to ke?p your royal and sagacious self from being
transformed into a fox. But do as I bid you;
and the matter may end better than it has
begun."

While he was speaking, Quicksilver seemed
to be in search of something; he went stooping
along the ground, and soon laid his hand on a
little plant with a snow-white flower, which he
plucked and smelt of. Ulysses had been look-
ing at that very spot only just before; and it
appeared to him that the plant had burst into
full flower the instant when Quicksilver touched
it with his fingers.

"Take this flower, King Ulysses," said he
"Guard it as you do your eyesight; for I can
assure- you it is exceedingly rare and precious,
and you might seek the whole earth over with-
out ever finding another like it. Keep it in your
hand, and smell of it frequently after you enter
the palace, and while you are talking with the
enchantress. Especially when she offers you
food, or a draught of wine out of her goblet, be
careful to fill your nostrils with the flower's fra-
grance. Follow these directions, and you may
defy her magic arts to change you into a fox."

[[199]]

p198 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p199w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p200

v?