nearly one o'clock in the morning before
Mr. Blithers was annoyed because he did not wear his crown , but was somewhat mollified by the information that he had neglected to bring it along with him in his travels . He was also considerably put out by the discovery that the Prince had left his white and gold uniform at home and had to appear in an ordinary dress-suit , which , to be sure , fitted him perfectly but did not achieve distinction . He did wear a black and silver ribbon across his shirt front , however , and a tiny gold button in the lapel of his coat ; otherwise he might have been mistaken for a `` regular guest , '' to borrow an expression from Mr. Blithers . The Prince 's host manoeuvred until nearly one o'clock in the morning before he succeeded in getting a close look at the little gold button , and then found that the inscription thereon was in some sort of hieroglyphics that afforded no enlightenment whatsoever . Exercising a potentate 's prerogative , Prince Robin left the scene of festivity somewhat earlier than was expected . As a matter of fact , he departed shortly after one . Moreover , being a prince , it did not occur to him to offer any excuse for leaving so early , but gracefully thanked his host and hostess and took himself off without the customary assertion that he had had a splendid time .