PRINCE PRIGIO. 25

 

Xu

‘‘Prince Alphonso has gone on his travels,
and will come back when he is -tired! And
was he then—tired—of me?” cried poor
Molinda, bursting into tears, and forgetting
her dignity.

“Oh! I beg your pardon, I never noticed ;
I’m sure I am very sorry,” cried the prince,
who, never having been in love himself, never
thought of other people. And he tried to take
Molinda’s hand, but she snatched it from him
and ran away through the garden to the palace,
leaving Prince Prigio to feel foolish, for once,
and ashamed.

As for Lady Rotiiecs: she swept past ae
like a queen, without a word. So the prince,
for all his cleverness, was not happy.

After several days had gone by, the king
returned from the solitary place where he had
been..speaking his mind.. He now felt calmer
and better; and so at last he came back to the
palace. But on seeing Prince Prigio, who was
lolling in a hammock, translating Egyptian
hieroglyphs into French poetry for his mother,
the king broke out afresh, and made use of the
most cruel and impolite expressions.

At last, he gave orders that all the Court
should pack up-and move to a distant city; and
that Prince Prigio should be left alone in the
palace by himself. For he was quite unendur-
able, the king said, and he could not trust his
own temper when he thought of him. And he