PALACE OF THE MOUNTEBANES 141

very moment when Grim and Griffin sprang
forward to seize him. As neither of them
saw their intended victim, who had at once
become invisible, they rushed furiously upon
each other, and began to fight fiercely, a
thing which, as they had no particular reason
for it, and no previous quarrel, might seem
extraordinary if we did not know that one-
half the quarrels in which men, as well as
dogs, engage, have no better cause.
Profiting by the confusion which was
occasioned by this dog-fight, Prince Filder-
kin stepped quietly into the courtyard,
passed the carriages when they stopped to
allow the King to alight at his own private
door, and when he had done so, took
an opportunity of slipping in shortly after-
wards. The palace was indeed magnificently
adorned with marble and precious stones,
but gold was the main feature of its orna-
ment. There were pillars of massive gold,
the stairs were of beaten gold, and much of
the furniture was of the same metal.
Although Prince Filderkin’s own home
was very beautiful, he had never beheld such
magnificence as now greeted his eyes, and
had never even dreamed of such gorgeous