of comfort to the royal patient, and then blessed her with the sacred sign of the cross, in order to make quite sure that the devil had no hand in the affair. In fact, every thing remained unchanged except the beautiful face of the queen, which smiled still more sweetly than before; and the soft mountain-air, which met the nerves of the stranger, was loaded with fragrance, and breathed harmony around her; for wonderful music floated above them, while Ursula presented to the queen a lovely infant boy. As the, mother folded him to her heart, a loud shout was heard, and the deep majestic tones of many trumpets, pouring forth sounds of triumph, rang through this subterrancous paradise. The folding-doors again opened; the king himself entered, took the child in his arms, kissed it, and then showed it to a great number of little men, who had fallen upon their knees before the doors: they bowed their heads to the earth, and then shouted loudly as before.
“The Countess Ursula was an astonished spectator of this strange yet happy scene, till the silver voice of the queen recalled her attention. ‘Take, noble lady,’ it said, ‘with the grateful acknowledgments of Saffira, the Mountain-Queen, this little casket, which will serve as a rich and perpetual monument of the gratitude she owes for your service. Be careful to preserve in your family the jewels which it contains. As long as they make part of your possessions, your house shall be the first in its country, and the branches of your genealogical tree shall even overshadow the empire itself; but if you lose it,
