il so merrily,
The fiddles, and fifes, and drums, and horns
All carry the ship along,
It shapes its course by the cymbal clash
To the land of music and song."

[Illustration: "ON A COUCH LAY THE MASTER OF THE CASTLE" (_p.
297_).]

The girl did not quite understand what the sailors meant by their
strange song. It did not seem to be altogether sense to her, but she
supposed that they knew where they were going. Still she asked--

"Whither are we sailing?"

"Don't you hear the music calling to us from the castle?" said the
captain: "the castle on the purple island in the golden sea. We are
sailing there; the music has spoken to us many times, but we did not
attend to it until now."

"Has it called me?" asked the girl.

And she thought of the beautiful tune that had seemed to say "Come,
come." And now, as they sailed beneath the castle walls, the tune
issued forth very clear, sweet, and strong from an open window.

"It is the master of the castle: he plays night and day, and is
always inviting those who love music to come and dwell with him."

The girl looked up at the stately castle.

"If I had known that I should have come here before."

"No, you would not."

"Why?"

"Because no one would have brought you. You can only come at the
right time. Hush!"

IV.

"Hush!" said the captain; "we must not make any noise. Do not speak
again.

Go like a mouse
Into the house.
Up the stairs creep
Though they are steep.

There you will find,
If you're not blind,
A little child who's softly tapping,
Tapping, rapping, rapping, tapping,
Rapping, tapping at the door.
Though the knocker is so high,
Yet she still doth try and try;
You must knock, and it will fly
Open--little girl, good bye."

"Why, that was in the dream; and if you please, captain, tell me
where I am, and who is the child, and----"

But the captain had gone, so had the sailors, so had the ship.

The girl went slowly up the steps to the castle door, which being
open, she entered in, and found herself in a great hall, from which a
staircase wound up and up through a great many storeys.

"I must go," she said; for the music that sounded through the castle
seemed to speak to her, and bid her come.

And on and on she went, and on the seventh storey she paused; for at
a door she saw a child tapping and rapping, and trying to reach the
knocker.

Softly the girl went behind the little one, who never turned r