' said the Librarian.

"'Elegant and spectacular, and decidedly painful,' said the king; 'it
fulfils all the conditions that could be wished for.'

"The king himself thought out all the details of the execution
ceremony. Vespaluus was to be stripped of his clothes, his hands were
to be bound behind him, and he was then to be slung in a recumbent
position immediately above three of the largest of the royal beehives,
so that the least movement of his body would bring him in jarring
contact with them. The rest could be safely left to the bees. The
death throes, the king computed, might last anything from fifteen to
forty minutes, though there was division of opinion and considerable
wagering among the other nephews as to whether death might not be
almost instantaneous, or, on the other hand, whether it might not be
deferred for a couple of hours. Anyway, they all agreed, it was vastly
preferable to being thrown down into an evil smelling bear-pit and
being clawed and mauled to death by imperfectly carnivorous animals.

"It so happened, however, that the keeper of the royal hives had
leanings towards Christianity himself, and moreover, like most of the
Court officials, he was very much attached to Vespaluus. On the eve of
the execution, therefore, he busied himself with removing the stings
from all the royal bees; it was a long and delicate operation, but he
was an expert bee-master, and by working hard nearly all night he
succeeded in disarming all, or almost all, of the hive inmates."

"I didn't know you could take the sting from a live bee," said the
Baroness incredulously.

"Every profession has its secrets," replied Clovis; "if it hadn't it
wouldn't be a profession. Well, the moment for the execution arrived;
the king and Court took their places, and accommodation was found for
as many of the populace as wished to witness the unusual spectacle.
Fortunately the royal bee-yard was of considerable dimensions, and was
commanded, moreover, by the terraces that ran round the royal gardens;
with a little squeezing and the erection of a few platforms room was
found for everybody. Vespaluus was carried into the open space in front
of the hives, blushing and slightly embarrassed, but not at all
displeased at the attention which was being centred on him."

"He seems to have resembled you in more things than in appearance,"
said the Baroness.

"Don't interrupt at a critical point in the story," said Clovis. "As
soon a