Without lifting his eyes from the sea, and in a tone which seemed regretful and sad, the stranger replied:  “My name is Gaspard.”

[Sidenote:  A Far-off Pilgrimage Recalled]

“Gaspard!  Indeed, then have I seen thee!  Look at me, my friend; dost thou not remember me?  My name is Melchoir.  Dost thou not recall that time, how long I know not, when thou and I and Balthazar followed a star which led us to a little Jewish hamlet, thou bearing gold and I frankincense, and Balthazar myrrh?  Dost thou not remember how, on the long journey thither, we talked about the young Prince, whom we expected to find in a royal palace, and how at last when we reached the village, following the star, we were led not to a palace but to a little inn, and not even to a room within the inn, but to the stable-yard, where we found a sweet-faced woman bending over a babe cradled in a manger; and standing near, a sturdy peasant, proud and happy, whose name was Joseph?  Dost thou not remember, too, that when we had recovered from our surprise, we left our gifts and greetings, and went our way as men who had been dreaming?  Gaspard, dost thou not remember?”

[Sidenote:  And Wanderings in Many Lands]

And Gaspard, looking now intently in the other’s face, replied:  “Yes, Melchoir, I remember thee, and I remember the journey of which thou hast spoken better than I remember aught else.  Neither have I forgotten the surprise and disappointment with which we came to the place whither the star led us; nor how, after leaving our gifts, we went away as in a dream; and, Melchoir, I have been dreaming ever since.  Even here hast thou found me in a dream of perplexity.  I am still Gaspard, the wandering magician; for how many years I know not, I have wandered up and down these lands of Europe.  I have crossed the seas; in every place I have sought to find the kingdom over which we were told this young prince was one day to reign.  Dost thou not remember that we were told His kingdom was to last forever, that He would reign in it himself forever and would never die?  Alas!  I have lost the old power of the magician’s art.  I can summon no star to guide me to the place where I shall find this kingdom and its king.”

[Sidenote:  If Only Balthazar Were Here]

“Truly, Gaspard,” answered Melchoir, “the story of your wanderings is but the repetition of my own; and even now was I drawn to this mountain summit on the self-same errand that brought you here,—­to see if I could not discover in the direction of yonder land, where Bethlehem was, some star which might prove to be His star, and which might guide me in the new quest.  If only our old companion, Balthazar, were with us now, he might give us the clew to our search, for not only was he more skilful in the magician’s art, but he was braver and more courageous, and withal more serene in spirit.”

[Sidenote:  A Song in the Air]

Now, even while Melchoir was speaking, a voice was heard a little way down the mountain.  Gaspard and Melchoir stopped to listen.  The voice was singing, and the words of the song floated up to them distinctly: