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vanished in his hand; he reached to gather the flowers, but at his touch they disappeared, and more sprung up in an instant in their place. Curious to see whether the same phenomenon was continued along the icy arcade which stretched before him, he continued his way amongst icy foliage, whose leaves clattered together as he passed, when, seated beneath a tree which bent over the dark ravine below, he beheld the White Knight, surrounded by a group of small people not more than a foot high, all apparently formed of ice, but moving quickly about, as if busily employed. He concealed himself, and watched their movements, and to his surprise found that their occupation was to attend on the Knight, who remained motionless in the midst of them. One of these ice figures combed his fair hair, and placed it in curls on his neck; another poured a mixture from a crystal vial into his eyes; a third smoothed his cheeks, and rubbed on them a liquid pressed from a pale crimson ice flower, which she gathered from the rock. Many were busied cleaning his armour, and it presently glittered like diamonds. All this time the White Knight never moved, but as soon as his scarf, which was dipped by one of the attendants into a leaping cataract hard by, was bound round his bosom, he began to shew signs of animation. It was then that Amador heard him addressed by one of the little ice figures, who had stood apart and observed what was going on without taking a part in it.

"Now, my son," said she, "you have again the semblance of a mortal, and it is time that you bring us home the lady, for till she becomes our victim, and we cast her into the Gour de Tazana, our penance is not accomplished, and we shall never be able to resume our earthly habits. We have the power of renewing this appearance in you only three times, and the third is now passed. If, therefore, you do not wed the lady before three days, our prey is lost; and instead of returning to our former life, as brigands of the mountains, we must remain for ever ice spirits, as we are now. Go, therefore, and take this opal ring, with which to wed the bride: the moment she accepts it from you and places it on her finger she is ours; but if the third day passes, and you have failed to gain her, you must return here, and be one of us as before."

Amador listened with amazement, and his heart beat quickly; he kissed the crucifix which he wore round his neck by a chain; and as he did so, the whole train disappeared, and he found himself standing by the gate of the castle.

He hastened to enter, and there found that the great hall was lighted up, as if for a festival; and a number of knights and ladies were already assembled, having come at the invitation of the White Knight, in the name of the Lady Clarice, to an entertainment which he had persuaded her to give previous to his departure, which he had fixed to take place in three days.

is various, and resembles the snow of the Poles, described by Lyon and Parry. The starry shapes they assume are very small, and they are united to a small compact ball, which forms a centre, so that the little sharp points form the rays of a star. The appearances caused by the white frost are sometimes very curious on the high plateaux of the mountains, which seem like actual gardens in which the natural flowers have been replaced by icy shapes resembling them: the smallest stem is sufficient on which to hang an icy garland, rosettes of the most graceful shapes are thrown on every point, and long festoons of glittering foliage depend on all sides, till as the sun gains power, the ephemeral garden gradually melts away, and leaves a shining plain, which the next early morning sees adorned in a similar manner.