His Majesty then occupied himself with details of the solemnities of the royal mourning, which he decided should be purple; and then he commissioned Monsieur the Minister—_videlicet_—Mr. Julius Luxmore, to go upon the main, and make the needful purchases. Finally, dismissing Mr. Luxmore to do his errand, he sent for the “Princess,” and in a private interview communicated to her the facts of the decease of her relatives. This intelligence threw over the youthful maiden an air of seriousness that was, however, as far removed from sorrow, as was the golden haze of these autumnal mornings from thunder clouds. It was not natural that the young Etoile should grieve over the loss of relatives, one of whom she had never seen, from the other of whom she had been so long separated. In truth no one sorrowed. The young maiden was too happy, the old man too crazy, and the servants all too indifferent to do so. The “bereavement” spread no gloom over the bright Island, where it was not fully realized. Only sometimes the mad old man would suddenly recollect that he ought to be overwhelmed with affliction, and then he would fall to tearing his white hair and exclaiming: “Oh, miserable princess! Oh, hapless house!” And having paid this tribute of lamentation to the departed, would resume his habitual cheerfulness. The truth is, that the old man was sinking deeper into the infirmities of body and imbecilities of mind attendant upon extreme old age. And Julius Luxmore soon found himself invested not only with the government of the farm, fisheries, and financial affairs of the Island, but also with the care of the old man’s person, and with that of the young girl’s education. It really seemed as if the place had needed and waited for his coming. Had he been a conscientious and disinterested man, his arrival would have been a most opportune blessing. But he was selfish, and unprincipled, and he turned, you may readily believe, every circumstance of his position to his own advantage. He adroitly and successfully flattered the old man, and thus attained the first place in the dotard’s esteem and confidence. By delicate attentions and interesting instructions, he so well recommended himself to the favor of the fair Etoile, as to become in some degree essential to the little maiden’s happiness. He also, in conducting the sales of produce from the farm and fisheries of the Island, changed the place of trade from the hamlet of Eastville on the eastern shore of the village of Heathville, about sixty miles further up the Bay on the west coast. His motive for this change, it will be easily seen, was to avoid a neighborhood where he was sure to be recognized, in favor of one where he was a total stranger.