had gathered on seeing the red carpet
laid and the gilt ropes put up, which indicated a royal visit. A small
girl, with a hastily secured bouquet in her hot hands, stood nervously
waiting. In deference to the anniversary, the flowers were tied with a
black ribbon!

Annunciata grumbled when she saw the crowd, and the occupants of the
first car looked them over carefully. It remained for Hedwig to spy the
black ribbon. In the confusion, she slipped over to the little girl, who
went quite white with excitement. "They are lovely," Hedwig whispered,
"but please take off the black ribbon." The child eyed her anxiously.
"It will come to pieces, Highness."

"Take the ribbon from your hair. It will be beautiful."

Which was done! But, as was not unnatural, the child forgot her speech,
and merely thrust the bouquet, tied with a large pink bow, into the
hands of Prince Ferdinand William Otto.

"Here," she said. It was, perhaps, the briefest, and therefore the most
agreeable presentation speech the Crown Prince had ever heard.

Red carpet and gold ropes and white gloves these last on the waiting
officers--made the scene rather gay. The spring sun shone on the
gleaming river, on the white launch with its red velvet cushions, on
the deck chairs, its striped awnings and glittering brass, on the Crown
Prince, in uniform, on the bouquet and the ribbon. But somewhere, back
of the quay, a band struck up a funeral march, and a beggar, sitting in
the sun, put his hand to his ear.

"Of course," he said, to no one in particular. "It is the day. I had
forgotten."

The quay receded, red carpet and all. Only the blare of the band
followed them, and with the persistence of sound over water, followed
them for some time. The Crown Prince put down the bouquet, and proceeded
to stand near the steersman.

"When I am grown up," he observed to that embarrassed sailor, "I hope I
shall be able to steer a boat."

The steersman looked about cautiously. The royal guests were settling
themselves in chairs; with rugs over their knees. "It is very easy, Your
Royal Highness," he said. "See, a turn like this, and what happens? And
the other way the same."

Followed a five minutes during which the white launch went on a strange
and devious course, and the Crown Prince grew quite hot and at least two
inches taller. It was, of course, the Archduchess who discovered what
was happening. She was very disagreeable about it.

The Archduchess was very disagr