who persecutes her. The Sovereign Fairy is my most intimate friend: we have combined our powers to preserve Constancia for thee, but I must try the strength of thy passion before I reveal to thee where she is." "Command, Love! Command what thou wilt," exclaimed the Prince; "there is nothing in which I will not obey thee." "Fling thyself into this fire," replied the Boy, "and remember, that if thou lovest not truly, and one alone, thou art lost." "I have no reason to fear," said Constancio; throwing himself instantly into the furnace. All sensation left him; he knew not where or what he was.
He remained in this trance for thirty hours, and on awaking found himself the most beautiful Pigeon in the world. Instead of being in a horrible furnace, he was lying in a little nest of roses, jasmines, and honeysuckles. He was as much surprised as anybody could be; his rough feet, the various colours of his feathers, and his fiery-red eyes, astonished him exceedingly. He saw himself in a rivulet; and when he attempted to complain of his sad fate, he found he had lost the use of speech, though he had retained the power of thought.
He looked upon this transformation as the greatest of all misfortunes. "Oh, perfidious Love!" said he, in his own mind; "is this the reward thou hast bestowed on the truest of lovers?—must one be fickle, treacherous, and perjured, to find favour in thy sight? I have seen many such whom thou hast crowned with triumph, whilst thou heapest affliction on the really faithful. What hope remains for me under such a form as this?—Behold me, a Pigeon! Could I but speak as the Blue Bird did of yore, and whose story I have always delighted in, I would fly high and low, near and far, through every region, in search of my beloved mistress, and question every mortal creature till I found her; but I have not the power even to pronounce her name, and the only remedy left me for my misfortunes is to precipitate myself into some abyss, and end them with my life." Full of his fatal design, he flew to the top of a high mountain, from which he endeavoured to cast himself down: but his wings sustained him in spite of himself. He was astonished at this; for, having never been a Pigeon before, he was not aware of the undesired help his pinions would afford him. He took the resolution,
