"_That, dear Countess, would be my----_" "_A country in which even a King----_" "_Lucky country!_" The last was crossed out and "_Bad_" written against it. "Whatever are these, Father?" said Hyacinth. The King jumped up in great confusion. "Nothing, dear, nothing," he said. "I was just--er---- Of course I shall have to address my people, and I was just jotting down a few---- However, I shan't want them now." He swept them together, screwed them up tight, and dropped them into a basket. And what became of them? you ask. Did they light the fires of the Palace next morning? Well, now, here's a curious thing. In Chapter X of _Euralia Past and Present_ I happened across these words: "The King and all the men of the land having left to fight the wicked Barodians, Euralia was now a country of women only--_a country in which even a King might be glad to be a subject_." Now what does this mean? Is it another example of literary theft? I have already had to expose Shelley. Must I now drag into the light of day a still worse plagiarism by Roger Scurvilegs? The waste-paper baskets of the Palace were no doubt open to him as to so many historians. But should he not have made acknowledgments? I do not wish to be hard on Roger. That I differ from him on many points of historical fact has already been made plain, and will be made still more plain as my story goes on. But I have a respect for the man; and on some matters, particularly those concerning Prince Udo of Araby's first appearance in Euralia, I have to rely entirely upon him for my information. Moreover I have never hesitated to give him credit for such of his epigrams as I have introduced into this book, and I like to think that he would be equally punctilious to others. We know his romantic way; no doubt the thought occurred to him independently. Let us put it at that, anyhow. Belvane, meanwhile, was getting on. The King had drawn his sword on her and she had not flinched. As a reward she was to be the power behind the throne. "Not necessarily _behind_ the throne," said Belvane to herself. CHAPTER IV THE PRINCESS HYACINTH LEAVES IT TO THE COUNTESS It is now time to introduce Wiggs to you, and I find myself in a difficulty at once. What _was_ Wiggs's position in the Palace? This story is hard to tell, for I have to piece it together from the narratives of others, and to supply any gaps in their stories from my knowledge of how the different characters might be expected to act. Perhaps, therefore, it is a good moment in which to introduce to you the authorities upon whom I rely.