ttention. Having
succeeded in this, he attempted, by all sorts of antics and grimaces, to
make them laugh or speak; but he failed, for the slumber-flag waved over
them, and its fear was upon them. Then, in a freak of incredible
rashness, he sang, in a loud voice, the first line of a popular ditty,
and took to his heels.

No one had ever before dared to insult the sacred quiet. The Prince was
on his feet in a moment, and rushed into the corridor, (dropping his
mantle of sables by the way,) shouting,--

"Bring me the wretch who sang!"

The domestics scattered before him, for his face was terrible to look
upon. Some of them had heard the voice, indeed, but not one of them had
seen the culprit, who already lay upon a heap of hay in one of the
stables, and appeared to be sunk in innocent sleep.

"Who was it? who was it?" yelled the Prince, foaming at the mouth with
rage, as he rushed from chamber to chamber.

At last he halted at the top of the great flight of steps leading into
the court-yard, and repeated his demand in a voice of thunder. The
servants, trembling, kept at a safe distance, and some of them ventured
to state that the offender could not be discovered. The Prince turned
and entered one of the state apartments, whence came the sound of
porcelain smashed on the floor, and mirrors shivered on the walls.
Whenever they heard that sound, the inmates of the castle knew that a
hurricane was let loose.

They deliberated hurriedly and anxiously. What was to be done? In his
fits of blind animal rage, there was nothing of which the Prince was not
capable, and the fit could be allayed only by finding a victim. No one,
however, was willing to be a Curtius for the others, and meanwhile the
storm was increasing from minute to minute. Some of the more active and
shrewd of the household pitched upon the leader of the band, a
simple-minded, good-natured serf, named Waska. They entreated him to
take upon himself the crime of having sung, offering to have his
punishment mitigated in every possible way. He was proof against their
tears, but not against the money which they finally offered, in order to
avert the storm. The agreement was made, although Waska both scratched
his head and shook it, as he reflected upon the probable result.

The Prince, after his work of destruction, again appeared upon the
steps, and, with hoarse voice and flashing eyes, began to announce that
every soul in the castle should receive a hundred las