as novel and unusual to them.

A summer haze hung in the valley, and when the king came in sight of
the stronghold of the MacNabs he rubbed his eyes in wonder, thinking
the misty uncertainty of the atmosphere was playing wizard tricks with
his vision. There, before them, stood the most bulky edifice, the most
extraordinary pile he had ever beheld. Tremendous in extent, it seemed
to have embodied every marked feature of a mediaeval castle. At one end
a great square keep arose, its amazing height looming gigantically in
the gauze-like magic of the mist. A high wall, machicolated at the
top, connected this keep with a small octagonal tower, whose twin was
placed some distance to the left, leaving an opening between for a
wide entrance. The two octagonal towers formed a sort of frame for a
roaring waterfall in the background. From the second octagonal tower
another extended lofty wall connected it with a round peel as high as
the keep. This castle of a size so enormous that it made all others
its beholders had ever seen shrink into comparative insignificance,
was surrounded by a bailey wall; outside of that was a moat which
proved to be a foaming river, fed by the volume of water which came
down the precipice behind the castle. The lashing current and the
snow-white cascade formed a striking contrast to the deep moss-green
hue of the castle itself.

"We have many great strongholds in Italy," said the Pope's legate,
"but never have I seen anything to compare with this."

"Oh," said MacNab slightingly, "we are but a small clan; you should
see the Highland castles further north; they are of stone; indeed our
own fortresses, which are further inland, are also of stone. This is
merely our pleasure-house built of pine-trees."

"A castle of logs!" exclaimed the Pope's legate. "I never before heard
of such a thing."

They crossed the bridge, passed between the two octagonal towers and
entered the extensive courtyard, surrounded by the castle itself; a
courtyard broad enough to afford manoevring ground for an army. The
interior walls were as attractive as the outside was grim and
forbidding. Balconies ran around three sides of the enclosure, tall
thin, straight pine poles, rising three stories high, supporting them,
each pole fluttering a flag at the top. The balconies were all
festooned with branches of living green.

The air was tremulous with the thunder of the cataract and the
courtyard was cut in two by a rushing torrent