strong as he could. He sang the song over and
over again, till the forest fairly rang with it.

But then the way in which it had been composed was so out of the
common! And the fact that this was the first and only time in his
life he had been able to catch and carry a tune was in itself a
proof of its merit.

THE SEVENTEENTH OF AUGUST

The first time Jan of Ruffluck had gone to Loevdala on a seventeenth
of August the visit had not passed off as creditably for him as he
could have wished; so he had never repeated it, although he had
been told that each year it was becoming more lively and festive at
the Manor.

But now that the little girl had come up in the world, it was
altogether different with him. He felt that it would be a great
disappointment to Lieutenant Liljecrona if so exalted a personage
as the Emperor Johannes of Portugallia did not do him the honour of
wishing him happiness on his birthday.

So he donned his imperial regalia and sallied forth, taking good
care not to be among the first arrivals. For him who was an emperor
it was the correct thing not to put in an appearance until all the
guests had made themselves quite at home, and the festivities were
well under way.

Upon the occasion of his former visit he had not ventured farther
than the orchard and the gravelled walk in front of the house. He
had not even gone up to pay his respects to the host. But now he
could not think of behaving so discourteously.

This time he made straight for the big bower at the left of the
porch, where the lieutenant sat with a group of dignitaries from
Svartsjoe and elsewhere, grasped him by the hand, and wished him
many happy returns of the day.

"So you've come out to-day, Jan," said the lieutenant in a tone of
surprise.

To be sure he was not expecting an honour like this, which probably
accounted for his so far forgetting himself as to address the
Emperor by his old name. Jan knew that so genial a man as the
lieutenant could have meant no offense by that, therefore he
corrected him in all meekness.

"We must make allowances for the lieutenant," he said, "since this
is his birthday; but by rights we should be called Emperor Johannes
of Portugallia."

Jan spoke in the gentlest tone possible, but just the same the
other gentlemen all laughed at the lieutenant for having made such
a bad break. Jan had never intended to cause him humiliation on his
birthday, so he promptly dismissed the matter and turne