lost his; and so on, till I get sick of his name; and here it greets me
in the woods of Mercia."

"I crave pardon, my liege," said Ella, who hardly knew whether to smile
or frown at the sarcastic petulance of his guest, who went on with a sly
smile--"And now old Dunstan does not know where I am. He left me with
a huge pile of books in musty Latin, or crabbed English, and I had to
read this and to write that, as if I were no prince, but a scrivener,
and had to get my living by my pen; but as soon as he was gone I had a
headache, and persuaded my venerable uncle the king, through the
physician, that I needed change of air."

"But what will Dunstan say?"

"Oh, he must fight it out with Sigebert the leech, and Sigebert knows
which side his bread is buttered."

The whole tone of Edwy indicated plainly that the headache was but a
pretence, but he spoke with such sly simplicity that the boys could not
help joining in his contagious laughter; sympathising, doubtless, in his
love of a holiday in the woods.

"Your headache is not gone yet, I trust, my prince," said Elfric.

"Why?" said Edwy, turning his eyes upon him with a smile.

"Because we have splendid woods near here for hunting, and I must have"
(he whispered these words into Edwy's ear) "a headache, too."

Edwy quite understood the request conveyed in these words, and turning