up again."

"Sire," replied the Queen Gulnare, "I shall with pleasure satisfy
the king of Persia. We can walk at the bottom of the sea with as
much ease as you can upon land; and we can breathe in the water
as you do in the air; so that instead of suffocating us, as it
does you, it absolutely contributes to the preservation of our
lives. What is yet more remarkable is, that it never wets our
clothes; so that when we wish to visit the earth, we have no
occasion to dry them. Our language is the same with that of the
writing engraved upon the seal of the great prophet Solomon the
son of David.

"I must not forget to inform you further, that the water does not
in the least hinder us from seeing: for we can open our eyes
without any inconvenience: and as we have quick, piercing sight,
we can discern any objects as clearly in the deepest part of the
sea as upon land. We have also there a succession of day and
night; the moon affords us her light; and even the planets and
the stars appear visible to us. I have already spoken of our
kingdoms; but as the sea is much more spacious than the earth, so
there are a great number of them, and of great extent. They are
divided into provinces; and in each province are several great
cities well peopled. In short there is an infinite number of
nations differing in manners and customs, as they do on the
earth.

"The palaces of the kings and princes are sumptuous and
magnificent. Some of them are constructed of marble of various
colours; others of rock-crystal, with which the sea abounds,