E-text prepared by Curtis Weyant, Charlene Taylor,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
"GOOD EVENING, MY DEAR PRINCE."
THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE LAZYBONES
And Other Stories
BY
MRS. W. J. HAYS
AUTHOR OF "PRINCESS IDLEWAYS"
ILLUSTRATED
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
COPYRIGHT, 1884, BY HARPER & BROTHERS
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS
| "Good-evening, my dear Prince" (Frontispiece) |
| "Approach of the swanlike boat" |
| "Look! There's an eagle" |
| "Making the sturgeon useful" |
THE ADVENTURESOF PRINCE LAZY BONES
CHAPTER I
Of all the illustrious families who have shone like gems uponthe earth's surface, none have been more distinguished in their waythan the Lazybones family; and were I so disposed I might recounttheir virtues and trace their talents from a long-forgotten period.But interesting as the study might prove, it would be a difficulttask, and the attention I crave for Prince Leo would be spent onhis ancestors.
Of princely blood and proud birth, Leo was a youth mostsimple-minded. He knew that much was expected of him, and that hewas destined to rule; yet so easily was he satisfied that hisgreatest happiness was to lie all day basking in the sun ordawdling through his father's park with his dog at his heels, theheels themselves in a very down-trodden state of humility,watching withlanguid gaze the movements of the world about him.
An