"Oh!" exclaimed Glassée, suddenly springing up, "how tired I am!" And with this the fairies all sprang up, glad to be released, no doubt. I wonder that they were not all asleep with such a long story-telling. It must have gone far into the night.

But what she left unfinished we can tell; for instance, that one of those sea-nymphs was Galatea, who was beloved by an enormous giant, Polyphemus, who had but one eye. She was half distracted when he pursued her; for she was attached to a youth, beautiful like herself, and did not wish to have any thing to do with the fearful giant. One day, Polyphemus saw the two lovers happy together on a mountain-side; and he took up a great rock and hurled it at them, which overwhelmed the poor youth; but Galatea escaped into the sea.

Besides these, there were other kinds of nymphs: the Naiads, who lived in the quiet rivers and purling brooks; the Oreades, upon the mountains; the Dryads, who occupied the woods and groves; and the Hamadryads, who lived in the very trees them

selves, right inside of the bark and wood. And there were odd creatures called Satyrs, spending their time in merry sports. The Satyrs are represented in marble as partly man and partly goat. They have the slender legs and feet and the short horns of a goat.

The Fauns were prettier. There are some beautiful marble statues of them! * They were frolicsome creatures, like gay, happy youths; only they had the ears delicately pointed, like a goat's. Presiding over all these was Pan, "the great Pan," the divinity of the fields and the woods, who played on a pipe made of reeds, and protected the flocks and their shepherds, and amused himself with dancing with the nymphs, et cætera.

These strange beings, with the gods and goddesses, were of course only imaginary beings, although people believed in them in ancient times. This is why we have told of them,- because they

*For instance, a celebrated one, called the "Faun of Praxiteles," which is in the Museum of the Capitol at Rome. Praxiteles was an ancient Greek sculptor.

were so real to them. For that reason, too, all Italy, besides Greece and other countries, was full of their temples and statues and altars, of which many ruins and relics still remain. Also all kinds of festivals were kept in their honor; and offerings were made to them of fruit, wine, and flowers, and animals were sacrificed to them. Such was the state of things in those countries until Christianity was revealed, and taught the people that there was but one Deity, who is the Father and the Ruler of the earth and the sea, and of all things in them.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE SEVENTH DAY.

Six days of the week of story-telling which was promised had passed; and for the seventh, which was our first, when we always turned our minds to other things, and kept the time quiet and sacred at home and at church,- for that day, Sunday, we have a story which we can relate, and which very unlike any that have preceded it.

is

Although the stories of the gods and goddesses are interesting to read, those imaginary beings are so exactly like men and women,- no better, and no different scarcely, in their life and conduct, that it is not possible for us in this day to believe in them as the ancients did.

But the

ancients themselves began to disbelieve those things. When people became more intelligent, they perceived how absurd and incredible it was that such things should be true; that there should be really gods and goddesses who were no better than themselves, and were sometimes worse, - for we have not told here many strange stories that were related about them, so that in

secret many persons ridiculed the idea of them, and sacrifices to the gods began to be neglected, and their temples to be unfrequented. Only the less intelligent among the people continued to believe in them fully, and to keep up their worship.

Many of those who could no longer believe in those false deities began to be sad and unhappy; for they knew of no better religion to take its place, and of no truer Deity than such as we have been describing: for at that time there was but one nation in the wide world that knew of the one true and only God, and that he is the Creator of the universe and the Father of all people.