"
"Oh can you not be saved? Tell me if aught I can do will save you,
Tamlane?"
"One only thing is there for my safety. To-morrow night is Hallowe'en,
and the fairy court will then ride through England and Scotland, and if
you would borrow me from Elfland you must take your stand by Miles Cross
between twelve and one o' the night, and with holy water in your hand
you must cast a compass all around you."
"But how shall I know you, Tamlane?" quoth Burd Janet, "amid so many
knights I've ne'er seen before?"
"The first court of Elves that come by let pass. The next court you
shall pay reverence to, but do naught nor say aught. But the third court
that comes by is the chief court of them, and at the head rides the
Queen of all Elfland. And I shall ride by her side upon a milk-white
steed with a star in my crown; they give me this honour as being a
christened knight. Watch my hands, Janet, the right one will be gloved
but the left one will be bare, and by that token you will know me.
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