Surely there must be a village down there . Well , nobody would know him , or what had happened at the Place . The news could not have got there yet , even if Sir John had set all the policemen in the county after him ; and he could get down there in five minutes . Tom was quite right about the hue-and-cry not having got thither ; for he had come without knowing it , the best part of ten miles from Harthover ; but he was wrong about getting down in five minutes , for the cottage was more than a mile off , and a good thousand feet below . However , down he went ; like a brave little man as he was , though he was very footsore , and tired , and hungry , and thirsty ; while the church-bells rang so loud , he began to think that they must be inside his own head , and the river chimed and tinkled far below ; and this was the song which it sang : - Clear and cool , clear and cool , By laughing shallow , and dreaming pool ; Cool and clear , cool and clear , By shining shingle , and foaming wear ; Under the crag where the ouzel sings , And the ivied wall where the church-bell rings , Undefiled , for the undefiled ; Play by me , bathe in me , mother and child . Dank and foul , dank and foul , By the smoky town in its murky cowl ; Foul and dank , foul and dank , By wharf and sewer and slimy bank ; Darker and darker the farther I go , Baser and baser the richer I grow ; Who dares sport with the sin-defiled ? Shrink from me , turn from me , mother and child . Strong and free , strong and free , The floodgates are open , away to the sea , Free and strong , free and strong , Cleansing my streams as I hurry along , To the golden sands , and the leaping bar , And the taintless tide that awaits me afar . As I lose myself in the infinite main , Like a soul that has sinned and is pardoned again . Undefiled , for the undefiled ; Play by me , bathe in me , mother and child . So Tom went down ; and all the while he never saw the Irishwoman going down behind him . CHAPTER II `` And is there care in heaven ? and is there love In heavenly spirits to these creatures base That may compassion of their evils move ? There is : - else much more wretched were the case Of men than beasts : But oh ! the exceeding grace Of Highest God that loves His creatures so , And all His works with mercy doth embrace , That blessed Angels He sends to and fro , To serve to wicked man , to serve His wicked foe ! '' SPENSER . A mile off , and a thousand feet down . So Tom found it ; though it seemed as if he could have chucked a pebble on to the back of the woman in the red petticoat who was weeding in the garden , or even across the dale to the rocks beyond . For the bottom of the valley was just one field broad , and on the other side ran the stream ; and above it , gray crag , gray down , gray stair , gray moor walled up to heaven . A quiet , silent , rich , happy place ; a narrow crack cut deep into the earth ; so deep , and so out of the way , that the bad bogies can hardly find it out .
The name of the place is Vendale ; and if you want to see it XXXXX yourself , you must go up into the High Craven , and search from Bolland Forest north by Ingleborough , to the Nine Standards and Cross Fell ; and if you have not found it , you must turn south , and search the Lake Mountains , down to Scaw Fell and the sea ; and then , if you have not found it , you must go northward again by merry Carlisle , and search the Cheviots all across , from Annan Water to Berwick Law ; and then , whether you have found Vendale or not , you will have found such a country , and such a people , as ought to make you proud of being a British boy .
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