PRINCE PRIGIO. 71

 

he induced her to sit down ona chair in the
balcony,—for he felt that he was not wanted in
the drawing-room ;—and soon they were talking
happily about the stars, which had begun to
appear in the summer night.

Meanwhile, the ambassador had induced the
king to take a seat; but there was no use in
talking to the queen.

“It would be a miracle,” she said to herself,
‘‘and miracles do not happen; therefore this
has not happened. Presently, I shall wake up
in my own bed at Falkenstein.”

Now, Benson, William, and Thomas brought
in the coffee, but the queen took no notice.
When they went away, the rest of the company
slipped off quietly, and the king was left alone
with the ambassador; for the queen could hardly
be said to count.

“You want to know all about it, I suppose?”
said his majesty ina sulky voice. ‘‘ Well, you
have a right to it, and I shall tell you. We
were just sitting down to dinner at Falkenstein,
rather late,—hours get later every year, I think
—when I heard a row in the premises, and the
captain of the guard, Colonel McDougal, came
and told us that a man had arrived with the
horns and tail of the Firedrake, and was claim-
ing the reward. Her majesty and I rose and
went into the outer court, where we found,
sitting on that carpet with a glass of beer in
his hand, a respectable-looking upper servant,