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363 THE QUEEN'S TRIPLETS. 363

Halt" tainting with rapture the Princess fell into his arms, and from all sides of the great hall arose the cries, " The Heir ! The Heir ! Long live our future King ! The eldest-born ! The Oracle's fulfilled ! "

Such was the origin of lawn tennis, which began with people tossing pigeons to each other in imitation of the Prince and Princess in the Palace Hall. And this is why love plays so great a part in the game, and that is how the match was arranged between the Blue Prince and the Prin- cess of Paphlagonia.