Nay--ask me
nothing, only hear this. Be thou to thine own heart true, be thou brave and
Shame shall fly thee since True-love out-faceth Shame! How say'st thou,
Mopsa, thou wise witch-mother?"
"Ah, sweet children!" croaked the Witch, touching each with claw-like hand
yet hand wondrous gentle. "True-love shall indeed find ye, hide where ye
will. For True-love, though blind, they say, hath eyes to see all that is
good and sweet and true. A poor man-at-arms in rusty mail may yet be true
man and a fool, for all his motley, wise. To love such seemeth great folly,
yet to the old, love is but folly. Nath'less, being old I do love ye, and
being wise I charge ye:
"Follow Folly and be wise,
In such folly wisdom lies;
Love's blind, they say, but Love hath eyes,
So follow Folly--follow!"
My daughter GILLIAN animadverteth:
GILL: "Stop! Your tournament, father, seems too long drawn out,
With quite too much combating and knocking about.
MYSELF: I hope you're wrong, my dear, although
Who knows? Perhaps, it may be so.
Pages:
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228