218 PRINCE RICARDO.

 

them all, and all were very, very heavy. But
when he came to the Stupidity of the Learned—
of dull, blind writers on Shakspeare, and
Homer, and the Bible—then King Prigio saw
that he had found the sort he wanted, and that
a very little of it would go a long way. He
- never could have got it on the saddle of the
Flying Horse if the dark lady had not touched
it with her ebony wand, and made it light to
carry till it was wanted for his purpose. When
he needed it for use, he was to utter a certain
spell, which she taught him, and then the
lump would recover its natural weight. So
he easily put a great block on his saddle-bow,
and he and the dark lady flew back till they
reached the crest of the Mountains of the Moon.
There she touched him with her ebony wand,
and the silver light which the bright lady had
shed on him died from his face and his body,
and he became like other men.

“You see your way?’’ said the dark lady,
pointing to the bright moon of earth, shining
far off in the heavens.

Then he knelt down and thanked her, and
she murmured strange words of blessing
which he did not understand; but her face was
grave and kind, and he thought of Queen
Rosalind, his wife.

Then he jumped .on the Flying Horse,
galloped down and down, till he reached his
palace gate; called for Ricardo, set him behind