xi LADY MAUD'S WALK 185 



thing is that the lady still walks, and that 

 I am told is indubitable. It is not given to 

 everybody to see ghosts. I was recently 

 here at midnight myself, and saw nothing, 

 though I am not altogether surprised, for it 

 was not in the hope of seeing her that I 

 came, and indeed if I had expected to see 

 her I might not have come. 



There is a huge agile worm, known to 

 anglers as the lobworm, who takes his walks 

 abroad only under the stars. Him must 

 you pursue with guile and a bedroom candle- 

 stick to light your path. On a shining 

 night, when the dew lies thick, you shall see 

 him spread at ease inches long on the smooth 

 lawn. He has both head and tail, and, 

 while his head wanders abroad, for safety's 

 sake he always keeps the tip of his tail in 

 his hole, so that when he is alarmed he can 

 retreat backward quicker than thought can 

 fly. It is your business to grasp him with 

 finger and thumb before he is frightened, 

 and very sure and rapid must you be. And 

 you must know which end of him is head, 

 so that you may grasp the other, or he will 

 slip through your hand like an eel. Even 

 when you have him firmly you will find 



