to her mouth. No words can
paint the fury of her captor at her disappearance. He ordered the
spirits of the air to fly through all space, and to bring back Rosalie
wherever she might be. They instantly flew off to obey his commands,
and spread themselves over the whole earth.

Meantime Rosalie and the Invisible Prince had reached, hand in hand, a
door of the gallery which led through a terrace into the gardens. In
silence they glided along, and thought themselves already safe, when a
furious monster dashed itself by accident against Rosalie and the
Invisible Prince, and in her fright she let go his hand. No one can
speak as long as he is invisible, and besides, they knew that the
spirits were all around them, and at the slightest sound they would be
recognised; so all they could do was to feel about in the hope that
their hands might once more meet.

[Illustration: Prince Gnome Learns the Name of His Rival at the Golden
Fountain]

But, alas! the joy of liberty lasted but a short time. The Princess,
having wandered in vain up and down the forest, stopped at last on the
edge of a fountain. As she walked she wrote on the trees: 'If ever the
Prince, my lover, comes this way, let him know that it is here I
dwell, and that I sit daily on the edge of this fountain, mingling my
tears with its waters.'

These words were read by one of the genii, who repeated them to his
master. The Prince of the Air, in his turn making himself invisible,
was led to the fountain, and waited for Rosalie. When she drew near he
held out his hand, which she grasped eagerly, taking it for that of
her lover; and, seizing his opportunity, the Prince passed a cord
round her arms, and throwing off his invisibility cried to his spirits
to drag her into the lowest pit.

It was at this moment that the Invisible Prince appeared, and at the
sight of the Prince of the Genii mounting into the air, holding a
silken cord, he guessed instantly that he was carrying off Rosalie.

He felt so overwhelmed by despair that he thought for an instant of
putting an end to his life. 'Can I survive my misfortunes?' he cried.
'I fancied I had come to an end of my troubles, and now they are worse
than ever. What will become of me? Never can I discover the place
where this monster will hide Rosalie.'

The unhappy youth had determined to let himself die, and indeed his
sorrow alone was enough to kill him, when the thought that by means of
the cabinets of the years he migh