THE MAGIC SPECTACLES 13 



" The Magic Spectacles ! I have the Magic Spec- 

 tacles, though I can't feel them," she cried, put- 

 ting her hands to her eyes. Looking up, she 

 saw an old man standing where the Oak tree 

 had been. At least, she thought at the first 

 glance that he was old, because everything about 

 him seemed gray ; when she looked again, she 

 saw that it was not the gray of age, but rather 

 the colour of the pearly mist that follows the 

 spring rains and makes the earth bud forth. His 

 face was kindly, thougli many varying expres- 

 sions passed over it, some tender, some very 

 stern. Tommy- Anne was puzzled; it was unlike 

 any face that she had ever seen before. 



" Are you very old, Tree Man ? " she asked 

 timidly. 



" I have lived a great many years, if that is 

 what you mean by being old. But if you under- 

 stand age as nearing the end of life as you know 

 it, then I am young." 



" Your name ; please tell me your real name 

 before you go," begged Tommy-Anne, as she 

 saw that the form of the Tree Man was melting 

 away in the branches of the Oak. 



Pausing a moment, he said : " Listen child ; 

 there are Three Hearts that together rule every- 

 thing, the seen and the unseen: each has a law 



