eted the pretty
group. Jill lay asleep in all her splendor, the bonny "Prince" just
lifting the veil to wake her with a kiss, and all about them the court
in its nap of a hundred years. The "King" and "Queen" dozing comfortably
on the throne; the maids of honor, like a garland of nodding flowers,
about the couch; the little page, unconscious of the blow about to fall,
and the fool dreaming, with his mouth wide open.

It was so pretty, people did not tire of looking, till Jack's lame leg
began to tremble, and he whispered: "Drop her or I shall pitch." Down
went the curtain; but it rose in a moment, and there was the court after
the awakening: the "King" and "Queen" looking about them with sleepy
dignity, the maids in various attitudes of surprise, the fool grinning
from ear to ear, and the "Princess" holding out her hand to the
"Prince," as if glad to welcome the right lover when he came at last.

Molly got the laugh this time, for she could not resist giving poor
Boo the cuff which had been hanging over him so long. She gave it
with unconscious energy, and Boo cried "Ow!" so naturally that all the
children were delighted and wanted it repeated. But Boo declined, and
the scenes which followed were found quite as much to their taste,
having been expressly prepared for the little people.

Mother Goose's Reception was really very funny, for Ralph was the old
lady, and had hired a representation of the immortal bird from a real
theatre for this occasion. There they stood, the dame in her pointed
hat, red petticoat, cap, and cane, with the noble fowl, a good deal
larger than life, beside her, and Grif inside, enjoying himself
immensely as he flapped the wings, moved the yellow legs, and waved the
long neck about, while unearthly quacks issued from the bill. That was a
great surprise for the children, and they got up in their seats to gaze
their fill, many of them firmly believing that they actually beheld the
blessed old woman who wrote the nursery songs they loved so well.

Then in came, one after another, the best of the characters she has made
famous, while a voice behind the scenes sang the proper rhyme as each
made their manners to the interesting pair. "Mistress Mary," and
her "pretty maids all in a row," passed by to their places in the
background; "King Cole" and his "fiddlers three" made a goodly show; so
did the royal couple, who followed the great pie borne before them, with
the "four-and-twenty blackbirds" popp