'This is the valley of Har,' said Mnetha, and this the tent of Har.

Who art thou, poor blind man, that takest the name of Tiriel

on thee?

Tiriel is King of all the West. Who art thou? I am Mnetha; And this is Har and Heva, trembling like infants by my side.'

'I know Tiriel is King of the West, and there he lives in joy. No matter who I am, O Mnetha ! If thou hast any food, Give it me, for I cannot stay,—my journey is far from hence.'

Then Har said: 'O my mother Mnetha venture not so near him,

For he is the king of rotten wood, and of the bones of death; He wanders without eyes, and passes through thick walls and

doors.

Thou shalt no smite my mother Mnetha, O thou eyeless

man.'

'A wanderer, I beg for food. You see I cannot weep.
I cast away my staff, the kind companion of my travel,"
And I kneel down that you may see I am a harmless man.'

He kneeled down. And Mnetha said: 'Come, Har and Heva, /rise :

He is an innocent old man, and hungry with his travel.'

Then Har arose, and laid his hand upon old Tiriel's head.

'God bless thy poor bald pate, God bless thy hollow winking

eyes,

God bless thy shrivelled beard, God bless thy many-wrinkled forehead!

Thou hast no teeth, old man! and thus I kiss thy sleek bald head.

Heva, come kiss his bald head, for he will not hurt us, Heva.'

Then Heva came, and took old Tiriel in her mother's arms.

'Bless thy poor eyes, old man, and bless the old father of

Tiriel!

Thou art my Tiriel's old father; I know thee through thy

wrinkles,

Because thou smellest like the fig-tree, thou smellest like ripe figs.

How didst thou lose thy eyes, old Tiriel? Bless thy wrinkled face!'

Mnetha said: 'Come in, aged wanderer; tell us of thy name. Why shouldst thou conceal thyself from those of thine own flesh?'

'I am not of this region,' said Tiriel dissemblingly.

'I am an aged wanderer, once father of a race

Far in the North; but they were wicked, and were all destroyed,

And I their father sent an outcast. I have told you all:

Ask me no more, I pray, for grief hath sealed my precious sight.'

'O Lord!' said Maetha, 'how I tremble! Are there then... more people

More human greatures on this earth, beside the sons of Har!'

'No more, said Tiriel, but I, remain on all this globe; And I remain an outcast. Hast thou anything to drink?'

Then Mpetha gave him milk and fruits, and they sat down together.

3.

They sat and ate, and Har and Heva smiled on Tiriel.

'Thou art a very old old man, but I am older than thou.
How came thine hair to leave thy forehead, how came thy face so
brown?

My hair is very long, my beard doth cover all my breast.
God bless thy piteous face! To count the wrinkles in thy face
Would puzzle Mnetha. Bless thy face, for thou art Tiriel!'

"Tiriel I never saw but once. I sat with him and ate;

He was as cheerful as a prince, and gave me entertainment.
But long I stayed not at his palace, for I am forced to wander.'

'What! wilt thou leave us too?' said Heva. Thou shalt not leave us too,

For we have many sports to show thee, and many songs to sing;

And after dinner we will walk into the cage of Har,

And thou shalt help us to catch birds, and gather them ripe

cherries;

Then let thy name be Tiriel, and never leave us more.'

"If thou dost go,' said Har, 'I wish thine eyes may see thy folly.

My sons have left me.-Did thine leave thee? O 'twas very cruel !'

'No, venerable man,' said Tiriel, 'ask me not such things, For thou dost make my heart to bleed. My sons were not like thine,

But worse. O never ask me more, or I must flee away.'

'Thou shalt not go,' said Heva, 'till thou hast seen our singing-birds,

And heard Har sing in the great cage, and slept upon our fleeces.

Go not, for thou art so like Tiriel that I love thine head, Though it is wrinkled like the earth parched with the summer heat.'

Then Tiriel rose up from the seat, and said: 'God bless these tents!

My journey is o'er rocks and mountains, not in pleasant vales; I must not sleep nor rest, because of madness and dismay.'

And Mnetha said: 'Thou must not go to wander dark alone,
But dwell with us, and let us be to thee instead of eyes,
And I will bring thee food, old man, till death shall call thee
bence.'

Then Tiriel frowned, and answered: 'Did I not command you

saying,

Madness and deep dismay possess the heart of the blind man,
The wanderer who seeks the woods, leaning upon his staff?'

Then Mnetha, trembling at his frowns, led him to the tent-door,
And gave to him his staff, and blessed him. He went on his
way.

But Har and Heva stood and watched him till he entered the wood;

And then they went and wept to Mnetha, but they soon forgot their tears.

Over the weary hills the blind man took his lonely way;
To him the day and night-alike was dark and desolate.
But far he had not gone when Ijim from his woods came down,
Met him at entrance of the forest, in a dark and lonely way.

'Who art thou, eyeless wretch, that thus obstructest the lion's
path?

Ijim shall rend thy feeble joints, thou tempter of dark Ijim!
Thou hast the form of Tiriel, but I know thee well enough!
Stand from my path, foul fiend! Is this the last of thy deceits-
To be a hypocrite, and stand in shape of a blind beggar?'

The blind man heard his brother's voice, and kneeled down on
his knee.

"O brother Ijim, if it is thy voice that speaks to me,-
Smite not thy brother Tiriel, though weary of his life.
My sons have smitten me already; and, if thou smitest me,
The curse that rolls over their heads will rest itself on thine.
Tis now seven years since in my palace I beheld thy face."

'Come, thou dark fiend, I dare thy cunning! know that Ijim

scorns

To smite thee in the form of helpless age and eyeless policy;
Rise up, for I discern thee, and I dare thy eloquent tongue,
Come, I will lead thee on thy way, and use thee as a scoff.'

'O brother Ijim, thou beholdest wretched Tiriel: Kiss me, my brother, and then leave me to wander desolate !'

'No, artful fiend, but I will lead thee; dost thou want to go! Reply not, lest I bind thee with the green flags of the brook; Ay, now thou art discovered, I will use thee like a slave.'

When Tiriel heard the words of Ijim, he sought not to reply: He knew 'twas vain, for Ijim's words were as the voice of Fate.

And they went on together, over hills, through woody dales, Blind to the pleasures of the sight, and deaf to warbling birds. All day they walked, and all the night beneath the pleasant moon,

Westwardly journeying, till Tiriel grew weary with his travel.

'O Ijim, I am faint and weary, for my knees forbid

To bear me further. Urge me not, lest I should die with travel.

A little rest I crave, a little water from a brook,

Or I shall soon discover that I am a mortal man,

And thou wilt lose thy once-loved Tiriel. Alas! how faint I am!'

'Impudent fiend!' said Ijim, 'hold thy glib and eloquent tongue;

Tiriel is a king, and thou the tempter of dark Ijim.

Drink of this running brook, and I will bear thee on my shoulders.'

He drank; and Ijim raised him up, and bore him on his shoulders.

All day he bore him; and, when evening drew her solemn curtain,

Entered the gates of Tiriel's palace, and stood and called aloud.

'Heuxos, come forth! I here have brought the fiend that troubles Ijim.

Look! know'st thou aught of this grey beard, or of these blinded eyes?'