And there to be yet one thing upon which, mayhap, I not to have thought
sufficient; for it doth be this, that they who did err, as I have shown,
shall be the greater for their _Pain_; and let this be to cheer you, if
that you have done foolishly, and thought not upon that day when the
Beloved shall come; for Pain is but the voice of Development or
Destruction; and truly you to suffer the first, if that Love doth work
in you; but truly, the more that you have lacked, the greater shall be
your pain; for the more change there doth need be in you. And so would I have you now to think, and to know that the Beloved shall
come, and so shall you live in glad care of all your being, that you be
able to come unto the Beloved in that day, and to say with beauty and
human joy in your heart, even as I have said; and thus shall you miss
that bitter pain. But yet, truly, you to be like to heed not this, until
that Love doth come upon you; and I therefore to cease from this vain
setting of mine inward reasonings. But truly, when that day be come, as I have told, you to know how that
there went alway with me in this mine own story which I tell, the
simplicity of Truth; and how that I did be minded only that you to know,
and thereby that you have gentle wisdom that you lay not up pain for
that day. Yet, if you do lack to go with me, you to need that developing
which shall then come upon you. And so shall you perceive how my thoughts did go to and fro, as I did
eat with Mine Own; and so in the last I to find that I did think very
serious; and I then to cast from me this pondering, and to have that
utter joy which did be upon us, and to seem that it did fill all that
strange Country of Seas. And lo! after we did be done of eating and drinking, which did be but a
little time, as you shall think, the Maid did ease me to an upward
sitting, and had my back very nice to an olden stump which did be light,
and she to push unto me. And Mine Own did sit then beside me, so that mine arm did come most
natural about her; and she there to be nestled all gleeful and content,
so that my heart did be doubly tender unto her. And I took the abundance
of her hair, and set it about my neck, and upon my breast, so that it
did near to cover me in the upward part; and we both then to laugh as
that we did be two children, because that Love did make us so utter
young in the heart; and our hands to be hid under the beauty of the
Maid's hair, and I to have her then that she explain just how great she
did love me; and you that go with me, do know how that this doth be a
delight that is never done, neither to be set only into words. And all that day we did be wondrous happy, save once when we saw that
there were Humpt Men upon the shore, about the Flat-Topt rock where did
be the fight; but what they did there, we not to be able to see, only
that presently they went away; and indeed seemed to have no thought unto
us, neither any knowledge; and so did be gone again into the forests;
and we saw no more of them, after that time. And afterward we to be lost
utter in happiness. Now, upon the tenth day, I did be so come into health that I to walk a
little way to and fore upon the island; and Mine Own did go with me, and
so I to pace a good while, and afterward to rest again. And Mine Own then to bring mine armour to me, which she had scoured very
nice; but truly, the Armour did be sore broke and bent, and did be
jagged inward this place and that, with the monstrous strength of the
Humpt Men, when that they did strike me with the great sharp stones. And, in verity, how I should ever come again to wear this protection, I
to be in doubt. Yet, truly it had been a wondrous suit of strength that
had kept my life within me when that I had been so deadly beset; and I
to know that it to be yet like to save both our lives, if that we could
someway straighten it, and ease the broken jags from wounding me afresh. And I thought a time, and the Maid with me; and afterward we gat that
stump upon which I had leant, and had this to be for an anvil; and we
found then smooth stones of different sizes, and these to be for
hammers; and we wrought all that day, with restings, upon the armour;
and surely, we beat it into a very good shape, from the inward, and the
broken parts we beat smooth, so that they should not wound, and in the
end to have mine armour fit to go upon me. And I, by now, as you shall think, to be drest part in my garments; but
not all; for there did be yet some of the bandages upon my body, so that
for the main I did wear the cloak, that the bandages be easily come at. And all that day did be utter happy, whilst that we workt; for we to be
together. And on the morrow, as we do say, which was the eleventh wakening upon
the island, the Maid and I to talk long and oft, whilst that we yet
worked upon the armour; and we to ponder the best way that we continue
to our journeying; for, indeed, I was not come to my strength; yet was I
very earnest that we go forward early; but in the same time, I did fear,
lest that we meet with aught of Danger, and I to be a-lack, because that
I was yet weak. And presently, the Maid and I both to think upon the same thing; for she
to cry out concerning the raft, and I to have the same word in my mouth. And, in verity, this to be a great thought; for then should we be able
alway to be free of the Humpt Men, and to have frequent rest when that
we be weary, and to sleep with an ease in the mind; and, indeed, I to
hope that the labour of oars should be something less than to go upon
the feet. And surely, we talkt upon this a good while, and afterward we left the
armour, and went over to the raft, and so to learn whether we should
have power to make it something more stable, and that we have some way
that we should put a solid matter between our bodies and any monster
that should chance to swim under us. And we went then together over all the little island; for I did search
for some bush that should have a long tendril in plenty, and supple, and
so to suit for binding. But, truly, there did be no such bush in all the
island; and this to put me in trouble, as you shall suppose; yet was
there a sufficient plenty of small and upright trees, that did seem very
good for any purpose of structure. And when we had gone all about the island, and found naught that should
bind, the Maid to say with a pretty jesting that we should cut her hair,
and plait it to be for cords. And, surely, even as the words did come
from her, they to set me upon the thing that should supply our need; for
I stoopt sudden to the grass that did grow oft and plenty in this place
and that, and was so tall as my thigh, and to my head in the middle of
the dumpings where it did sprout. And lo! it was wondrous tough.