Princess Argentine, but instead of love I only saw
scorn and contempt. Think how great must be my devotion, when, in
spite of my fate, I still love on!'
Now the Prince of the Golden Isle was enchanted with this
conversation, for the Princess Argentine was his sister, and he hoped,
by means of her influence over the Prince of the Gnomes, to obtain
from his brother the release of Rosalie. So he joyfully returned to
his father's palace, where he found his friend the Fairy, who at once
presented him with a magic pebble like his own. As may be imagined, he
lost no time in setting out to deliver Rosalie, and travelled so fast
that he soon arrived at the forest, in the midst of which she lay a
captive. But though he found the palace he did not find Rosalie. He
hunted high and low, but there was no sign of her, and his despair was
so great that he was ready, a thousand times over, to take his own
life. At last he remembered the conversation of the two Princes about
the cabinets of the years, and that if he could manage to reach the
oak-tree, he would be certain to discover what had become of Rosalie.
Happily, he soon found out the secret of the passage and entered the
cabinet of the present, where he saw reflected in the mirrors the
unfortunate Rosalie sitting on the floor weeping bitterly, and
surrounded with genii, who never left her night or day.
[Illustration: Guarded by the Genii--The Mirror Present]
This sight only increased the misery of the Prince, for he did not
know where the castle was, nor how to set about finding it. However,
he resolved to seek the whole world through till he came to the right
place. He began by setting sail in a favourable wind, but his bad luck
followed him even on the sea. He had scarcely lost sight of the land
when a violent storm arose, and after several hours of beating about,
the vessel was driven on to some rocks, on which it dashed itself to
bits. The Prince was fortunate enough to be able to lay hold of a
floating spar, and contrived to keep himself afloat; and, after a long
struggle with the winds and waves, he was cast upon a strange island.
But what was his surprise, on reaching the shore, to hear sounds of
the most heartrending distress, mingled with the sweetest songs which
had ever charmed him! His curiosity was instantly roused, and he
advanced cautiously till he saw two huge dragons guarding the gate of
a wood. They were terrible indeed to look upon. Their bodies were
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