ng chamber with rapid, energetic kicks. Finally, he dragged
him down a long passage by the hair of his head and flung him out of a
window into the courtyard below."

"Was he much hurt?" asked the Baroness.

"More hurt than surprised," said Clovis. You see, the king was
notorious for his violent temper. However, this was the first time he
had let himself go so unrestrainedly on the top of a heavy meal. The
Librarian lingered for many days--in fact, for all I know, he may have
ultimately recovered, but Hkrikros died that same evening. Vespaluus
had hardly finished getting the honey stains off his body before a
hurried deputation came to put the coronation oil on his head. And
what with the publicly-witnessed miracle and the accession of a
Christian sovereign, it was not surprising that there was a general
scramble of converts to the new religion. A hastily consecrated bishop
was overworked with a rush of baptisms in the hastily improvised
Cathedral of St. Odilo. And the boy-martyr-that-might-have-been was
transposed in the popular imagination into a royal boy-saint, whose
fame attracted throngs of curious and devout sightseers to the capital.
Vespaluus, who was busily engaged in organizing the games and athletic
contests that were to mark the commencement of his reign, had no time
to give heed to the religious fervour which was effervescing round his
personality; the first indication he had of the existing state of
affairs was when the Court Chamberlain (a recent and very ardent
addition to the Christian community) brought for his approval the
outlines of a projected ceremonial cutting-down of the idolatrous
serpent-grove.

"'Your Majesty will be graciously pleased to cut down the first tree
with a specially consecrated axe,' said the obsequious official.

"'I'll cut off your head first, with any axe that comes handy,' said
Vespaluus indignantly; 'do you suppose that I'm going to begin my reign
by mortally affronting the sacred serpents? It would be most unlucky.'

"'But your Majesty's Christian principles?' exclaimed the bewildered
Chamberlain.

"'I never had any,' said Vespaluus; 'I used to pretend to be a
Christian convert just to annoy Hkrikros. He used to fly into such
delicious tempers. And it was rather fun being whipped and scolded and
shut up in a tower all for nothing. But as to turning Christian in
real earnest, like you people seem to do, I couldn't think of such a
thing. And the holy and es