arles I and his family. I am glad you liked it, girls,
for that's an especial delight of mine. Dear little 'Baby Stuart' is
so lovable! That was in the Van Dyck Room, which contains many of that
master's works. Those State Apartments are only for the use of Royal
guests, you understand, when they come on visits. I always wish that
we could see the King or Queen's private rooms, don't you? It would be
so interesting. What's your favorite part of the castle, Barbara?"

"Oh, I like the terrace better than anything else," Barbara answered,
without a moment's hesitation. "The view of the valley, with the river
and Eton Chapel in the distance, is so pretty! Then, there is
something so stately and impressive about the wide, long terrace
itself. I once read that it was Queen Elizabeth's favorite walk, and
there couldn't be a more appropriate place for a queen to choose. I
like that gateway with E. R. on it, showing that it was built in
Elizabeth's reign; and it's fun to look up to the little bay-window
which is said to have been her room. Then I like the old Curfew
Tower, too," she added.

"Yes," broke in Mrs. Pitt. "That's one of the gloomiest parts of the
whole castle, in its history as well as in its aspect. Of course,
terrible things happened at Windsor just as they did elsewhere; but
although Windsor dates from a very early period, and figures in the
reigns of all the sovereigns, its history contains more of the bright
and happy than of the tragic. Down in a miserable, windowless cell in
the lower part of the Curfew Tower, it is wrongly said that Queen Anne
Boleyn was put to spend the night before her execution, as you know,
and there still remain in the Tower some fearful instruments of
torture. The Horseshoe Cloister near there, is very ancient, and the
houses are delightfully mediaeval. Did you look in some of the tiny
windows as we passed through? It is said that in a small hall there,
in the Horseshoe Cloister, Shakespeare's 'Merry Wives of Windsor' was
first produced."

"Who was it that the guide told us was imprisoned near the Round
Tower, and who fell in love with a lady whom he saw walking in the
gardens? I have forgotten the names." It was Betty who spoke, for she
had been quietly thinking over the visit.

"That was young James of Scotland, whom Henry V caused to be captured
in time of truce, and thrown into prison at Windsor, where he remained
almost twenty years. The English treated him kindly, however, and