do blay wiz," said the baron in English.

"I want to blay wiz childrens," said the pupil.

The baron drew his heels together and became, though still pear-like,
splendidly rigid. His eyes flashed with haughty, but a trifle
vicarious pride, as he said:

"Zere are no children for your 'ighness do blay wiz 'ere. Zese are nod
'igh and well-born ones."

"I do nod care," said the prince in the tone of one who knew his own
mind quite well.

"Id is imbossible," said the baron in a tone of finality.

The rhinocerine eyes of his little charge flashed in sudden wrath; and
he uttered a curious, pig-like snort as he sprang at the baron, and got
in one severe kick on his left shin before that thoughtless Prussian,
who should have known so well what to expect, could abate his rigidity
and bend forward and hold him off at the length of his arms. He well
knew that, in that constrained attitude to his bellowing pupil, he was
presenting no dignified spectacle. None the less he was aware that he
was affording considerable entertainment to the visitors taking the air
on the sea-wall above him; and his joy in his young charge was not
increased by the fact that among those visitors the Honourable John
Ruffin smiled on the scene with amiable interest.

Having ascertained beyond all doubting that his well-shod toes could
not reach the shins of his preceptor, the young prince ceased his
futile effort, and with a most ungracious air moved along the beach.
The limping baron followed him gloomily, with itching fingers. He felt
that, in spite of the fact that his imperial master would shortly sweep
her land with fire and sword from sea to sea, the lot of the happy
English child Pollyooly was to be envied, since she could, and did,
smack princes, with a mind untroubled by the sense of their
sacrosanctity. Moreover he felt a sad prescience that his young
charge, careless of the magnificent blood that flowed in his veins,
_would_ play with these children, who were neither high nor well-born.
But he was quite unprepared for the actual group of children his young
charge chose for playmates. He passed no less than four animated and
excited groups before he arrived at that adorned and ruled by Pollyooly.

It chanced that it had decided to play rounders, and was gathered into
an excited knot in which everybody was discussing, all at the same
time, the process of picking sides.

The prince, shouldering aside, with proud Hohenzollern manlines