"I could not see who it might be,
Her face was hidden away,
But I had to turn and follow
Wherever her resting lay."
"And did it go up by the town,
Or went it down by the lake?
I know there are but two church yards
Where a corpse its rest may take."
"They did not go by the town,
Nor by the lake stayed their feet,
But buried the corpse all silently
Where the four cross roads meet."
"And was it so strange a sight
That you should go like a child
Thus to leave me to wait, forgotten,
By a passing sight beguiled?"
"Oh, I heard them whisper my name,
Each mourner that passed by me;
And I had to follow their path,
Though their faces I could not see."
"And right well I would like to know
Who this fair young maid might be,
So take my hand, my own true love,
And hasten along with me."
He did not go down by the lake
He did not go by the town,
But carried her to the four cross roads,
And there he did set her down.
"Now I see no track of a foot,
I see no mark of a spade,
And I know well in this white road
There never a grave was made."
He took her hand in his right hand,
And he led her to town away,
And there he questioned the old priest,
Did he bury a maid that day.
He took her hand in his right hand,
Down to the church by the lake,
And there he questioned a young priest,
If a maiden her life did take.