliness. She will be all you need, for I know that I can be of
little help to you. The dream was of the sorrow which is passing to
make way for joy to come."

Then the queen made shift to smile, and told him that she deemed
that her fears might be foolish. But to me it seemed that even as
she had said, the thought of policy and state came first of
necessity, setting aside such a vision as any simple thane would
surely have thought held him from a journey he would take. Indeed,
many a one would have given it up for far less, for I have known
men turn back when already started, because a harmless hare crossed
their path or a lone magpie sat on a wayside tree. Maybe I minded
such like myself once, but service with Carl mended that. If he
bade a man do a thing, that man had to do it, omen or none. Whereby
I found that mostly these journey tokens, as one may call them,
came to naught, and certainly I should not have done that if I had
been able to mind them. And yet I do not know if aught would turn a
true lover from the way which leads him toward the lady of his
choice.

"One thing only I do fear from this dream of yours,