Dimly I saw a hearth fire casting its feeble light upon the uneven plaster walls of a small cottage. I was lying on a rough bed. I tried to sit up and found that my arms and legs would not obey my will. I did not know where I was. I saw bunches of drying plants hanging from the ceiling, and their scents mingled in the warm air. This was not the crumbling hermitage where Hamlet and I used to meet. Slowly the awareness came to me that I was in Mechtild's cottage.I was not alone there. Someone was slumped upon a bench in the shadowy corner. My efforts to stir myself roused him instead. To my relief, I saw that it was Horatio. He came and knelt by my side, weary anxiety written in the lines of his face."I see that I live yet," I said. My voice sounded strange and distant. "But why am I here?" I had expected to awaken in the cottage in the woods, with everything ready for my journey. "Horatio, what has gone amiss?""Have no fear; you are safe. Once I freed you from the earth, I had need of Mechtild's skill.""How did you know about this place?
