Mountains, did the Great Carbuncle hold a place half so honored as is
reserved for it in the hall of the De Veres!'

'It is a noble thought,' said the Cynic, with an obsequious sneer. 'Yet,
might I presume to say so, the gem would make a rare sepulchral lamp,
and would display the glories of your lordship's progenitors more truly
in the ancestral vault than in the castle hall.'

'Nay, forsooth,' observed Matthew, the young rustic, who sat hand
in hand with his bride, 'the gentleman has bethought himself of a
profitable use for this bright stone. Hannah here and I are seeking it
for a like purpose.'

'How, fellow!' exclaimed his lordship, in surprise. 'What castle hall
hast thou to hang it in?'

'No castle,' replied Matthew, 'but as neat a cottage as any within sight
of the Crystal Hills. Ye must know, friends, that Hannah and I, being
wedded the last week, have taken up the search of the Great Carbuncle,
because we shall need its light in the long winter evenings; and it will
be such a pretty thing to show the neighbors when they visit us. It will
shine through the house so that we may pick up a pin in any corner, and
will set all the windows aglowing as if there were a great fire of pine
knots in the chimney. And then how pleasant, when we awake in the night,
to be able to see one another's faces!'

There was a general smile among the adventurers at the simplicity of the
young couple's project in regard to this wondrous and invaluable stone,
with which the greatest monarch on earth might have been proud to adorn
his palace. Especially the man with spectacles, who had sneered at all