oo familiar manner. Leaning over the phonograph as Droop
started the motor, she looked about her and said, with a titter: "What
shall we say? Weighty words should grace so great an occasion, my
lords."

"Oh, say the Declaration of Independence or the 'Charge of the Light
Brigade'!" Droop exclaimed. "Any o' them things in the school-books!"

Elizabeth saw that the empty cylinder was passing uselessly and wasted
no time in discussion, but began to declaim some verses of Horace.

"M--m--m--" exclaimed Droop, doubtfully. "I don't know as this
phonograph will work on Latin an' Greek!"

The Queen completed her quotation and, sitting back again in her chair:

"Now, Master Droop, we have done our part," she said.

Droop readjusted the repeating diaphragm and started the motor once
more. There were two or three squeaks and then an affected little
chuckle.

"What shall we say?" it began. "Weighty words should grace so great an
occasion, my lords."

Elizabeth laughed a little hysterically to hear her unstudied phrase
repeated, and then, with a look of awe, listened to the repetition of
the verses she had recited.

"Can any voice be so repeated?" she asked, seriously, when this record
was completed.

"Anyone ye please--any ye please!" said the delighted promoter, visions
of uncounted wealth dancing in his head. "Now, here's a few words was
spoken on a cylinder jest two or three weeks ago by Miss Wise," he
continued, hunting through his stock of records. "Ah, here it is! It's
all 'bout Mister Bacon--I daresay you know him." The Queen looked a
little stern at this. "Tells all 'bout him, I believe. I ferget jest
what it said, but we can soon see."

The cylinder was that before which Phoebe had read an extract from the
volume on Bacon's supposed parentage and his writings while she was at
the North Pole. Little did Droop conceive what a train he was
unconsciously lighting as he adjusted the cylinder in place. As he said,
he had forgotten the exact purport of the extract in question, but, even
had he recollected it, he would probably have so little understood its
terrific import that his course would have been the same. Ignorant of
his danger, he pushed the starting-button and looked pleasantly at the
Queen, whose dislike of anything having to do with Francis Bacon had
already brought a frown to her face.

All too exactly the fateful mechanism ground out the very words and
voice of Phoebe:

"It is thus made clear from