As Milly was listening with delight to the fairies' song, she was further surprised by a bright light which filled all the room, and made the fairies' white dresses and silver bells shine like diamonds. Milly's eyes were dazzled for a moment by the light, but as they became more accustomed to its brightness, she saw with wonder that a procession was coming slowly along under the arch formed by the fairy hands and tinkling bells.

First came two tiny trumpeters with silver trumpets, and gaily dressed in scarlet and gold. These were followed by a standard-bearer, carrying a large banner on which the Royal Arms were emblazoned in every colour of the rainbow. Then came twenty maids of honour, pretty little fairies dressed in blue and silver, with forget-me-not flowers for caps on their heads. Behind these came the six royal pages, tiny boy fairies, dressed in pairs to imitate different flowers, the two first in purple velvet and gold, like pansies, the next two in red and purple, like fuchsias, and the two last in red and gold, like tulips. Then came the royal carriage, drawn by six white rats, whose harness was covered with tiny bells, every one of which made a sweet sound as they moved.

The carriage was very much like Milly's new doll's perambulator, but all of gold, and in it sat the Fairy Queen. Her dress was of white, sprinkled with diamond dust, and a crown, cut out of a single diamond, decked her head. In her hand she held a glittering sceptre, and a veil of the finest gossamer fell over her from her crown to her tiny feet.

As the carriage came towards Milly, a cloud of most delicious fragrance filled the air, and Milly found that it came from the pillows and cushions on which the Queen reclined, which were all made of the sweetest and loveliest flowers.

Milly was not at all sure how she ought to address so grand a personage, but as the glittering cortege drew up close to her, she scrambled down off her chair, and spreading out her frock at each side, she made a very low curtsey, trying hard to follow the instructions of her dancing master at the last lesson.

Her majesty seemed gratified at the salutation, for she returned the greeting with a low bow, and a very gracious smile, and in a voice like the sweetest Jew's harp you ever heard, she said to Milly,

'We have heard that you are anxious to visit our realm of Fairyland, and as we know you to be a good child, and deserving of our royal favour, we are come ourselves to invite you to pay us a visit, and we hope to encourage you to still further goodness, by showing you the rewards we bestow on those mortals who by their good deeds can earn them.'

So saying, she held out her hand to Milly, who was rather surprised to find that she was now small enough to get into the carriage as the Queen invited her, and she sank down comfortably on the sweet-scenting flower pillows which formed the luxurious resting-place of her tiny majesty. Then the trumpeters blew their silver trumpets, and amid a perfect clatter of sweet sounds, tinkling bells and fairy music, the carriage drove off, surrounded by the cloud of gay attendants who formed the royal suite; and Milly was quite bewildered by all the new sights and sounds which surrounded her, as she was whirled away on her journey.

OR some time after Milly found herself in the carriage of the Fairy Queen, she seemed lost in a kind of trance; she could

not have told you which way she went, or what she saw on her journey; she had only a confused notion of having passed by rivers, trees, and hills, all of which were quite unfamiliar to her. At last, after what seemed to her a long time, she was roused from her dreamy state by the carriage stopping, while the trumpeters blew repeated blasts on their silver horns. Milly started up, and on looking round, she saw that the carriage had stopped before two massive gates which shone like silver, flanked by stone towers.

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This is the gate of our principal city,' the Queen explained, as the gates were opened to admit the cortege. Our palace is here, and here we can show you many of the wonders of our land. We will summon our Lord Chamberlain, who will act as your guide, and to his care we commend you.'

As the Queen spoke, there came from one of the towers an official personage of great importance, gorgeously apparelled in a velvet cloak, and carrying a

jewelled mace in his hand. He now came forward with a low bow, and giving his hand to Milly, helped her to alight from the carriage, and the Queen waved her a gracious farewell, as her six steeds whirled her away to her palace, whose turrets could be seen above the tops of the trees which crowned a neighbouring hill. Who shall describe the wonders that Milly saw with her new guide?

He took her first through the great buildings of the town. Here she saw the dolls' palace, a magnificent edifice devoted entirely to dolls. They lived there in the greatest luxury and comfort, according to their different degrees. There were splendid kitchens for the servant dolls, in which were all the articles they could require for their household work. There were nurseries for the baby dolls, who slept in cots made lovely with silk and lace. There were dining-rooms, with feasts already spread, including every delicacy dolls delight in, both in season and out. There were drawingrooms, full of the very smartest ladies and gentlemen dolls, some seated at the pianos, some dancing, and others sitting and standing about.

Milly of course was charmed with all she saw, but she felt in her heart of hearts that this was not quite her idea of Fairyland; it seemed too real, she thought. So she only waited in the dolls' palace to dress or undress a few of the baby dollies, and then she was quite ready to follow her guide in search of new wonders.

Their next visit was to the sugar palace. Here they found magnificent halls full of every kind of cake and sweetmeat; there were great rooms entirely filled with piles of delicious fruits-strawberries, raspberries, apples, and plums, while clusters of most tempting grapes hung from the roof, just within easy reach of children's fingers.

There were piles on piles of pastry and cakes of every description, preserves of all sorts, jellies, and every sort of ice.

At first Milly exclaimed in delight as she saw the fruits and tasted the beautiful grapes which almost touched her head, but still she felt rather disappointed.

'I should soon be ill,' she said to herself, 'if I were to eat even the contents of one table here, and the sight and smell of so many, many good things is quite sickening; I never thought Fairyland would be like this.'

So, with a little sigh, she turned again to the Lord Chamberlain, who said,

'Now you have seen some of the principal buildings in this part of the royal city, which idle children love; now I will show you some of the treats our Queen prepares for children who delight in books and work. For boys there are halls of science and chemistry, and workshops where everything can be made that you can think of; and I will show you what we have for girls.'

So saying, he led her over a wide bridge which crossed a lovely river, and they then entered another street in which were several more splendid buildings, even larger and more magnificent than those they had seen before.

Here he showed her marvellous schools of needlework and painting, and whole libraries of books suited to children's tastes.

Milly fairly screamed with delight when they entered a large library full of story books, all shining, lovely pictures outside, as well as inside.

She threw herself on the floor, with a pile of these books round her, and would soon have forgotten where she was, but that she was reminded of her whereabouts by a picture in one of the books. The picture repre