ot overmuch reassured by this, but still tried to make the best of
things. "Now follow me," she called the band, and went, holding
Florestein and dragging him with her.

They had no sooner gone than Arline, who had been awakened by the
noise outside the tent, came out into the street. Thaddeus followed
her. She was greatly disturbed.

"Thaddeus," she said, "I have had a strange dream":

[Music:

I dreamt that I dwelt in marble halls,
With vassals and serfs at my side,
And of all who assembled within those walls,
That I was the joy and the pride.]

I had riches too great to count;--could boast
Of a high ancestral name;
But I also dreamt (which pleased me most)
That you loved me still the same.

I dreamt that suitors sought my hand,
That knights upon bended knee
And with vows no maiden heart could withstand
They pledged their faith to me.

And I dreamt that one of that noble host
Came forth my hand to claim,
But I also dreamt (which pleased me most)
That you loved me still the same.

When she had ceased to sing, Thaddeus embraced her tenderly and
assured her that he should love her always, "still the same."

Arline had often been troubled because of some difference between
herself and the gipsies, and she had also been curious about a scar
which was upon her arm. So upon that night she questioned Thaddeus
about this, and he told her of the accident in the forest twelve years
before, when she got the wound upon her arm. However, he did not
reveal to her that she was the daughter of a noble.

"Thou wert but six years old when this accident befell thee," Thaddeus
told her. But Arline was not yet satisfied.

"There is more to tell! I know that I am not of this gipsy band--nor
art thou!--I feel that this is true, Thaddeus. Wilt thou not tell me
the secret if there is one?" and Thaddeus had decided that he would do
this, when the curtains at the back of the Queen's tent were parted
and the gipsy Queen herself appeared.

"Do you dare throw yourself into the arms of this man, when I love
him?" the Queen demanded angrily, at which Arline and Thaddeus were
thrown into consternation. But Arline had plenty of courage,
especially after what had just happened; hence she appealed to
Thaddeus himself. He declared his love for her, and the two called for
their comrades. All ran in and asked what the excitement was about.

A