for you like Fred."

"See, Louisa, what you have done," said the king, laughing. "They are
anxious to hear your stories, and will, perhaps, become great painters,
if you tell them more about omelets."

"That will unfortunately not happen, my husband," said the queen,
smiling, "for I do not know any other stories. It is true," she added,
musingly, "I remember another omelet that caused me a great deal of
pleasure."

"Where was it, dearest, dearest mamma? Oh, pray tell us," exclaimed the
crown prince.

"Pray tell us, mamma," begged little Prince William; "be so gracious as
to tell us a story for my picture!"

Louisa looked at her husband. The king nodded. "Your last story was so
appetizing," he said, gayly, "that I am quite ready to have another."

"I ate this second omelet during our journey to East Prussia, where the
estates of the province were to take the oath of allegiance. Oh, my
beloved children, that was a splendid journey. The whole world was
spread out before me like a bright summer day; everywhere I heard
nothing but greetings of love. Everywhere addresses and banquets!
festoons, pealing bells, children and young ladies strewing flowers! And
our good people did not receive us in so festive a manner through
compulsion, or in accordance with an old custom, but because their
hearts impelled them; for they had already perceived that the young
king, your noble father, would also be their benefactor; they loved and
worshipped their king, and, in their kindness, transferred part of their
love and veneration to myself. We had already passed through Stargard;
the king had preceded me to Coeslin, and I was following him. At noon I
arrived in a large village at no great distance from Coeslin. All the
peasants and peasant-women came to meet me, dressed in their holiday
attire, and the supervisor of the village, to whose hat a large bouquet
had been fastened, stepped up to the carriage to deliver an address to
me. It contained but a few artless words; the kind-hearted man begged
me, in the name of the people, to do their village the honor to alight,
and partake of some refreshment, for they desired to entertain the
"mother of the country," that the inhabitants of the cities might not
deem this an exclusive privilege. You may imagine that I allowed the
gentleman to conduct me to the farm-house where the entertainment had
been prepared. The cloth was laid on a round table in the small
sitting-room, and a huge omelet l