_ 114 PRINCE RICARDO.

 

made the Ice-beast and the Fire-beast fight and
kill each other,” said the queen.

“Yes, my dear; but it wanted some wit, if I
may say so, to do that, and Dick just goes at it
hammer and tongs: anybody could doit. It’s.
intellect | miss in Ricardo. How am I to know
whether he could make a good fight for it with-.
out all these fairy things? I wonder what the
young rogue is about to-day? He’ll be late for
dinner, as usual, I daresay. I can’t stand want
of punctuality at meals,” remarked his Majesty,
which isa sign that he was growing old after all ;
for where is the fun of being expected always to:
come home in time for dinner when, perhaps,
you are fishing, and the trout are rising
splendidly ?

““ Young people will be young people,” said
the queen. “If you are anxious about him,
why don’t you look for him in the magic
crystal 2?”

Now the magic crystal was a fairy present, a
great ball of glass in which, if you looked, you
saw the person you wanted to see, and what he
was doing, however far away he might be, if he
was on the earth at all.*

“T’ll just take a look at it,” said the king ;
“it only wants three-quarters of an hour ‘to
dinner-time.”

His Majesty rose, and walked to the crystal

>

* You can buy these glasses now from the Psychical
Society, at half-a-crown and upwards.