"Princess Christobel, your Highness," replied Little Love with a sly smile.
King Jorum couldn't get to sleep that night. He usually slept too much, and was in the habit of unscrewing the top of his foot-warmer and pouring therefrom the hot coffee which he imbibed at intervals in order not to oversleep himself in the morning and thus set a bad example in the land. But he had no need for it to-night. He could not get to sleep at all.
He thought, and thought, and thought what had wrought such a marvellous and rapid change in the character and appearance of his elder daughter. He smiled over it, too, and smiled until his cheeks ached with so much smiling, as much as his poor head ached with so much thought. Still he went on thinking right through the night, and just as he put up his arms above his head to break into a mighty yawn, he suddenly cried—
"I have it! That's it! She has realised the old theme of Peace and Goodwill, as is proper at this time of year, and has turned over a new leaf! Bravo!" And he turned himself over, snored, and overslept himself.
So the first day of the New Year opened in complete harmony at the Court of King Jorum. And when the Duke of Rosenleaf asked Princess Christobel if she would make the Happy New Year a happy one for him, she smiled and blushingly allowed him to place the prettiest of diamond rings on her finger.
And the New Year was still in its youth when the two young Princesses were married. And by the time that the Shah of Persia's great-great-grand-kittens were gambolling about the palace, it had become a frequent and pleasant subject for argument and debate throughout the kingdom—"Who is the most charming and lovable woman in the land, Christobel or Veronica?"
ONE APRIL DAY
PART I
A QUEER GODMOTHER