at last on the edge of a fountain. As she walked she wrote on
the trees: 'If ever the Prince, my lover, comes this way, let him
know that it is here I dwell, and that I sit daily on the edge of
this fountain, mingling my tears with its waters.'

These words were read by one of the genii, who repeated them to
his master. The Prince of the Air, in his turn making himself
invisible, was led to the fountain, and waited for Rosalie. When
she drew near he held out his hand, which she grasped eagerly,
taking it for that of her lover; and, seizing his opportunity,
the Prince passed a cord round her arms, and throwing off his
invisibility cried to his spirits to drag her into the lowest
pit.

It was at this moment that the Invisible Prince appeared, and at
the sight of the Prince of the Genii mounting into the air,
holding a silken cord, he guessed instantly that he was carrying
off Rosalie.

He felt so overwhelmed by despair that he thought for an instant
of putting an end to his life. 'Can I survive my misfortunes?'
he cried. 'I fancied I had come to an end of my troubles, and
now they are worse than ever. What will become of me? Never can
I discover the place where this monster will hide Rosalie.'

The unhappy youth had determined to let himself die, and indeed
his sorrow alone was enough to kill him, when the thought that by
means of the cabinets of the years he might find out where the
Princess was imprisoned, gave him a little ray of comfort. So he
continued to walk on through the forest, and after some hours he