Marmaduke shuffled the cards all over, but couldn't seem to find that
name.

"I guess he's been lost," he said politely, so as not to hurt her
feelings and lose his head, "but I'll tell you what"--he added,
pointing to a picture of Dickens--"we can call this man Confoundit
just as well."

"_Confucius, not Confoundit_," the Queen corrected him crossly,
then she looked at the card. "That'll do, I suppose. That author has a
kind face and a real long beard. It's not half bad."

She chose Marmaduke for her partner, and they played against the two
tallest mandarins in the red dragon coats.

The Queen and Marmaduke beat the old mandarins badly, due to
Marmaduke's fine playing. And the Queen was so pleased that she
exclaimed,--

"After all, I won't cut off your head. You see, it might stain that
pretty rug. I guess we'd better have tea and a party instead." Then
she added,--"By the way, do you drink tea?"

"Yes, thank you," he replied, "but make it '_cambric_.'"

"All right if you prefer it," she remarked, "but I call it silly to
spoil a good drink that way."

Then she clapped her hands, and her servants came running in, with
huge trays of wonderful foods in their arms. And the Queen and the