42 The Ancient Gods Pursuing

through which he and his companions had
come. All the while she spoke her starry eyes
shed soft light on his face, and she leaned
towards him her lovely head and fragrant
bosom, drinking in his words with a look of
longing. The companions whispered among
themselves that assuredly this was rather an
Angel of Paradise than a mortal creature of
the dust of the earth, which to-day is as a
flower in its desirableness and to-morrow is
blown about all the ways of men’s feet.
Even the good Bishop felt his heart moved
towards her with a strange tenderness, so
sweet was the thought of her youth and her
beauty and her goodness and humility.
Sitting in this fashion at table and con-
versing, and the talk now veering to this
and now to that, the Lady Pelagia said:
“This longest of the days has been to me
the most happy, holy fathers, for it has
brought you to the roof of a sinful woman,
and you have not disdained the service she
has offered you in all lowliness of heart. A
long and, it may be, a dangerous labour lies
before you, for the folk of this land are fierce
and quick to violence; but here you may
ever refresh yourselves from toil and take