106 PRINCE FILDERKIN

his day’s walk, was hardly prepared to seek
his couch without some attempt to satisfy it.
The more curious of my readers will perhaps
desire to know how he had fared in this
respect upon the two previous evenings, but
I regret to say that I am unable to satisfy
their reasonable curiosity. I am disposed
to think that he may have taken some sand-
wiches with him from the palace—perhaps
some potted meat or game lozenges—or the
power of Feeble John may have supplied
him with food, or even made the mention of
the words ‘ gingerbread nuts’ as good as eat-
ing the things themselves.

But this is just one of those dark points
.of history which we are not told, and about
which we can only guess as best we may.
All I know is, that upon this third night,
when welcomed by the old cottager and his
bedroom shown to him, the Prince, smiling
sweetly upon his new friend, pronounced the
word ‘Supper’ with much energy, and stood ©
calmly awaiting the result. This was not
long in coming, for the aged peasant’s eye
beamed with benevolence as he nodded
violently without saying a word, and throw-
ing open a door on the other side of the’