“And have you no vegetable fibres,” I said, “that are used for weaving?”

“Oh yes,” she answered, “several.  The outer dress I wear indoors is made of a fibre found inside the rind of the fruit of the algyro tree, and the stalks of three or four different kinds of plants afford materials almost equally soft and fine.”

“And your cloak,” I asked, “is not that made of the skin of some animal?”

“Yes,” she replied, “and the most curious creature I have heard of.  It is found only in the northern and southern Arctic land-belts, to which indeed nearly all wild animals, except the few small ones that are encouraged because they prey upon large and noxious insects, are now confined.  It is about as large as the Unicorns, and has, like them, four limbs; but otherwise it more resembles a bird.  It has a bird’s long slight neck, but a very small and not very bird-like head, with a long horny snout, furnished with teeth, something between a beak and a mouth.  Its hind limbs are those of a bird, except that they have more flesh upon the lowest joints and are covered with this soft down.  Its front limbs, my father says, seem as if nature had hesitated between wings and arms.  They have attached to them several long, sharp, featherless quills starting from a shrivelled membrane, which make them very powerful and formidable weapons, so that no animal likes to attack it; while the foot has four fingers or claws with, which it clasps fish or small dragons, especially those electric dragons of which you have seen a tame and very much enlarged specimen, and so holds them that they cannot find a chance of delivering their electric shock.  But for the Thernee these dragons, winged as they are, would make those lands hardly habitable either for man, or other beasts.  All our furs are obtained from those countries, and the creatures from which they are derived are carefully preserved for that purpose, it being forbidden to kill more than a certain number of each every year, which makes these skins by far the costliest articles we use.”

By this time we had reached the utmost point to which the carriages could take us, about a furlong from the platform on which I had rested during my descent.  Seeing that the Regent and his companion had dismounted, I stopped and sprang down from my carriage, holding out my hand to assist Eveena’s descent, an attention which I thought seemed to surprise her.  Up to the platform the path was easy enough; after that it became steep even for me, and certainly a troublesome and difficult ascent for a lady dressed as I have described, and hardly stronger than a child of the same height and size on earth.  Still my companion did not seem to expect, and certainly did not invite assistance.  That she found no little difficulty in the walk was evident from her turning back both sleeves and releasing her bird, which hovered closely round her.  Very soon her embarrassments and stumbles threatened such actual danger as overcame my fear of