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of golden dishes; but, hungry as he was, the fisherman perceived that everything there had the taste and smell of the sea.

“If the fisherman had been the lord of lands and castles, he could not have been treated with more respect. The two mermaids sat by him—one filled his plate, another filled his goblet; but the third only looked at him in a stealthy, warning way when nobody perceived her. Civil soon finished his share of the feast, and then the merman showed him all the splendours of his cavern. The halls were full of company, some feasting, some dancing, and some playing all manner of games, and in every hall was the same abundance of gold and silver vessels; but Civil was most astonished when the merman brought him to a marble chamber full of heaps of precious stones. There were diamonds there whose value the fisherman knew not—pearls larger than ever a diver had gathered—emeralds, sapphires, and rubies, that would have made the jewellers of the world wonder; the merman then said—

“‘This is my eldest daughter’s dowry.’

“‘Good luck attend her!’ said Civil. ‘It is the dowry of a queen.’ But the merman led him on to another chamber: it was filled with heaps of gold coin, which seemed gathered from all times