ey like to pick the bones afterwards upon the carpet," said
the Lion; "it's a little habit of theirs, and they are not so highly
trained as we are."

A most extraordinary procession now made its appearance before them.
The children might have thought it was a Noah's Ark, only the dogs
advanced in fours. Newfoundlands, St. Bernards, Mastiffs, Retrievers,
every conceivable dog down to tiny fox terriers, Spaniels and Yorkshire
terriers. They all looked very happy and their coats shone as if they
had been lately washed and had afterwards dried themselves in the
golden rays of the warm sun, which even now seemed to linger over them.

"Lovely creatures," said Christine.

"Ripping," said Ridgwell, "they are dears."

"Started to munch their bones already," grunted the Lion. "Well,
they're not so highly educated as we are. A party to them is a party,
and they don't wait for anybody, which, after all, is the proper thing
to do. Where's the Griffin?" demanded the Lion of Carry-on-Merry,
after that intelligent creature, having acted like a verger (a habit he
had probably acquired from a life-long proximity to Westminster Abbey),
had shown all the dogs to their places along one side where the
comfortable carpet formed a sort of aisle.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed Carry-on-Merry, "the Griffin is late."

"He's always late," grumbled the Lion, "his head's weak, and he never
can remember what time a party starts."

"Here he comes," grunted Carry-on-Merry, "and, oh! my goodness, what
_does_ he look like?"

"Absolutely ludicrous as usual," said the Lion.

The Griffin presented an intensely comical appearance. Wishing to keep
up the dignity of the City, he had chosen for his party-dress a scarlet
Lord Mayor's robe, edged with fur, which he had folded around himself
in an exceedingly ridiculous fashion.

Upon his head, as he believed it to be becoming, he had placed jauntily
sideways, an immense green dunce's cap from one of the children's giant
crackers, which the Griffin had pulled as he entered the doors.

The Griffin had decided to adorn his front feet with strips of scarlet
flannel, because he declared that he had chilblains, and furthermore,
his paws were exceedingly tender after his encounter upon the previous
evening with St. George.

It was thus that the Griffin ambled in trailing his Lord Mayor's robes
behind him, and smiling aimlessly from right to left upon everybody
present.

"Has everybody missed me?" snigger