The wedding was just before Christmas, and we were all there. And then they went to Rome for a period of time that is spoken of in books as the honeymoon. You know that H.O., my youngest brother, tried to go too, disguised as the contents of a dress-basket--but was betrayed and brought back. Conversation often takes place about the things you like, and we often spoke of Albert's uncle. One day we had a ripping game of hide-and-seek-all-over-the-house-and-all-the-lights-out, sometimes called devil-in-the-dark, and never to be played except when your father and uncle are out, because of the screams which the strongest cannot suppress when caught by "he" in unexpectedness and total darkness. The girls do not like this game so much as we do. But it is only fair for them to play it. We have more than once played doll's tea-parties to please them. Well, when the game was over we were panting like dogs on the hearthrug in front of the common-room fire, and H.O. said-- "I wish Albert's uncle had been here; he does enjoy it so." Oswald has sometimes thought Albert's uncle only played to please us. But H.O. may be right. "I wonder if they often play it in Rome," H.O. went on. "That post-card he sent us with the Colly-whats-its-name-on--you know, the round place with the arches. They could have ripping games there----" "It's not much fun with only two," said Dicky. "Besides," Dora said, "when people are first married they always sit in balconies and look at the moon, or else at each other's eyes." "They ought to know what their eyes look like by this time," said Dicky. "I believe they sit and write poetry about their eyes all day, and only look at each other when they can't think of the rhymes," said Noel. "I don't believe she knows how, but I'm certain they read aloud to each other out of the poetry books we gave them for wedding presents," Alice said. "It would be beastly ungrateful if they didn't, especially with their backs all covered with gold like they are," said H.O. "About those books," said Oswald slowly, now for the first time joining in what was being said; "of course it was jolly decent of Father to get such ripping presents for us to give them. But I've sometimes wished we'd given Albert's uncle a really truly present that we'd chosen ourselves and bought with our own chink." "I wish we could have _done_ something for him," Noel said; "I'd have killed a dragon for him as soon as look at it, and Mrs. Albert's uncle could have been the Princess, and I would have let him have her." "Yes," said Dicky; "and we just gave rotten books. But it's no use grizzling over it now. It's all over, and he won't get married again while she's alive." This was true, for we live in England which is a morganatic empire where more than one wife at a time is not allowed. In the glorious East he might have married again and again and we could have made it all right about the wedding present.