must be pardoned, for every
square inch of the dark, deep-colored room had been taken bodily from
Italian palaces of the most unimpeachable Renaissance variety. With
quick intuition, she immediately recognized a background for many a tale
of courts and kings hitherto unpictured to herself, and smiled with
pleasure at the Princess who advanced, most royally clad in long, pink,
lace-clouded draperies, to meet them.

"You are the brave nurse my maid told me about," said the Princess;
"she saw it all. You ought to be very proud of your quick wit. I have
some sherry for you, and you must lie down a little, and then I will
send you home."

Delia blushed and sank into a high carved chair, the General staring
curiously about him. "It wasn't anything at all," she said awkwardly;
"if I could have a drink----"

Caroline checked the Princess as she moved toward a wonderful colored
decanter with wee sparkling tumblers like curved bits of rainbow grouped
about it.

"Delia means a drink of water," she explained politely. "She only drinks
water--sometimes a little tea, but most usu'lly water."

"The sherry will do her more good, I think," the Princess returned,
noticing Caroline for the first time, apparently, her hand on the
decanter.

[Illustration: "THE STANDING CROWD CRANED THEIR NECKS, AS DELIA SAT UP
STRAIGHT AND HELD OUT HER ARMS"]

At this point Miss Honey descended from a throne of faded wine-colored
velvet, and addressed the Princess with her most impressive and
explanatory manner.

"It won't do you any good at all to pour that out," she began, with her
curious little air of delivering a set address, prepared in private some
time before, "and I'll tell you why. Delia knew a nurse once that drank
some beer, and the baby got burned, and she never would drink anything
if you gave her a million dollars. Besides, it makes her sick."

The Princess looked amused and turned to a maid who appeared at that
moment, with apron strings rivaling Caroline's.

"Get me a glass of water, please," she said, "and what may I give
you--milk, perhaps? I don't know very well what children drink."

"Thank you, we'd like some water, too," Miss Honey returned primly; "we
had some soda-water, strawberry, once to-day."

Caroline cocked her head to one side and tried to remember what the
lady's voice made her think of. Suddenly it came to her. It was not like
a person talking at all, it was like a person singing. Up and down her
voice tra