He was above the ordinary height, and stood more erect than when last I saw him.

His face was, like his wife's, very pale; its nose handsomely encased the beak that had retired within it; its lips were very thin, and even they had no colour, but their curves were beautiful, and about them quivered a shadowy smile that had humour in it as well as love and pity.
"We are in want of something to eat and drink, wife," he said; "we have come a long way!" "You know, husband," she answered, "we can give only to him that asks." She turned her unchanging face and radiant eyes upon mine.
"Please give me something to eat, Mrs.Raven," I said, "and something--what you will--to quench my thirst." "Your thirst must be greater before you can have what will quench it," she replied; "but what I can give you, I will gladly." She went to a cupboard in the wall, brought from it bread and wine, and set them on the table.
We sat down to the perfect meal; and as I ate, the bread and wine seemed to go deeper than the hunger and thirst.

Anxiety and discomfort vanished; expectation took their place.
I grew very sleepy, and now first felt weary.
"I have earned neither food nor sleep, Mrs.Raven," I said, "but you have given me the one freely, and now I hope you will give me the other, for I sorely need it." "Sleep is too fine a thing ever to be earned," said the sexton; "it must be given and accepted, for it is a necessity.

But it would be perilous to use this house as a half-way hostelry--for the repose of a night, that is, merely." A wild-looking little black cat jumped on his knee as he spoke.

He patted it as one pats a child to make it go to sleep: he seemed to me patting down the sod upon a grave--patting it lovingly, with an inward lullaby.
"Here is one of Mara's kittens!" he said to his wife: "will you give it something and put it out?
she may want it!" The woman took it from him gently, gave it a little piece of bread, and went out with it, closing the door behind her.
"How then am I to make use of your hospitality ?" I asked.
"By accepting it to the full," he answered.
"I do not understand." "In this house no one wakes of himself." "Why ?" "Because no one anywhere ever wakes of himself.