eper into the wood; so he determined to throw
the reins upon his horse's head, and trust to his instinct, as he had
often heard that travellers had done successfully, when they had
wandered out of their road. He accordingly did so, and speaking cheerily
to Saladin, allowed him to choose his own path: to his surprise his
beautiful Arab left the track, and set off on what he concluded to be a
short cut out of the forest. After about an hour, however, poor little
Rudolph began to doubt the instinct of horses, for the aspect of every
thing around him became wilder every moment; but, happily, the rain had
ceased falling, and as far as he could judge from the occasional glimpse
he got of the sky, it had cleared up. On went Saladin, and did not stop
until they entered an open glade; when, as if his task were quite
accomplished, he came to a dead halt. Rudolph alighted, and looked about
him: all was so still and beautiful, that it had the effect of calming
the agitation of his spirits, and filling his mind with an indescribable
awe,--it looked pure and holy, as if the foot of man had never trod
there, from the foundation of the world. The setting sun, at this
moment, pierced through the clouds, tinting them with purple, crimson,
and gold, and revealing the full beauty of the scene. Rudolph found
himself in a circular opening, around which lofty trees, overgrown with
moss and lichen, seemed planted as a wall of defence. As he approached,
seeking to leave the spot, they tossed their long arms as if warning him
away, and the thick darkness behind appeared to become denser, and to
frown him back. A superstitious fear crept into his heart, and he turned
his eyes to the sweet glade rejoicing in the sunlight, where all looked
smiling and inviting. In the centre, upon a gentle mound covered with a
carpet of the softest, richest green, there towered a majestic oak,
which had looked upward to the sky for centuries, while generation after
generation of men had entered the world, had laughed and wept, grown old
and died. It showed no signs of the decrepitude of age, and raised up
its head proudly like the monarch of the forest; but a deep rent in its
heart showed that decay was at work, and that the lofty tree would, one
day, he laid low in the dust. Led by an irresistible impulse, Rudolph
ascended the mound, and entered the little chamber in the oak. The boy
was exhausted by fatigue and excitement, and, insensibly, his eyes
closed, and his