ad to invent stories
for themselves, and as for the toys, to make believe very much indeed.
But how they would have succeeded in either had it not been for Jinny I
should be afraid to say.

"It's a shame--a regular shame," said Ginevra. She was sitting on the
table in the middle of the room with Elspeth beside her. The two little
ones were cross-legged on the floor, very disconsolately nursing the
battered remains of two very hideous old dolls, who in their best days
could never have been anything but coarse and common, and Helen and
Agatha sat together on a chair with a book in their hands, which,
however, they were not reading. "It's a shame," Ginevra repeated; "even
the little princes in the tower had toys to play with."

"Had they?" said Helen. "Is that in the history, Jinny?"

"It's in some history; anyway, I'm sure I've heard it," Jinny replied.

"But this isn't a tower," said Agatha.

"No, it's a dungeon," replied Ginevra grimly. "And if any of you besides
me had the spirit of a true princess, you wouldn't stand it."

"We don't want to stand it any more than you do," Helen said quietly.
"But what are we to do? You don't want to run away, do you? Where could
we run to? It isn't as if papa was anywhere in England. Besides, we're
not starved or beaten, and we're in no danger of having our heads cut
off."

"I'd rather we were--there'd be some fun in that," said Princess Jinny.

"Fun!" repeated Agatha.

"Well, it wouldn't be as stupid as being shut up here in this dreary old
nursery--I mean dungeon," said Ginevra. "And now that our cruel gaoler
has refused to let us have the small solace of--of a--" she could not
find any more imposing word--"_doll_ to play with, I think the time has
come to take matters into our own hands, princesses."

"I've no objection," said Helen and Agatha, speaking together. "But what
do you mean to do?"

"You shouldn't call Miss Burton a gaoler--she isn't as bad as _that_;
besides, she's not a man," said Elspeth, who had not before spoken. "We
might call her the governor--no, governess; but that sounds so funny,
'governess of the tower,' or custo--then some word like that, of the
castle."

"But this isn't a tower--we've fixed that--nor a castle. It's just a
dungeon--that'll do very well, and it's great fun at night when we put
out the candles and grope about in the dark. And gaoler will do very
well for Miss Burton--some are quite kind, much kinder than she."

"It's all along