64 THE HISTORY OF A NUT-CRACKER.

she bit the finger of the lord chancellor so hard, when, being
near sighted, he stooped down to look close at her, that,
although he belonged to the sect of stoic philosophers, he
Aden cried out according to some,
“Oh! the dickens!” whereas
others affirm, to the honour
of philosophy, that he only
said, ‘Oh! Oh!” however,
up to the present day opinions
SS are divided upon this im-
portant subject, neither party
being willing to yield to the
other. Indeed, the only point
Ne! on which the Dichkensonians
| ia and the Ohists are agreed is,
that the princess really did bite the finger of the lord high
chancellor. The country thereby learnt that there was as
much spirit as beauty belonging to the charming Pirlipata.
Every one was therefore happy in a kingdom so blest by
heaven, save the queen herself, who was anxious and uneasy,
no person knew why. But what chiefly struck people with
surprise, was the care with
which the timid mother
had the cradle of the infant
watched. In fact, be-
sides having all the doors
guarded by sentinels, and
in addition to thetworegu-
lar nurses, the queen had
six other nurses to sit
round the cradle, and who
were relieved by half-a-
dozen others at night. But
what caused the greatest
interest, and which no one
could understand, was that

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