carcely speak; and as for Mrs.
Chipperton, I thought she was going to cry. Corny wanted to rush right
down to Poqua-dilla's house and see what could be done, but we were all
against that. No harm would come to the old woman that night from the
loss of her crown, and it was too near supper-time for any attempt at
restoration, just then.

"Only to think of it!" said Mrs. Chipperton. "After all we did for her!
I don't believe she was queen more than an hour. It's the shortest reign
I ever heard of."

"And that Priscilla!" cried Corny. "The girl we trusted to do so much,
and----"

"Paid every night," said I.

"Yes," she continued, "and gave a pair of mother's shoes to, for the
coronation! And to think that _she_ should deceive us and do the
usurping!"

The shorter yellow-legs, who had been standing by with his friend, now
made a remark. He evidently remembered Corny, on the Oclawaha
steam-boat, although he had never become acquainted with her or her
family.

"Did your queen talk French?" he asked, with a smile; "or was not that
the language of the Court?"

"No, it wasn't," said Corny, gravely. "African was the language of the
Court. But the queen was too polite to use it before us, because she
knew we did not understand it, and couldn't tell what she might be
saying about us."

"Good!" said the tall yellow-legs. "That's very good indeed. Burgan, you
owe her one."

"One what?" asked Corny.

"Another answer as good as that, if I can ever think of it," said Mr.
Burgan.

Corny did not reply. I doubt if she heard him. Her soul still ached for
her fallen queen.

"I tell you what it is," said Mr. Chipperton, who had kept unaccountably
quiet, so far. "It's a great pity that I did not know about this. I
should have liked nothing better than to be down there when that usurper
girl was standing on that throne, or rocking-chair, or whatever it
was----"

"Oh, my dear!" said Mrs. Chipperton. "It would never have done for you
to have exposed your lung to such a scene of turmoil and confusion."

"Bother my lung!" cried Mr. Chipperton, who was now growing quite
excited. "I would never have stood tamely by, and witnessed such vile
injustice----"

"We didn't stand tamely by," said I. "We ran wildly after the unjust
one."

"I would have stood up before that crowd," continued Mr. Chipperton,
"and I would have told the people what I thought of them. I would have
asked them how, living in a land like this, where the blue