The Friar telleth of a certain valley wherein he saw terrible things 3 .

Another great and terrible thing I saw ⁴ . For, as I went through a certain valley ⁵ which lieth by the River of 264Delights ¹ , I saw therein many dead corpses lying. And I heard also therein sundry kinds of music, but chiefly nakers ² , which were marvellously played upon. And so great was the noise thereof that very great fear came upon me. Now, this valley is seven or eight miles long ³ ; and if any unbeliever ⁴ enter therein he quitteth it never again, but perisheth incontinently. Yet I hesitated not to go in that I might see once for all what the matter was. And when I had gone in I saw there, as I have said, such numbers of corpses as no one without seeing it could deem credible. And at one side of the valley, in the very rock, I beheld as it were the face of a man very great and terrible ⁵ , 265so very terrible indeed that for my exceeding great fear my spirit seemed to die in me. Wherefore I made the sign of the cross ¹ , and began continually to repeat Verbum caro factum ² , but I dared not at all to come nigh that face, but kept at seven or eight ³ paces from it. And so I came at length to the other end of the valley, and there I ascended a hill of sand and looked around me. But nothing could I descry ⁴ , only I still heard those nakers to play which were played so marvellously. And when I got to the top of that hill I found there a great quantity of silver heaped up as it had been fishes’ scales, and some of this I put into my bosom. But as I cared nought for it, and was at the same time in fear lest it should be a snare to hinder my escape, I cast it all down again to the ground ⁵ . And so by God’s grace I came forth scathless. Then all the Saracens, when they heard of this, showed me great worship, saying that I was a baptised and holy man. But those who had perished in that valley they said belonged to the devil¹.