"That will be nice, indeed!" he said. "But I must beg your pardon in
advance for my wife. On ordinary days she is up and presides at
breakfast; but to-day she bade me apologise. She has been up all night
from excitement, and now I have told her to lie down and rest a few
hours. After that she usually spends some time in the nursery,
superintending the children's ablutions, prayers, and breakfast, and
only when all these matters are accomplished is she ready for her duties
as hostess and mistress of the household."

"So little James is not your only child?" I ventured to ask.

"Not by many; we have two more boys and two beautiful little
girls--quite a houseful."

"But the lady looks almost too young to be the mother of so many
children. Little James is the eldest, of course?"

"Yes, he is her first-born, and she is not yet twenty-four. We have been
married six years, so christening has been an annual event with us."

Well, I was more puzzled than ever. I had met with a good many English
and American gentlemen before, but all had been rather reserved in
speech and manner, quite different from this Croesus; and, regarding the
lady, I was altogether at a loss, as all my conjectures were entirely at
fault. She was not without feeling; she was apparently a good mother,
and little James was her own child and not a stepson, as I had guessed.
Her behaviour at the station was still an enigma to me.

At last we arrived at the Silver King's residence--a large, well-built,
and rather comfortable than brilliant mansion, filled with a host of