numerous turnings and windings till she came to a little open space near the garden wall, perfectly enclosed by shrubbery. The ball from which the thread was unwound lay upon the grass. There the path seemed to terminate ; but her suspicions were now so far confirmed that she de-termined not to give up the pursuit. A broken bough, on which the leaves were not yet withered, riveted her atten-tion, and pulling aside the branch she discovered a con-cealed door. With great difficulty she opened or rather lifted it, and descended by stairs winding beneath the cas-tle wall. Ascending on the opposite side by a path so narrow that she could feel the earth and rocks on either hand, she emerged into what had formerly been the cave of a leopard, fitted up in the most fanciful manner with pebbles, mosses, and leaves. She made the entire circuit of the cave ere she discovered a place of egress : but at length pushing away a verdant screen, she advanced upon an open pathway which wound, now under the thick branches of trees, now through the, dilapidated barriers that had prevented the forest denizens from making war upon each other, now among ruined lodges which the keep-ers of the wild beasts had formerly inhabited ; but wher-ever she wandered she noted that some careful hand had planted tree, and shrub, and flower in such a manner as to conceal the face of decay and furnish in the midst of these sylvan shades a most delightful retreat. At last she found herself inextricably involved in a labyrinth whose apart-ments, divided by leafy partitions, seemed so numerous and so like each other as to render it impossible for her to form any idea of the distance she had come, or the point to which she must proceed. The sun was going down when by accident, she laid her hand upon the stile. Following its windings, though with great difficulty, she emerged into the path that terminated in the forest. The low howl of a wolf-dog quickened her steps, and she arrived at the palace breathless with fear and fatigue. Sleep scarcely visited her pillow. She revolved the matter over and over again in her mind. " Where could Henry find ball's of silk ? 168 HEROINES OF THE CRTJSAEES.