u, your Grace," said the Prince, so politely that the Duke was
confounded; "I know Uncle Jack will be glad to hear that. He's--he's
afraid people may think he's butting in too much."

"Butting in?" gasped the premier.

At this the Duke of Perse came to his feet again, an angry gleam in his
eyes. "My lords," he began hastily, "it must certainly have occurred to
you before this that our beloved Prince's English, which seems after all
to be his mother tongue, is not what it should be. Butting in! Yesterday
I overheard him advising your son, Pultz, to 'go chase' himself. And
when your boy tried to chase himself--'pon my word, he did--what did our
Prince say? What _did_ you say, Prince Robin?"

"I--I forget," stammered Prince Bobby.

"You said 'Mice!' Or was it--er--"

"No, your Grace. Rats. I remember. That's what I said. That's what all
of us boys used to say in Washington."

"God deliver us! Has it come to this, that a Prince of Graustark should
grow up with such language on his lips? I fancy, my lords, you will all
agree that something should be done about it. It is too serious a
matter. We are all more or less responsible to the people he is to
govern. We cannot, in justice to them, allow him to continue under
the--er--influences that now seem to surround him. He'll--he'll grow up
to be a barbarian. For Heaven's sake, my lords, let us consider the
Prince's future--let us deal promptly with the situation."

"What's he saying, Uncle Caspar?" whispered the Prince fiercely.

"Sh!" cautioned Count Halfont.

"I won't sh! I am the Prince. And I'll say 'chase yourself' whenever I
please. It's good English. I'll pronounce it for you in our own
language, so's you can see how it works that way. It goes like--"

"You need not illustrate, your Highness," the Premier hastened to say.
Turning to the Duke, he said coldly: "I acknowledge the wisdom in your
remarks, your Grace, but--you will pardon me, I am sure--would it not be
better to discuss the conditions privately among ourselves before taking
them up officially?"

"That confounded American has every one hypnotised," exploded the Duke.
"His influence over this boy is a menace to our country. He is making on
oaf of him--a slangy, impudent little--"

"Your Grace!" interrupted Baron Dangloss sharply.

"Uncle Jack's all right," declared the Prince, vaguely realising that a
defence should be forthcoming.

"He is, eh?" rasped the exasperated Duke, mopping his brow.

"H