"Ay, sir," Niloiya sighed, "I following, and I knew not anything Till, the young lamb asleep in thy two arms, We, moving up among the silent hills, Paused in a grove to rest; and many slaves Came near to make obeisance, and to bring Wood for the sacrifice, and turf and fire. Then in their hearing thou didst say to me, 'Behold, I know thy good fidelity, And theirs that are about us; they would guard The mountain passes, if it were my will Awhile to leave thee'; and the pygmies laughed For joy, that thou wouldst trust inferior things; And put their heads down, as their manner is, To touch our feet. They laughed, but sore I wept; Sir, I could weep now; ye did ill to go If that was all your bidding; I had thought God drave thee, and thou couldst not choose but go." Then said the son of Lamech, "Afterward, When I had left thee, He whom I had served Met with me in the visions of the night, To comfort me for that I had withdrawn From thy dear company. He sware to me That no man should molest thee, no, nor touch The bordering of mine outmost field. I say, When I obeyed, He made His matters plain. With whom could I have left thee, but with them, Born in thy mother's house, and bound thy slaves?" She said, "I love not pygmies; they are naught." And he, "Who made them pygmies?" Then she pushed Her veiling hair back from her round, soft eyes, And answered, wondering, "Sir, my mothers did, Ye know it." And he drew her near to sit Beside him on the settle, answering, "Ay." And they went on to talk as writ below, If any one shall read: "Thy mother did, And they that went before her. Thinkest thou That they did well?" "They had been overcome; And when the angered conquerors drave them out, Behoved them find some other way to rule,-- They did but use their wits. Hath not man aye Been cunning in dominion, among beasts To breed for size or swiftness, or for sake Of the white wool he loveth, at his choice? What harm if coveting a race of men That could but serve, they sought among their thralls, Such as were low of stature, men and maids; Ay, and of feeble will and quiet mind? Did they not spend much gear to gather out Such as I tell of, and for matching them One with another for a thousand years? What harm, then, if there came of it a race, Inferior in their wits, and in their size, And well content to serve?" "'What harm?' thou sayest. My wife doth ask, 'What harm? '"