Oh! you great northern child," she added in a whisper, "keep the pearls, they are a gift, and worth a prince's ransom; and take whatever else you can get, and keep that too."[*] [*] I have no further vision concerning these priceless pearls and do not know what became of them.

Perhaps I was robbed of them during my imprisonment, or perhaps I gave them to Heliodore or to Martina.

Where are they now, I wonder ?--Editor.
Then, before I could answer her, she was gone.
For some weeks after this I saw no more of the Augusta, who appeared to avoid me.

One day, however, I was summoned to her presence in her private apartments by the waiting-lady Martina, and went, to find her alone, save for Martina.

The first thing that I noticed was that she wore about her neck an exact copy of the necklace of golden shells and emerald beetles; further, that about her waist was a girdle and on her wrist a bracelet of similar design.