nd as I accompany you." "To that I consent
readily enough," said I, and I laid my hat and sword on the first stone
bench that came in my way. Upon this he at once seized my left hand in
his right, held it fast, and, with some degree of force, led me
straight on. When we came to the railing, my surprise was increased to
overwhelming astonishment; any thing like it I had never seen. On a
high socle of marble countless spears and partisans stood in a row, and
were joined together by their upper ends, which were singularly
ornamented. Peeping through the interstices I saw behind this railing
a piece of water which flowed gently along, with marble on each side of
it, and in the clear depths of which a great number of gold and silver
fish might be discovered, which now slowly, now swiftly, now singly,
now in shoals, were swimming to and fro. I wished much to see the
other side of the canal that I might learn how the interior part of the
garden was fashioned; but, to my great annoyance, on the other side of
the water stood a similar railing, which was so skilfully arranged
that, opposite to every space on the side where I stood was placed a
spear or a partisan on the other, and thus, with the additional
impediment of the other ornaments, it was impossible for one to look
through, whatever position one took. Besides, the old man, who kept a
fast hold of me, hindered me from moving freely. My curiosity--after
all that I had seen--increased more and more, and I plucked up courage
to ask the old man whether it was not possible to cross over. "Why
not?" said he, "only you must conform to new conditions." When I asked
him what these were, he told me that I must change my dress. I readily
consented; he led me back towards the outer wall and into a neat little
room, against the walls of which hung dresses of several kinds which
seemed to approach the oriental style of costume. I changed my dress
quickly, and he put my powdered locks into a many-coloured net, after
finally dusting out the powder, to my great horror. Standing before a
large mirror I thought I looked prettily enough in my disguise, and
liked myself better than in my stiff Sunday clothes. I made gestures
and leaps, in imitation of the dancers I had seen on the stage erected
at the fair, and while I was doing this I perceived, by chance, the
reflection in the glass of a niche that stood behind me. Against its
white ground hung three green cords, each twined in