cacy."

"So please you then, represent your grievance in the highest quarter,
before you further proceed. And now, I propose to present Philip to
Lady Geraldine, if her leisure serve. You will accompany us."

Passing through a vestibule, which separated the two rooms, the knight
threw open a door, and admitted them into an apartment of smaller
dimensions than the first, but fitted up with far more regard to
comfort, and with even some pretension to elegance. The floor was
covered with matting made by the Indian women, on which strange
figures were drawn, stained with brilliant dyes; the sides of the room
also were hung with matting, over which fell folds of scarlet cloth
reaching to within a couple of feet of the floor, imparting an air of
gayety, while overhead was tightly drawn and fastened to the rafters a
light blue cloth, approaching in color the hue of the sky. Some chairs
were scattered around, and on a table lay a guitar, on the top of a
book. No person was in the apartment at the moment of their entrance,
and, upon the invitation of the knight, they took seats to await the
arrival of the lady.

They had been seated but a short time when another door opened, and a
comely gentlewoman entered, ushered by a little Indian girl. The age
of the lady appeared to be about the same as that of the knight, and,
to judge from her complexion, she was not of English extraction. Her
features, though not regular, were handsome; the eyes large and black,
with hair of the same color, confined by a white cap; her figure was
tall and slender, and her carriage dignified and noble. Her dress
consisted merely of a black gown, without ornament, and rising high
into the neck, and as she approached she looked like one oppressed
with sadness.

Her little swarthy attendant seemed to be a pet which she took delight
in adorning, and truly, the little girl was not unconscious that her
childish beauty was enhanced by richness of attire. A crimson satin
tunic, like a basque, was fastened around her waist by a golden band,
beneath which fell a blue silk skirt as far as the knees, while high
upon the ankles were laced deer-skin buskins, profusely bedecked with
shining beads and colored porcupine quills. Around her arms, above the
elbows, were strings of colored beads, her wrists were clasped by
bracelets of the same description, and about her neck was twined a
gold chain.

As the lady thus attended advanced, all rose to pay the respect due