e; a hundred hands pointed and pushed, so that they were
presently within hearing of the kind questions of the young Princess.

She asked what made them so unhappy on this day, when every one else
looked pleased and joyful. They could scarcely help crying again at the
question; but they were old enough to know that everything might depend
on their behaviour at this moment; and they strove to speak, and to
speak plainly. Had they been ill? The Princess asked, observing to her
ladies that they looked sadly thin. No, they had not been ill, they
replied; they were only very unhappy to-day.

The bailiff, who was in attendance on the Count's family, now put
himself forward to explain, not to the Dauphiness herself (that would
have been too bold), but to one of her ladies, on the other side of the
carriage, about his having taken away the boys' rabbits and pigeons
according to law.

"'Tis not that," cried Marc, indignantly, as he heard this. "We left
off crying about the rabbits and pigeons long ago: did not we, Robin?
It is about Charles and Marie."

"Tell me about Charles and Marie," said the Princess, in broken French,
"and then all about your pigeons."

"Charles and our sister were just going to be married, and we had begun
a house in the wood for them; and we have had to pull it to pieces
again; and this morning the Count says Charles must go for a soldier for
three years; and Marie is crying at home so--"

Marc could not go on for his own tears.

The Count's sons had, by this time, made their way through the closing
crowd, to hear what was going on.

"Casimir," said his brother, "your bad work of this morning must be
undone, you see. Do your part with a good grace. Bring my father to
receive the commands of the Dauphiness."

Casimir yielded. While he was gone, his brother explained to the
Princess the rights which the Count had over this family, as over the
other peasants of the neighbourhood. He ventured to answer for his
father, that he would see the hardship of this particular case, and
would permit some arrangement to be made, by which Charles might be
spared the threatened misfortune, and restored to his hopes of a speedy
marriage.

"Where is this Charles?" asked the Princess. "I will not ask to see the
tearful Marie before so many eyes."

Robin had seen Charles, just before, near the spot; for Charles was
desperate, and would neither hide nor attempt to escape. He roamed
about, half-mad wit