were ended, the light increased to a more intense degree, accompanied with a roaring as of a great conflagration, and in the midst, a loud yet mild voice was heard, which dismissed the enemy of the little Narina; for although neither door nor window of the cottage had opened, the three inhabitants found themselves alone with their heavenly guardian, who, turning upon them a countenance glowing with love, gentleness, and approbation, again comforted the shepherd with these kind words:

"I now find, good Ben Hafiz, that you are to be trusted with the preservation of the little Narina. You have followed my instructions, and it is well that you did so. The stranger whom you received and kindly entertained this night, has been the bitterest enemy of my life, and is now, if not the only one, the cruellest persecutor of your lovely charge. Keep your faith with me, and hereafter you shall know more of our history. Happy was it for her and for me, that you so steadily followed my commands. Had you allowed that

stranger to present the whistle to the child, he would have touched her; and from that moment she would have been in his power; and then my spirit shrinks to think what her fate would have been. You would have lost the comfort of your old age, your worldly prosperity would have departed from you; and what is worse than all, you would have forfeited your honour, and lost your own self-respect; and then, good Ben Hafiz, you could not have been happy. You have been too long in communion with the good Being that gave you life, and from whom you have received every gracious and holy thought, not to know that they are the happiest people who are the most virtuous and kind. Had your little charge re

ceived the stranger's present without being touched by him, the gift would still have proved fatal to her; for, at the moment of using it, she would have been transformed to some loathsome reptile, and been doomed to inhabit that shape one hundred years; and so to creep about the earth doing nothing but whistling. The same misfortune would not have happened to you, because the malignity of the enemy is not directed against you; on the contrary, had it once come into your possession, you would in an instant have discovered the character of the giver of it. The full extent of its power can injure those only who are the objects of its maker's bitterest hatred. Well, therefore, have you acted, Ben Hafiz, in following my injunctions so strictly, and great shall be your reward if you remain faithful to the end. Farewell!-again I say, be faithful-be happy."

With these words, the glory of the vision suddenly diminished; the heavenly form had departed, and the room was lighted only by the sinking embers of the wood-fire, and the small flame of the table-lamp, which, from the contrast, scarcely relieved their eyes from a feeling of total darkness. The little Narina covered her face for some time with both hands, and then gravely and silently returned to her supper: and when the meal was finished, Ben Hafiz closed the labours of the day with a hymn of praise and thanksgiving.

CHAPTER IV.

Two more years in the life of Narina had passed since the last adventure, during which time she had increased-if that were possible-in beauty of face and person, as well as in gracefulness of action. The powers of her mind, too, had considerably augmented: with the slender assistance that the old shepherd and his wife could render her, she quickly attained the means of reading their language, and with this advantage at her command, a week rarely passed without her persuading her kind protectors, one or the other, to accompany her to the neighbouring town, that she might select some new book of poetry, or history of a great and good king and queen; and these she would read over and over again, learning by heart favourite passages of the poetry.

By the assistance also of such instruction, added to her own pretty taste and search, she had become perfectly acquainted with the forms, names, and different virtues of the flowers and herbs which in profusion adorned the valley where she dwelt. Her sweet and harmless manners had charmed the wild natures of the most unsocial birds; and the timid quadrupeds that haunted the most inaccessible precipices encircling the valley, had become accustomed to her approach, and only flew away in sport, to lure her on to the race. The previous adventure of the pedlar had taught her the virtue of her silver-feathered shoes, and she would now turn them to constant use: by their means she would cross the plain with the fleetness of a ring-dove, and lead on, or pursue

the antelope to the giddiest heights; then would she glance down the crags, leaving her playmates breathless behind. It was the prettiest sight to behold her with one arm round the neck of a gazelle, keeping pace with it at its greatest speed, all the while her feet scarcely appearing to move.

The liberty, however, which these wondrous shoes had afforded her, gave great uneasiness to the old shepherd and his wife, and no persuasions could induce them to allow her this wide and free range so far from her nest in the cottage, till she had seriously promised never to pass to the other side of the mountains surrounding the valley, or to allow any human being under any pretence whatever to approach her. She was therefore constantly before their eyes, and had any danger approached, Ben Hafiz could apply to his ring, while she, with her shoes, could have outstripped the wind.

An event shortly happened which proved the wisdom of their caution and watchful care over their precious charge. One morning, as the shepherd was seated in the porch of his cottage, fastening on the head of his crook, while his flock were scattered on the plain before him, "cropping their hasty meal," and at his side the busy Sherzaran dressing a fleece for the market, the silver dove suddenly flew past them, uttering a plaintive cry of alarm, and was seen hurrying away towards the brow of one of the distant mountains. Ben Hafiz instantly guessed that all was not right, and upon going forth to the front of his cottage, he perceived the little Narina afar off on the steep declivity of a mountain. One moment she was seen springing from crag to crag, and then for a moment was lost to sight; a third brought her to the plain, and at the same time placed her by the side of her fond old pro

tectors. They quickly discovered the cause of her hasty and alarmed return, and had reason to congratulate themselves that the blessed dove and her magic shoes had restored her to her asylum; for, in a few minutes, they perceived, coming over the brow of a hill, several horsemen, who were galloping backwards and forwards, and scouring hither and thither, as if in search of something, or to discover the readiest path down to the plain. After a short lapse of time others arose in greater number, and waited for a signal from those who had preceded them to move forward. And now there was another pause, when a still more numerous band came up; and as they spread over the brow of the hill after issuing through the narrow pass, it was discovered that the whole company was the advance-guard of an army; for, in descending towards the plain, the rays of the morning sun played upon their armour and spears; and as the whole mass moved in different directions, one while it appeared dark, and then suddenly gleamed forth like flashes of lightning. And now a far-off blast of trumpets was heard, which was answered by another so remote as scarcely to reach the ear. This last troop having descended half way down the mountain, the wondering cottagers beheld a fourth and still more numerous company rise into view; and, as they approached the plain, the sound of a thousand musical instruments filled the air, with the clashing of cymbals and the chiming of bells. The multitude had by this time all descended, and the peaceful little valley was disturbed with the mingled sounds of trumpets, and neighing of horses, and the rushing hither and thither of soldiers in rich caparisons.

While nothing less than the thought of an approaching