‘No, your Majesty. Good-day.’
And he kissed his hand to the Princess, and bowed gallantly to the Prince of India, and then the ground gave way under him—and he has never been heard of since. But the King turned to the Prince of India and said:
‘You may go now, Prince.’
The Prince looked astonished.
‘I do not quite understand, your Majesty,’ he said.
The King looked at him and said:
‘You seem to be uncommonly hard of understanding, cousin of India. I said, You can go.’
‘But I don’t want to go, your Majesty,’ the Prince answered, getting a little red.
‘Oh, don’t you?’ said the King; ‘from what I heard of a certain pleasant conversation in a certain summer-house you seemed to have important affairs of State that demanded instant attention.’
Here the doctor suddenly remarked: