and the half has never been told even of those parts that travellers have spent their lives in exploring.

THE FIERY LAND.1

In one part of his realm it was always night, a dreary dark, stormy night; it was full of venomous reptiles and evil genii who kept people in chains, and scourged them with whips made of snakes and scorpions; and the desolation and misery were only visible by the red glare of volcanoes and the lurid streams of sulphur ever burning in that dreadful place. The Ruler of the Realm was a great Rebel against his liege Lord the King, and the Fiery land was full of Traitors.

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THE HAPPY LAND."

At the other end of this Empire it was always light, one continual bright summer day; the land was watered by a broad river as clear as crystal, which was never foul, never frozen, never dry; the meadows were always green, the flowers blossomed perpetually, and

was as kind and benevolent as he was powerful, and all the inhabitants followed him about wherever he went, and loved him so much that they really worshipped him.16 "Happy people of the Happy Land!" I think I hear you say, "how I should like to be there!" Well, I hope you will all go some day; there is a good road to it though narrow, which is the King's sheep-walk,17 and many are travelling along it; but many more it is said preferred the highway that led down to the Land of Fire, thinking it would make no difference which way they took.

This highway was a fine broad road,18 made quite smooth with gold dust,19 and ran along the high ground, commanding beautiful prospects; the hedges, too, were full of gaudy flowers, but they were poisonous ones, and those who fed on their fruits and berries were affected with blindness and giddiness, and ran a great risk of their lives, for in many places the road sloped suddenly down right into the mouth of the volcanoes.20 The good King had taken the precaution to warn the people by putting up a direction Post,21 where the roads branched off, on which was written, "Avoid this road,

THE BARREN LAND,2

In which was the King's treasury, where he kept vast stores of metals and stones for the use of his subjects;

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there were cellars full of gold and silver, and piles of stone and iron, and choicest marbles mountains high, and heaps upon heaps of diamonds and rubies and emeralds and all kinds of precious stones, which had never seen daylight; his treasures were so immense, for he never squandered his wealth, as too many people do, but made his servants give a strict account of everything, and his orders were that nothing should be wasted; that was one of the rules of the kingdom.1 I wish all the little boys and girls in England would remember it, and the grown-up children too, for half the poverty and misery we meet with has arisen from wastefulness.

The very walls of the different storehouses were encrusted with beautiful tablets of spar, describing the property within ; 5 but withal it was a dreary, desolate country, and the hills were so bleak and bare that few