She went before him to a chamber hung with curtains, and when she had left him, another silent servant brought him fresh clothes and began to unbuckle his spurs. When he had put off his belt and sword, the servant took them from him and turned to the door. “Give me my sword,” said the King; “I never part with that.” He stretched out his hand to take it, but as he did so his companion vanished on the spot where he had stood. Then he saw that the walls were hung with images of demons, and that snakes’ heads peered from the corners. He looked out of the window, to see nothing but whirling vapours. When a messenger came to tell him that the lady awaited him to sup with her, he followed gloomily, for he knew he was in the stronghold of an Enchantress. She was sitting at a table, on which a feast was spread, and she made him as welcome as though he had been some long-expected guest. Her voice was mellow as the voice of pigeons cooing in the woods, but it seemed to him that a gleam of cruelty lurked in her eyes. After dark, a chill fell in the air, and they drew close to a fire of logs which glowed at one end of the hall. A silent-footed company of musicians came, playing on instruments the like of which he had never seen, and one in their midst began to sing: “Boughs of the pine, and stars between, In woods where shadows fill the air— Oh, who may rest that once hath been A shadow there? “Sounds of the night, and tears between, The grey owl hooting, dimly heard: Can footsteps reach these lands unseen, Or wings of bird? “Days of the years, and worlds between— Oh, through those boughs the stars may burn; The heart may break for lands unseen, For woods wherein its life has been, But not return!” The King sat listening, his head leaning upon his hand, and when he looked up, the Enchantress’s eyes were fixed on him with the cruel look he could not fathom. He sprang up and begged leave to retire; he was weary, he said, for he had ridden a long distance. At the door of the hall he asked her to tell her servants to return his sword. “We have never been parted yet,” said he. She broke into a laugh. “To-morrow,” she said, waving him away. And when he would have spoken again, he found himself alone.