ter clasping both hands in pious admiration of
it; Margaret wheeling round with horror-stricken eyes and her hand on
Gerard's shoulder, squeaking and pinching; his face of unwise delight at
being pinched, the grizzly brute glaring sulkily on all, and the guests
grinning from ear to ear.

"What's to do?" shouted the Duke, hearing the signals of female
distress. Seven of his people with a zealous start went headlong and
told him. He laughed and said, "Give her of the beef-stuffing, then, and
bring me Sir Boar." Benevolent monarch! The beef-stuffing was his own
private dish. On these grand occasions an ox was roasted whole, and
reserved for the poor. But this wise as well as charitable prince had
discovered, that whatever venison, bares, lamb, poultry, etc., you
skewered into that beef cavern, got cooked to perfection, retaining
their own juices and receiving those of the reeking ox. These he called
his beef-stuffing, and took delight therein, as did now our trio;
for, at his word, seven of his people went headlong, and drove silver
tridents into the steaming cave at random, and speared a kid, a cygnet,
and a flock of wildfowl. These presently smoked before Gerard and
company; and Peter's face, sad and slightly morose at the loss of the
savage hog, expanded and shone. After this, twenty different tarts of
fruits and herbs, and last of all, confectionery on a Titanic scale;
cathedrals of sugar, all gilt painted in the interstices of the
bas-reliefs; castles with moats, and ditches imitated to the life;
elephants, camels, toads; knights on horseback jousting; kings and
princesses looking on trumpeters blowing; and all these personages
eating, and their veins filled with sweet-scented juices: works of art
made to be destroyed. The guests breached a bastion, crunched a crusader
and his horse and lance, or cracked a bishop, cope, chasuble, crosier
and all, as remorselessly as we do a caraway comfit; sipping meanwhile
hippocras and other spiced drinks, and Greek and Corsican wines, while
every now and then little Turkish boys, turbaned, spangled, jewelled,
and gilt, came offering on bended knee golden troughs of rose-water and
orange-water to keep the guests' hands cool and perfumed.

But long before our party arrived at this final stage appetite had
succumbed, and Gerard had suddenly remembered he was the bearer of a
letter to the Princess Marie, and, in an under-tone, had asked one of
the servants if he would undertake to del