"Oh! did the children waken you? I am sorry," replied old Mrs. Davidson.

"Well, I reckon I have slept long enough," was the good-natured reply, and you will know by this that the old gentleman was good-natured, for it is well understood that to be wakened from an after-dinner nap is a test.

"I gave the young folks permission to look over the big chests in the attic," said Mrs. Davidson. "And I presume they will appear dressed in some of those old costumes."

Mr. Davidson was apparently satisfied with the explanation of the unusual noise, and settled himself over his newspaper. Presently a young girl fluttered down the staircase and entered the room where the elderly couple sat.

"Grandpa," said a fresh young voice, "we want to come and call upon you."

"Call upon me! Well, what is to hinder?"

"Well, we want to have it a sort of tableau; we want you and grandma to be the Emperor of Germany, and cousin John is to be the Crown Prince, and I am to be 'Vicky,' and we are to call upon you in state. Lannie is making your epaulettes. She will come and fix you and grandma, and tell you where to stand, then when we get dressed we will enter."

The old people laughed, but grandpa said:

"All right!" and when his wife would have demurred a little, he said, "We must make things lively for the young folks or they get homesick." The programme was carried out. The satin dress and mantle came out of the old chest, but those epaulettes and stars and badges! Let me tell you a secret, they were home-made, but you would never have guessed it. Cousin John upon inspecting the work, exclaimed, "Lannie, you are a genius; how did you know the way to do it?"

"Oh! there are ways of knowing things," returned Lannie, with a good-natured laugh.

After the formalities of the call had been carried out grandpa said:

"Now, will some one tell us who we are?"

"Not know yourself!" said one, laughing; "Lannie, tell grandpa who he is."

"Yes, Lannie, who am I, and what have I done to deserve the honor of this occasion?"

"Why, you are Emperor William the First, and this is a long time ago when you were younger and your grandchildren here were not grown up. And on the whole, I think this is before the war with France, at which time you gained great popularity. This is your son, the Crown Prince of Prussia, and this is his wife, the daughter of Queen Victoria. And these are your grandchildren."

"Thank you! I feel better acquainted with myself."

They all laughed at this and the callers withdrew. Mr. Davidson settled to his newspaper again, but presently he looked up to say:

"That was play. But we do belong to a royal house, eh, mother?" And the wife and mother smiled; she understood.