A soft sheen spread over them and they also took on a beauty
which they had never possessed before.
"He understood how all this had come to pass. For it is thus with
mermaids: one who beholds them must needs find them more beautiful than
any one else, and the mermaid's blood being mixed with the water that
bathed the shores, her beauty was transferred to both. All who saw them
must love them and yearn for them. This was their legacy from the
mermaid."
When the stately old gentleman had got thus far in his narrative he
turned to Clement and looked at him. Clement nodded reverently but made
no comment, as he did not wish to cause a break in the story.
"Now you must bear this in mind, Clement," the old gentleman continued,
with a roguish glint in his eyes. "From that time on people emigrated to
the islands. At first only fishermen and peasants settled there, but
others, too, were attracted to them. One day the king and his earl
sailed up the stream. They started at once to talk of these islands,
having observed they were so situated that every vessel that sailed
toward Lake Maelar had to pass them. The earl suggested that there ought
to be a lock put on the channel which could be opened or closed at will,
to let in merchant vessels and shut out pirates.
"This idea was carried out," said the old gentleman, as he rose and
began to trace in the sand again with his cane.
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