'Yes, my dear,' said the Queen, 'but it's best to be careful. I have
taken care of your life all these years, but now you are old enough to
take care of it for yourself. Let me advise you to keep it in a safe
place. You should never carry valuables about on your person.'

And then she handed the Charmed Life over to him, and he took it and
kissed her, and thanked her for the pretty present, and went away and
hid it. He took a brick out of the wall of the villa, and hid his Life
behind it. The bricks in the walls of these Queen Anne villas generally
come out quite easily.

Now, the father of the Prince had been King of Bohemia, so, of course,
the Prince was called Florizel, which is their family name; but when the
King went into business he went in as Rex Bloomsbury, and his great
patent Lightning Lift Company called itself R. Bloomsbury and Co., so
that the Prince was known as F. Bloomsbury, which was as near as the
King dared go to 'Florizel, Prince of Bohemia.' His mother, I am sorry
to say, called him Florrie till he was quite grown up.

Now, the King of the country where Florizel lived was a very go-ahead
sort of man, and as soon as he heard that there were such things as
lifts--which was not for a long time, because no one ever lets a King
know anything if it can be helped--he ordered one of the very, very best
for his palace. Next day a card was brought in by one of the palace
footmen. It had on it: 'Mr. F. Bloomsbury, R. Bloomsbury and Co.'

'Show him in,' said the King.

'Good-morning, sire,' said Florizel, bowing with that perfect grace
which is proper to Princes.

'Good-morning, young man,' said the King. 'About this lift, now.'

'Yes, sire. May I ask how much your Majesty is prepared to----'

'Oh, never mind price,' said the King; 'it all comes out of the taxes.'

'I should think, then, that Class A ... our special Argentinella
design--white satin cushions, woodwork overlaid with ivory and inset
with pearls, opals, and silver.'

'Gold,' said the King shortly.

'Not with pearls and ivory,' said Florizel firmly. He had excellent
taste. 'The gold pattern--we call it the Anriradia--is inlaid with
sapphires, emeralds, and black diamonds.'

'I'll have the gold pattern,' said the King; 'but you might run up a
little special lift for the Princess's apartments. I dare say she'd like
that Argentinella pattern--"Simple and girlish," I see it says in your
circular.'

So Florizel booked the order, and the g