eading.

She has such a wonderful way of absorbing and analyzing that she can
give you in a few words a complete and concise synopsis of the plot and
all the situations, besides making clever criticisms.

It was eleven o'clock before his Majesty and the gentlemen returned
from their billiards and cigars. The Queen got up, bade us good night,
and left the room with the King.

I was appalled when I was ready to occupy my royal bed. It seemed to
have become more imposing and more majestic than when I last saw it. I
tried to put a chair on the platform, but the platform was too narrow.
The only way was to climb on a chair near the bed and from it make a
desperate jump. So I put the chair, said, "_One, two, three_," and
jumped. The white-satin hangings, fringes, and tassels swung and
jingled from the rebound. Once in bed, I cuddled down under the scented
linen. I brought the sachet up to the level of my nose, where it
hovered for just a little moment before it slid off me and off the bed.

Then commenced a series of pulling up and slipping down which lasted
until I was thoroughly waked up for the night. The only way I got the
better of the sachet was to balance it warily and pretend I slept.

In the morning we were served a real Italian breakfast in our room:
thin Pekoe tea, a little cream, and much powdered sugar, and an
assortment of sweet cakes replacing the customary English buttered
toast.

MONZA, _November 4, 1884_.

Dear Mother,--I want to tell you what we did, though we did not do
anything of great interest. It was such horrible weather that we could
not drive out, as is the Queen's custom every day. After luncheon
Signor Vera (the Queen's singing-master who accompanied us in Rome) was
called in, and her Majesty and I sang our duets.

All the music from the Quirinal seems to have been transported here,
and Vera knows exactly where to put his hand upon everything as it is
needed. There is a new edition of Marcello's psalms which are very
amusing to _dechiffrer_. Sometimes the Queen takes the soprano part, at
others she takes the contralto.

At three o'clock the Queen went to her apartment, and I took that
occasion to pay some visits to the other ladies in their different
_salons_. We met in the _grande salle_ for tea. M. and Mme. Minghetti
arrived from Milan by the same train we came on Monday, and came
straight from the carriage into the _salon_. The Queen seemed enchanted
to see them. They are charming