ce by carrying off Kinmont Willie in time of peace; but at
length he was obliged to yield, for Queen Elizabeth was very powerful,
and always would have her own way. So the 'bauld Buccleugh' was sent to
London and brought before the great, haughty English queen. But he was
just as haughty as she, and was not a bit afraid of her. She looked down
on him from her throne (she was very stately, you know, and she wore a
crown, and a great stiff ruff, and her dress was all covered with gold
and precious stones), and asked him how he dared to undertake such a
desperate and presumptuous enterprise. And Buccleugh--O Bubble, I
always liked this so much!--Buccleugh just looked her full in the face,
and said, 'What is it a man dare not do?' Now Queen Elizabeth liked
nothing so much as a brave man, and this bold answer pleased her. She
turned to one of her ministers and said, 'With ten thousand such men our
brother in Scotland might shake the firmest throne in Europe.' And so
she let him go, just because he was so brave and so handsome."

Bubble Chirk drew a long breath, and his eyes flashed. "I wish't I'd ben
alive then!" he said.

"Why, Bubble?" asked Hilda, much amused; "what would you have done?"

"I'd ha' killed Lord Scroope!" he cried,--"him and the hull kit of 'em.
Besides," he added, "I'd like t' ha' lived then jest ter see
_him_,--jest ter see the bold Buckle-oh; that's what _I_ call a man!"
And Queen Hildegardis fully agreed with him.

They had nearly reached the house when the boy asked: "If that king was
her brother, why did she treat him so kind o' ugly? My sister don't act
that way."

"What--oh, you mean Queen Elizabeth!" said Hilda, laughing. "King James
was not her brother, Bubble. They were cousins, but nothing more."

"You _said_ she said 'brother,'" persisted the boy.

"So I did," replied Hilda. "You see, it was the fashion, and is still,
for kings and queens to _call_ each other brother and sister, whether
they were really related to each other or not."

"But I thought they was always fightin'," objected Bubble. "I've got a
hist'ry book to home, an' in that it says they fit like time whenever
they got a chance."

"So they did," said Hilda. "But they called each other 'our royal
brother' and 'our beloved sister;' and they were always paying each
other fine compliments, and saying how much they loved each other, even
in the middle of a war, when they were fighting as hard as they could."

"Humph!" said Bub