"
"I refuse to remember their relationships or alliances," said
Francesca. "They were always intermarrying with their foes in order
to gain strength, but it generally seems to have made things worse
rather than better; still I don't mind hearing what became of Brian
after his victory; let us quite finish with him before the eggs come
up. I suppose it will be eggs?"
"Broder the Viking rushed upon him in his tent where he was praying,
cleft his head from his body, and he is buried in Armagh Cathedral,"
said Salemina, closing the book. "Penelope, do ring again for
breakfast, and just to keep us from realising our hunger read
'Remember the Glories of Brian the Brave.'"
We had brought letters of introduction to a dean, a bishop, and a
Rt. Hon. Lord Justice, so there were a few delightful invitations
when the morning post came up; not so many as there might have been,
perhaps, had not the Irish capital been in a state of complete
dementia over the presence of the greatest Queen in the world.*
Privately, I think that those nations in the habit of having kings
and queens at all should have four, like those in a pack of cards;
then they could manage to give all their colonies and dependencies a
frequent sight of royalty, and prevent much excitement and heart-
burning.
*Penelope's experiences in Scotland, given in a former volume,
ended, the meticulous proof-reader will remember, with her marriage
in the year of the Queen's Jubilee.
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