nance.

The royal procession arrived. A grand stairway had been built, so that
the King and his ministers could mount to the summit of this
monumental tart. Thence the King, amid a deep silence, thus addressed
his people:

"My children," said he, "you adore tarts. You despise all other food.
If you could, you would even eat tarts in your sleep. Very well. Eat
as much as you like. Here is one big enough to satisfy you. But know
this, that while there remains a single crumb of this august tart,
from the height of which I am proud to look down on you, all other
food is forbidden you on pain of death. While you are here, I have
ordered all the pantries to be emptied, and all the butchers, bakers,
pork and milk dealers, and fishmongers to shut up their shops. Why
leave them open? Why indeed? Have you not here at discretion what you
love best, and enough to last you ever, _ever_ so long? Devote
yourselves to it with all your hearts. I do not wish you to be bored
with the sight of any other food.

"Greedy ones! behold your TART!"

What enthusiastic applause, what frantic hurrahs rent the air, in
answer to this eloquent speech from the throne!

"Long live the King, Mother Mitchel, and her cat! Long live the tart!
Down with soup! Down with bread! To the bottom of the sea with all
beefsteaks, mutton chops, and roasts!"

Such cries came from every lip. Old men gently stroked their chops,
children patted their little stomachs, the crowd licked its thousand
lips with eager joy. Even the babies danced in their nurses' arms, so
precocious was the passion for tarts in this singular country. Grave
professors, skipping like kids, declaimed Latin verses in honour of
His Majesty and Mother Mitchel, and the shyest young girls opened
their mouths like the beaks of little birds. As for the doctors, they
felt a joy beyond expression. They had reflected. They understood.
But--my friends!--

At last the signal was given. A detachment of the engineer corps
arrived, armed with pick and cutlass, and marched in good order to the
assault. A breach was soon opened, and the distribution began. The
King smiled at the opening in the tart; though vast, it hardly showed
more than a mouse hole in the monstrous wall.

The King stroked his beard grandly. "All goes well," said he, "for him
who knows how to wait."

Who can tell how long the feast would have lasted if the King had not
given his command that it should cease? Once more they expressed t