golden rein, the music
of these bells sounded far and near.

She appeared to be riding to the chase, for she led seven greyhounds in
a leash, and seven otter hounds ran along the path beside her, while
round her neck was slung a hunting-horn, and from her girdle hung a
sheaf of arrows.

As she rode along she sang snatches of songs to herself, or blew her
horn gaily to call her dogs together.

"By my faith," thought Thomas to himself, "it is not every day that I
have the chance of meeting such a beauteous being. Methinks she must be
the Virgin Mother herself, for she is too fair to belong to this poor
earth of ours. Now will I hasten over the hill, and meet her under the
Eildon Tree; perchance she may give me her blessing."

So Thomas hasted, and ran, and came to the Eildon Tree, which grew on
the slope of the Eildon Hills, under which, 'tis said, King Arthur and
his Knights lie sleeping, and there he waited for the lovely lady.

When she approached he pulled off his bonnet and louted[18] low, so that
his face well-nigh touched the ground, for, as I have said, he thought
she was the Blessed Virgin, and he hoped to hear some words of benison.

[Footnote 18: Bowed.]

But the lady quickly undeceived him. "Do not do homage to me," she said,
"for I am not she whom thou takest me for, and cannot claim such
reverence. I am but the Queen of Fairyland, and I ride to the chase with
my horn and my hounds."

Then Thomas, fascinated by her loveliness, and loth to lose sight of
her, began to make love to her; but she warned him that, if he did so,
her beauty would vanish in a moment, and, worse still, she would have
the power to throw a spell over him, and to carry him away to her own
country. But I wot that her spell had fallen on Thomas already, for it
seemed to him that there was nothing on earth to be compared to her
favour.

"Here pledge I my troth with thee," he cried recklessly, "and little
care I where I am carried, so long as thou art beside me," and as he
said this, he gave her a kiss.

What was his horror, as soon as he had done so, to see an awful change
come over the lady. Her beautiful clothes crumbled away, and she was
left standing in a long ash-coloured gown. All the brightness round her
vanished; her face grew pale and colourless; her eyes turned dim, and
sank in her head; and, most terrible of all, one-half of her beautiful
black hair went gray before his eyes, so that she looked worn and old.

[Ill