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 CHAPTER VIII

“, where do you wish to go?”

“To the opal islands, to the seas of light, to the far-off luminous streaks. . . .”

“Take a deep breath; hold fast on to my neck; twist my mane more tightly round your hand, then we will begin our journey.”

The clouds sent forth a rumbling sound of thunder; the Chimera’s hoofs shot fire; his wings expanded and shut, and his strong feathers rustled in the air.

Psyche uttered a cry.

She had ascended higher than ever before, and under them sank away the castle, the meadows, the woods, the cities, and the river; under them, like a map, lay stretched out province after province, desert after desert, the whole Kingdom of the Past. How great it was! how great it was! The frontiers receded from view again and again; far