ound ensued, but at
the instant there burst forth the same soft yet brilliant light which
had so delighted Hugh when he first awoke, and which he now discovered
to come not from the moon, still shining in gently at the window of the
tapestry room down below, but from those of the castle at whose door he
was standing. He had never before noticed how many windows it had.
Jeanne and he had only remarked the door at the top of the steps, but
now the light which flowed out from above him was so clear and brilliant
that it seemed as if the whole castle must be transparent. Hugh stood
in eager expectation of what was to happen next, and was on the point of
speaking to the raven, standing, as he thought, beside him, when a
sudden sound made him turn round. It was that of the castle door
opening, and at the same moment the two peacocks, coming forward, pushed
him gently, one at each side, so that Hugh found himself obliged to
enter. He was by no means unwilling to do so, but he gave one last look
round for his conductor. He was gone.

For about half a second Hugh felt a little frightened and bewildered.

"I wish Dudu had come with me," he said. But almost before he had time
to think the wish, what he saw before him so absorbed his attention that
he forgot everything else.

It was a long, long passage, high in the roof, though narrow of course
in comparison with its length, but wide enough for Hugh--for Hugh and
Jeanne hand-in-hand even--to walk along with perfect comfort and great
satisfaction, for oh, it was so prettily lighted up! You have, I
daresay, children, often admired in London or Paris, or some great town,
the rows of gas lamps lighting up at night miles of some very long
street. Fancy those lights infinitely brighter and clearer, and yet
softer than any lamps you ever saw, and each one of a different colour,
from the richest crimson to the softest pale blue, and you will have
some idea how pretty the long corridor before him looked to Hugh. He
stepped along delightedly, as well he might. "Why, this of itself is
worth staying awake ever so many nights to see," he said to himself;
"only I do wish Jeanne were with me."

Where did the corridor lead to? He ran on and on for some time without
thinking much about this, so interested was he in observing the lamps
and the pretty way in which the tints were arranged; but after a while
he began to find it a little monotonous, especially when he noticed that
at long intervals