E-text prepared by Matthew Wheaton, Suzanne Shell, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries (http://www.archive.org/details/americana) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 36612-h.htm or 36612-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/36612/pg36612-images.html) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36612/36612-h.zip) Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive/American Libraries. See http://www.archive.org/details/princesscurdie00macdiala Transcriber's note: Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics). Text in bold face is enclosed by equal signs (=bold=). Text that was in small capitals is in upper case (LIKE THIS). [Illustration: _Frontispiece. "Come in, Curdie," said the voice._] THE PRINCESS AND CURDIE by GEORGE MACDONALD, LL.D With Eleven Illustrations by James Allen Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1883. CONTENTS. CHAP. I. THE MOUNTAIN II. THE WHITE PIGEON III. THE MISTRESS OF THE SILVER MOON IV. CURDIE'S FATHER AND MOTHER V. THE MINERS VI. THE EMERALD VII. WHAT IS IN A NAME? VIII. CURDIE'S MISSION IX. HANDS X. THE HEATH XI. LINA XII. MORE CREATURES XIII. THE BAKER'S WIFE XIV. THE DOGS OF GWYNTYSTORM XV. DERBA AND BARBARA XVI. THE MATTOCK XVII. THE WINE CELLAR XVIII. THE KING'S KITCHEN XIX. THE KING'S CHAMBER XX. COUNTER-PLOTTING XXI. THE LOAF XXII. THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN XXIII. DR. KELMAN XXIV. THE PROPHECY XXV. THE AVENGERS XXVI. THE VENGEANCE XXVII. MORE VENGEANCE XXVIII. THE PREACHER XXIX. BARBARA XXX. PETER XXXI. THE SACRIFICE XXXII. THE KING'S ARMY XXXIII. THE BATTLE XXXIV. JUDGMENT XXXV. THE END THE PRINCESS AND CURDIE. CHAPTER I. THE MOUNTAIN. Curdie was the son of Peter the miner. He lived with his father and mother in a cottage built on a mountain, and he worked with his father inside the mountain. A mountain is a strange and awful thing. In old times, without knowing so much of their strangeness and awfulness as we do, people were yet more afraid of mountains. But then somehow they had not come to see how beautiful they are as well as awful, and they hated them,--and what people hate they must fear. Now that we have learned to look at them with admiration, perhaps we do not always feel quite awe enough of them. To me they are beautiful terrors.