ing in an arm-chair, fast asleep, with a guitar on the floor at her
feet. Around the room were placed musical instruments of all kinds; but
there was no one there to play on them but the Princess, and she was
fast asleep.

There was a breeze in the room, that seemed to come and go like the
waves of the sea; and the Prince could not imagine what occasioned it,
for all the doors and windows were closed. However, looking upwards, he
saw, behind the Princess's chair, the reason of the wind and the lady's
slumber. Standing behind her, with his feet on the floor and his head
high up in the obscurity of the ceiling, was a great Nimshee, or evil
spirit of the ocean, who was fanning her with his wings, and had put her
to sleep with their slow and dreamy motion. With his great eyes glowing
like meteors in the dimness of the upper part of the room, the Nimshee
glared at the Prince, and waved his wings faster and stronger. But our
young friend was not afraid of him--not a bit. He walked softly round
the room once or twice, and then, returning to the Princess, spoke to
her. She did not awake, and the Prince called her louder and louder, and
at last, putting his hand on her shoulder, he shook her; but still she
slept. He felt that he must awaken her, and seizing the guitar that lay
at her feet, he held it close to her ear, and struck the strings loudly.
The Princess opened her eyes with a start; and as she awoke, the
Nimshee, beating his breast with his wings, gave a great roar like the
waves beating in a storm against a rocky coast, and flew away. The
Princess blushed a little when she first saw the Prince, but he was so
polite that she soon recovered herself, and they conversed quite
pleasantly.

She explained the meaning of the musical instruments in the room, by
stating that she had a great passion for music, and the good people of
the palace brought her a new instrument nearly every day; but she never
sat down to play any of them but she went almost immediately to sleep.
She could not imagine the reason for this; but the Prince knew very well
that the Nimshee had put her to sleep to-day at any rate, and he had no
doubt but that he was always at the bottom of it. He said nothing to
her, however, of what he had seen, as he perceived that she did not know
it, and he did not wish to frighten her.

She said she had taken her guitar that evening, as soon as she had
finished her supper, but had fallen asleep as usual. She asked the