He also cautioned me about speaking to strangers by the way, and bade me beware lest I fell among thieves.
Then he went to the stable and fetched his horse--a sorry nag, and ill accustomed to my heavy weight.

Then he fetched me some food to carry in the saddle-bag; and, after a prayer that God would protect me and further the business on hand, he let me go.
I was glad to be alone in the sweet summer morning air, with the lark carolling high above my head, and the new-mown hay scenting the meadows, and the early sun slanting through the lime trees, and the half-awakened cattle standing to watch me as I passed.

It was enough to make any heart glad, and if I myself sang in tune with the birds as I ambled in, it was because I could not help it.
The road was hard to find betwixt Kingston and Hounslow, for it was across country, and the narrow lanes twisted and twined so that, had it not been for the sun, I should soon not have known if I was going north, south, east, or west.

Except a few yokels trudging to their work, and now and then a blithe milkmaid calling to her cows, I met no one.

These looked hard at me, and wondered what such a one as I, in cloak and sword and hat, wanted there at that hour.