This about croquet classical antquity including sometimes the use of arches and pegs along with balls and mallets or other striking sticks.

Chapter eight The Empress Croquet

A large rose tree stood near the entrance of the garden the roses growing on it were white but there were three roman gardeners at it busily painting them red.

Lily and Jesus thought this a very curious thing went hearer to watch them and just as came up to them head one of them say

''Look out Moe don't go splashing paint over me like that''

''i couldn't help it'' said Moe

''in a sulky tone'' Brutus jogged

''my elbow! you'd better not talk!'' said Moe ''i heard the empress say only yesterday you deserved to beheaded

''what for'' said the one who spoken first

''that's none of your business Homer'' said Brutus

''yes it is his business!'' said Moe

when his eye chanced to fall upon Lily and Jesus as stood watching them and he checked himself suddenly the others looked round also and all of them bowed low

''Hello'' said Lily say hello

''hello'' said Moe, Brutus and Homer say hello

''world you tell us'' said Lily a little timidly ''why you are painting those roses red''

Moe and Brutus said nothing but looked at Homer began in a low voice

''well you see woman! this here ought to have been a red rose tree and we put a white one in by mistake and if the empress was to find it out we should all have our head off''

at this moment Moe who been anxiously looking across the garden called out ''The empress! The empress!''

and the three gardeners instantly threw themselves flat upon their face there was a should of many footstep

and Lily and Jesus looked round eager to see empress

first came nineteen roman soldiers these were all shaped like three gardeners oblong and flat with their hand and feet at the courtiers next the nineteen caesars these were ornamented all over with diamonds and walked two and two as the soldiers did after these came the children there were nineteen of them and the little dears came jumping merrily along hand in hand in couples they were all ornamented with gods.

next came mostly emperors and empresses and among them Lily and Jesus recoghised gamuel it was talking in her vous smiling at everything that was said and went by without noticing then followed Zak the roman of gods

and last of all this grand procession came emperor Jupiter and empress Juno

Lily and Jesus was rather doubtful whether ought not to lied down on his face like three roman gardeners but could not remember every having heard of such a rule at processions when the procession came oppite to Lily and Jesus they

''Halt!'' they all stopped and looked at Lily and Jesus

and Juno said severely ''And who is this''

''i agree entirely'' said Zak

''don't be ridiculous!'' said Juno

''will l lie to you your majesty'' said Zak tossing her

''idiot'' Juno saying

head impatiently and turning to Lily and Jesus she went on ''you name children''

''Lily and this my brother Jesus if it you please your majesty'' said Lily very politely

''and who are these'' said Juno pointing to the three roman gardeners who were lying round the roses tree see as they were lying on their faces and the pattern on their back was the same as rest of the pack

she could not tell whether they were roman gardeners or roman soldiers or casesars or three of her own children

''how should we know'' Lily surprised at her own courage ''we are stranger here''

Juno turned crimson with fury and after glaring for a moment like a wild beast screamed ''Off With Her Head''

''off with her head'' Zak and the people of rome

''Off With Her-''

''Stop losing you keep your hand off my sister'' said Jesus very loudly and angry

and Juno was silent Jupiter laid his hands upon her arm and timidly said ''consider my dear she only a child''

Juno turned angry from him

Zak said ''turn them over'' Zak did so very carefully with one foot

''get up!'' said Juno in a shrill loud voice and the roman gardeners instantly jumped up and began bowing to Jupiter and Juno and everybody else

''leave off that!'' screamed Juno ''you make giddy''

and then turning to the rose tree she went on ''what have you been doing here''

''may it please your majesty said Homer in a very humble tone going down on one knees as he spoke ''we were trying-''

''i see!'' said Juno who meanwhile been examining the rose ''off with their heads!''

and the procession moved on three of the roman soldiers remaining behind to execute the unfortunate the roman gardeners who ran to Lily and Jesus protection

''quick in here'' said Jesus to the roman gardeners and put into a large that stood hear

''can you two play croquet''

''who us'' said Lily

''yes you two'' said Juno ''im not in the habit of talking to myself can you play two play croquet''

the roman were silent and looked at Lily and Jesus as question was evidently meant

''yes!'' shouted Lily

''come on then!'' roared Juno

Lily and Jesus joined the procession wondering very much what would happen next

''nice day!'' said a timid voice sid Lily and Jesus was walking by Samuel who was peeping anxiously into face

''very'' said Lily ''where Venus''

''hush! hush!'' said Samuel in a low hurried tone he looked anxiously over his shoulder as he spoke and then himself upon tiptoe put his mouth close ear ''she's under sentence of execution-''

''get your place!'' shouted Juno in a voice of thunder

and pegan running about in all direction tumbling up against eash other hower they got settled down in a minute or two and the game began

Lily and Jesus thought she had never seen such a croquet-ground in life it was all ridges and furrow the balls were live hedgehogs the mallets live flamingoes and the roman soldiers had to stand on their hands and feet to make the arches the chief difficulty

Lily and Jesus found at first was in managing her flamingo succeeded in getting its body tucked away comfortably enough under her arm with its legs hanging down but generally just as she had got its neck nicely straightened out and was going to give the hedgehog a blow with its head it world twist itself round and look up in her face with puzzled expression

that she could not help bursting out laughing and when she had got its head down and was going to begin again it was very provoking to find that the hedgehog had unrolled itself and was in the act of crawling away besides all this there was generally a ridge or furrow in the way where she wanted to send the hedgehog to and as the doubled up roman soldiers were always getting up and walking off to other parts of the gound

Lily and Jesus soon came to the conclusion that it was a very difficult game indeed the players all played at once without waiting turns quarrelling all the while and fighting for the hedgehog

and in a very short time Juno was a furious passion and went stamping about and shouting about and shouting ''Off With This Head or off with her head''

about in a minute Lily and Jesus began to feel very uneasy to be sure had not as yet had any dispute with Juno

Lily and Jesus was looking about for some way escape and wondering whether could get away with out being seen when noticed a curious appearance in the air it puzzled her very much at first but after watching.

It a minute or two she made it out to be a grin and she said ''it's Jermiah how i shall have somebody to talk to''

''how are you getting on'' said Jermiah as soon as there was mouth enough for it to speak with Lily and Jesus waited till the eyes appeared and then nodded it no use speaking to it

Lily and Jesus thought till its ears have come or least one of them in another minute the whole head appeared and then Lily and Jesus put down flamingo and began an account of the game feeling glad had some to listen to Lily and Jesus

Jeremiah seemed to think that there was enough of it now in sight and no more of it appeared

''we don't think they play at all fairly'' Lily began in rather a complainig tone

and they all quarrel so dreadfully one can't near oneself speak and they don't seem to have any rules in particular at least if there are nobody attends to them and

''you're no idea how confusing it is all things being alive for instance there's the arch we're got to go through next walking about at other end of the ground and we should have croqueted Juno's nedgehog just now only it ran away when it saw mine coming''

''how do you like Juno'' said Jermiah in a low voice

''not at all'' said she's so extremely just then she noticed that Juno was close behind her listening so she went on likely to win that it's hardly worth while finishing the game Juno smiled and passed on

''who are you talking to'' said Jupiter going up to Lily and Jesus

and looking at Jermiah's head with great curiosity

''it's friend-Jermiah'' said Jesus allow us to introduce it''

''i don't like the look it at all'' said Jupiter ''how every it may kiss my hand if it likes''

''i'd rather not'' Jermiah remaked

''don't be impertinent'' Jupiter ''and don't look at me like that''

he got behind Lily and Jesus as he spoke

''a young man look at Jupiter'' said Jesus

Juno had only one way of sittling all diffculties great or small ''Off With His Head!'' she said with out even looking round

''i'll fetch the executioner myself'' said Jupiter eagerly''

and he hurried off

Lily and Jesus thought she well go back and see how the game going on as she heard Juno's voice in the distance, screaming with passion she had already heard sentence three of the players to see executed for having missed their turns and Lily and Jesus did not like the look of things at all

as the game was in such confusion that never knew whether it was her turn or not so Lily and Jesus went in search of her hedgehog

the hedgehog was engaged in a fight with another hedgehog which seemed to Lily and Jesus an excellent opportunity for croqueting one of them with the other the only difficulty was that her flamingo was gone across to the other side of the garden

where Lily and Jesus could see trying in a helpless sort of way to fly up into a tree.

By the time Lily and Jesus had caught the flamingo and brought it back the fight was over and both the hedgehogs were out of sight

''but it doesn't matter much'' though Lily ''as all the arches are gone from side of the ground''

so tucked it away under her arms that it might not escape again and went back for a little more conversation with a friend when got back to Jermiah she was surprised to find quite a large crowd collected round it

there a dispute going on between the executioner Jupiter and Juno who were all talking at once while all the rest were quite silent and looked very uncomfortable

the moment Lily and Jesus appeared she was appeared to by all there to settle the question and they repeated their arguments to her though as they all spoke at once she found it very hard indeed to make out exactly what they said

''the executioner's argument was that couldn't cut off a head unless there was a body to cut it off from that he had never had to do such a thing before and he wasn't going to begin at his time of life''

''Jupiter's argument was that anything that had a head could be beheaded and that you weren't to talk nonsense''

Juno's argument was that if something wasn't done about it in less than no time she'd have everybody executed all round

Lily and Jesus could think of nothing else to say but ''it belong to Venus you better ask her about it''

she's in prison'' Juno said to the executioner ''fetch her here'' and the executioner went off like an arrow

Jermiah's head began fading away the moment he was gone and by the time he had disappeared so Jupiter and the executioner ran wildly up and down looking for it while the rest of the celebration went back to the game.

And now the next chapter nine Gaius chapter ten the lobster quadrille and then chapter eleven Germanicus Tracus and Bracus.