"Then he was the king, I suppose," said Waldron.
"No," replied Mr. George, "not at all. A king is one who inherits the throne in his own right. When the throne descends to a woman, she is the queen; but if she marries, her husband does not become king."
"What is he then?" said Waldron.
"Nothing but the queen's husband," said Mr. George.
"Hoh!" exclaimed Waldron, in a tone of contempt.
"He does not acquire any share of the queen's power," continued Mr. George, "because he marries her. She is the sovereign alone afterwards just as much as before."
"And so I suppose," said Rollo, "that when a king marries, the lady that he marries does not become a queen."
"Yes," said Mr. George, "the rule does not seem to work both ways. A lady who marries a king is always called a queen; though, after all, she acquires no share of the royal power. She is a queen in name only. But let us hear what this man is explaining to the visitors about the paintings and the furniture."
So they advanced to the part of the room where the attendant was standing, with two or three ladies and gentlemen, who were looking at one of the old pictures that were hanging on the wall. It was a picture of Queen Mary when she was fifteen years old. The dress was very quaint and queer, and the picture seemed a good deal faded; but the face wore a very sweet and charming expression.
"I think she was a very pretty girl," whispered Waldron in Rollo's ear.