If not royalty, at least the next thing to it.  The gorgeous and glorious officers of his Majesty’s suite, handsome, distinguished, young, and ever near the throne!  Bee’s eyes were glued to their table.  We were afraid the poor dear would never pull through.  She scarcely ate any dinner.

“Bee,” I whispered, pulling her dress under the table, “you really must not pay them such marked attention.  Remember your husband and baby—­far away, to be sure, but still there!”

“What difference does it make, I should like to know,” was Bee’s callous reply.  “They can’t speak English.”

Now of all the irrelevant retorts!

Bee had so evidently capitulated to the whole lot that I stole a few furtive glances myself, and while I was rewarded by some brief interest from their table, and I felt sure that they were talking about us, it seemed to me that the interest of The One, the tallest, handsomest, and the one most suited for a pedestal in Central Park, was overlooking both Bee’s and my undeniable attractions, and was concentrating all his fiery, hawk-like glances upon Mrs. Jimmie, whose total unconsciousness of her great beauty is one of her supreme charms.  She wore a black lace gown that night with sleeves which came not quite to her elbow; no bracelets to mar those perfect arms, but her hands fairly loaded with rings.  She never looks at any other man except Jimmie, and Jimmie thinks that the earth exists simply for her.  Poor Jimmie never can express his emotion in proper words, but I have seen his eyes fill with tears of love and pride as he whispered to me, “Isn’t she ripping to-night?”

She certainly was “ripping” that first night at Ischl—­far more ripping than any titled dame there, upon whose mature ugliness all her calm attention was bestowed, while I was on the verge of collapse when I saw that Bee’s love was like to go unrequited, while Mrs. Jimmie’s rings and beauty—­I name her attractions in their proper order as far as I was able to gather from the enamoured officer’s glances—­snatched the prize.

The situation as it bade fair to develop was far, far too sacred to permit of ribald speech, so with the greatest difficulty I held my tongue.  For my only natural confidant, Jimmie, was plainly disqualified in this case.

The next morning Jimmie wanted us to drive, but I, hoping to give matters an onward fillip, spoke so warmly in favour of a morning stroll in the promenade “to see people” that he gave in, and Bee’s attentions to me while garbing ourselves were so marked that I almost hoped I had been wrong the night before.

But alas for our ignorance of officers’ duties!  Not one of those in his Majesty’s suite was visible, although all the old ladies were out in force, and some very pretty Austrian girls appeared, smartly gowned, and most of them carrying slender little gold or silver mounted sticks.  Those sticks caught Bee’s eye at once, and she bought one before the hour was over, much to Jimmie’s disgust.