untry where the day
never dawns, and night is eternal. Thither will I go; for in the dark,
as all cats are gray, so are all degrees of beauty brought to one common
level. I now know that it is just as unfortunate to be too beautiful as
it is to be very ugly."

Having delivered herself of this speech, Princess Altamira bade the
king, her father, good-bye, and was on the point of leaving the royal
presence, when the handsome figure of Felisberto, the blind fiddler, was
seen to approach.

"Princess," exclaimed blind Felisberto, "to Spain nothing is denied. You
speak of proceeding to the North, where the day never dawns, in search
of a husband. You need but look at me to behold one to whom night and
day, extreme ugliness and transcendent beauty, are alike; and since all
are so bashful that they will not marry you, allow me, fair princess, to
offer you my services as a husband. In my world 'handsome is that
handsome does.'"

The king was so pleased with the blind fiddler's speech that he
immediately made him a Grandee of Spain, and acknowledged him as his
son-in-law elect.

THE WOLF-CHILD.

In the North of Portugal there are many sequestered spots where the
enchanted Moors and the wizards meet when it is full moon. These places
are generally situated among high rocks on the precipitous sides of the
hills overlooking rivers; and when the wind is very boisterous their
terrible screams and incantations can be distinctly heard by the
peasantry inhabiting the neighbouring villages.

On such occasions the father of the family sets fire to a wisp of straw,
and with it makes the sign of the cross around his house, which prevents
these evil spirits from approaching. The other members of the family
place a few extra lights before the image of the Virgin; and the
horse-shoe nailed to the door completes the safety of the house.

But it will so happen that sometimes an enchanted Moor, with more
cunning than honesty, will get through one of the windows on the birth
of a child, and will brand the infant with the crescent on his shoulder
or arm, in which case it is well known that the child, on certain
nights, will be changed into a wolf.

The enchanted Moors have their castles and palaces under the ground or
beneath the rivers, and they wander about the earth, seeing but not
seen; for they died unbaptized, and have, therefore, no rest in the
grave.

They seem to have given preference to the North of Portugal, where they