in thine own country."

While she was speaking, Thomas was amazed to see that a great change had
passed over her again. Her face grew bright, and her gray gown vanished,
and the green mantle took its place, and once more she became the
beauteous being who had charmed his eyes at the Huntly Burn. And he was
still more amazed when, on looking down, he found that his own raiment
was changed too, and that he was now dressed in a suit of soft, fine
cloth, and that on his feet he wore velvet shoon.

The lady lifted the golden horn which hung from a cord round her neck,
and blew a loud blast. At the sound of it all the squires, and knights,
and great court ladies came hurrying out to meet their Queen, and Thomas
slid from the palfrey's back, and walked humbly at her elbow.

As she had foretold, the pages and squires crowded round him, and would
fain have learned his name, and the name of the country to which he
belonged, but he pretended not to understand what they said, and so they
all came into the great hall of the castle.

At the end of this hall there was a dais, and on it were two thrones.
The King of Fairyland was sitting on one, and when he saw the Queen, he
rose, and stretched out his hand, and led her to the other, and then a
rich banquet was served by thirty knights, who offered the dishes on
their bended knees. After that all the court ladies went up and did
homage to their Royal Mistress, while Thomas stood, and gazed, and
wondered at all the strange things which he saw.

At one side of the hall there was a group of minstrels, playing on all
manner of strange instruments. There were harps, and fiddles, and
gitterns, and psalteries, and lutes and rebecks, and many more that he
could not name. And when these minstrels played, the knights and the gay
court ladies danced or played games, or made merry jokes amongst
themselves; while at the other side of the hall a very different scene
went on. There were thirty dead harts lying on the stone floor, and
stable varlets carried in dead deer until there were thirty of them
stretched beside the harts, and the dogs lay and licked their blood, and
the cooks came in with their long knives and cut up the animals, in the
sight of all the court.

It was all so weird and horrible that Thomas wondered what manner of
folk he had come to dwell among, and if he would ever get back to his
own country.

For three days things went on in the same manner, and still he looked
and wo