was again summoned to the queen's
apartments, I found her full of schemes for the better government of the
Bandokolo and the improvement in general of the condition of the people;
and upon these schemes she expressed herself anxious to have my opinion,
as well as any suggestions which I might see fit to offer. Now, I felt
that I was altogether top young to set myself up as an authority upon so
abstruse a subject as statesmanship; yet I was not quite destitute of
ideas, or the inclination to express them when they happened to be
strong and well-defined, consequently it was not long before we were so
deeply engrossed in conversation as to be practically oblivious of
everything else. Hence I was greatly astonished, not to say chagrined,
when after about an hour's animated and exceedingly interesting
conversation I suddenly became conscious that I had been asleep--for a
second or two only, it seemed to me, for when wakefulness returned the
queen was still speaking, and I gathered from her speech that I could
not have missed more than, at the most, half a dozen unimportant words.
I was profoundly annoyed with myself, for if there is one thing upon
which I especially pride myself it is my courtesy to women, let them be
young or old, rich or poor, and I felt that in permitting myself to lose
consciousness, even though it were but for a second, I had been guilty
of a piece of gross discourtesy to a woman whom I was daily growing to
respect and esteem more profoundly. Respect and esteem! Nay, those
were cold words in which to express the feeling with which I was rapidly
coming to regard this much vilified, much misunderstood woman;
admiration was a word much nearer the truth: and I sincerely hoped that
my momentary involuntary lapse of attention had escaped her notice. I
presently believed that it had, for when I ventured to look at her I
perceived that she was staring into vacancy, as people are apt to do
sometimes when they are expressing their views on a subject upon which
they feel very deeply.

We conversed together for nearly three hours that morning, and when at
length the queen dismissed me the last shred of suspicion raised in my
mind against her by Anuti had vanished, and in its stead I was conscious
of a feeling of exalted, romantic devotion, such as the knights errant
of old must have felt when they went forth to perform some deed of
desperate gallantry in honour of the women who had won their admiration.

Whe