sea, give me your aid for ten
minutes only, and I will make you rich and glorious for life. Ask of me
anything you want, and it shall be yours."

Lutey was so enthralled by the loveliness of the mermaid, that he stood
gazing at her, lost in wonder. Her voice, which sounded like a gentle
murmuring stream, was to him the most lovely music he had ever heard.
He was so fascinated that he would have done anything she asked him.
He stooped to pick her up.

"First of all, take this," she said, giving him her pearl comb, "take
this, to prove to you that you have not been dreaming, gentle stranger,
and that I will do for you what I have said. When you want me, comb the
sea three times with this, and call me by my name, 'Morwenna,' and I will
come to you. Now take me to the sea."

Stooping again he picked her up in his arms. She clung tightly to him,
twining her long, cool arms around his neck, until he felt half
suffocated. "Tell me your wishes," she said sweetly, as they went along;
"you shall have three. Riches will, of course, be one."

"No, lady," said Lutey thoughtfully, "I don't know that I'm so set on
getting gold, but I'll tell 'ee what I should like. I'd dearly love to be
able to remove the spells of the witches, to have power over the spirits
to make them tell me all I want to know, and I'd like to be able to cure
diseases."

"You are the first unselfish man I have met," cried the mermaid
admiringly, "you shall have your wishes, and, in addition, I promise you
as a reward, that your family shall never come to want."

In a state of great delight, Lutey trudged on with his lovely burthen,
while she chatted gaily to him of her home, of the marvels and the riches
of the sea, and the world that lay beneath it.

"Come with me, noble youth," she cried, "come with me to our caves and
palaces; there are riches, beauty, and everything mortal can want.
Our homes are magnificent, the roofs are covered with diamonds and other
gems, so that it is ever light and sparkling, the walls are of amber and
coral. Your floors are of rough, ugly rocks, ours are of mother-of-pearl.
For statuary we have the bodies of earth's most beautiful sons and
daughters, who come to us in ships, sent by the King of the Storms.
We embalm them, so that they look more lovely even than in life, with
their eyes still sparkling, their lips of ruby-red, and the delicate pink
of the sea-shell in their cheeks. Come and see for yourself how well we