“Ah! when shall I, too, see that lovely world?” “When you are married, Etoile.” “When I am married,”—softly repeated this child of nature—“and shall _I_ ever be married?” “Certainly, fair one.” “And to whom shall I be married?” she inquired, looking up in innocent surprise. “Do you not know then?” asked Julius Luxmore, gazing wistfully into her eyes. “No, indeed, Mr. Luxmore, no one ever told me,” she answered artlessly, without dropping her pure unconscious eyes. “I thought you understood that you were destined to be my bride.” “Your bride? No, indeed, I did not know that before Mr. Luxmore! Did uncle wish it?” “Certainly, my fair one. Besides, it is your interest.” “I need no inducement to obey my dearest uncle, Mr. Luxmore; but when are we to be married then?” “Are you in a hurry?” “Oh, yes!” answered the innocent creature with a deep sigh of aspiration. “But why?” inquired Mr. Luxmore, curiously. “Oh!” she replied, with another deep inspiration, “because I do so _long_ to go to the beautiful world beyond!” “And you wish to get married that you may go thither?” “Oh! yes, indeed!” she said, clasping her hands fervently. “When shall we be married, Mr. Luxmore?” “In some few months from this.” “So long! Oh, Mr. Luxmore! why can it not be now?” “Because, my lovely girl, you have not yet reached a marriageable age.” “And what age is that?” “No matter, my dear, you have not reached it.” “But, oh, Mr. Luxmore, how can you say that? I have read in history, again and again, of princes and princesses married in their cradles. There was the Princess Elizabeth of Hungary, and the Prince of Thuringia, and many others.” “But they were princes.” “And am not I a princess?” “Yes, my sweet! by virtue of your beauty, genius and goodness, you are a princess; but in no other wise,” replied Julius Luxmore, thinking that the time had now come for this explanation. “How, in no other wise?” Mr. Luxmore proceeded to explain to her that the Island kingdom, king and princess, had been merely a pleasant phantasy on the part of her late uncle. Not for the world would Mr. Luxmore have risked the danger that might have grown out of his communicating to the young heiress the fact that Monsieur Henri De L’Ile was of unsound mind, and, consequently, legally incapacitated to execute the instrument which constituted himself, Julius Luxmore, the sole guardian of the young heiress and her large estate. Etoile received the news with less surprise than might have been expected. “I am satisfied now,” she said, “upon a point that for a long time troubled me.” “And what was that?” “I used to pick out our Island in the map of the United States, and I found that it was an adjunct to the State of Maryland. Therefore, you see, I could not understand how it should be a little kingdom.” “And you are not much disappointed to find that it is not?” “Oh, no, no; on the contrary, I am glad to understand clearly my real condition.”