ff and a Royal Beadle, and an Usher of the
White Wand, an officer Mrs. Chipperton had read about, and to whom we
gave a whittled stick, with strict instructions not to jab anybody with
it. Corny had been reading a German novel, and she wanted us to appoint
a "Hof-rath," who is a German court officer of some kind. He was a nice
fellow in the novel, and so we picked out the best-looking young darkey
we could find, for the position.

We each had our posts. Corny was to do the crowning, and I was to make
the speech. Rectus had his place by the flag, which he was to haul up at
the proper moment. Mrs. Chipperton undertook to stand by the old
lady,--that is, the queen,--and give her any support she might happen to
need during the ceremony.

We intended having the coronation in the house; but we found the crowd
too large for this, so we brought the rocking-chair out-of-doors, and
set it in front of the only window in the palace. The yard was large
enough to accommodate a good many people, and those who could not get in
had plenty of room out in the road. We tried to make Poqua-dilla take
off her turban, because a crown on a turban seemed to us something
entirely out of order; but she wouldn't listen to it. We had the
pleasant-faced neighbor-woman as an interpreter, and she said that it
wasn't any use; the queen would almost as soon appear in public without
her head as without her turban. So we let this pass, for we saw very
plainly that it wouldn't do to try to force too much on Poqua-dilla, for
she looked now as if she thought we had come there to perform some
operation on her,--perhaps to cut off her leg.

About half-past ten, we led her out, and made her sit down in the
rocking-chair. Mrs. Chipperton stood on one side of her, holding one of
her hands, while the neighbor-woman stood on the other side, and held
the other hand. This arrangement, however, did not last long, for
Poqua-dilla soon jerked her hands away, thinking, perhaps, that if
anything was done that hurt, it might be better to be free for a jump.

Corny stood in front, a little at one side, holding the crown, which she
had padded and lined with red flannel. I took my place just before Mrs.
Chipperton, facing the crowd. Rectus was at the flag-pole, near the
front of the yard, holding the halyards in his hands, ready to haul. The
_Hof-rath_ was by him, to help if anything got tangled, and the four
courtiers and the other officials had places in the front row of