The Mysteries of the Court of London Vol. 7 — page 362: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

| THE MYSTERIES GF THE COURT. 840 _the amount of the | eightesopence. But their great aim Was to in _ which he had advanced. “ Dey say me get dronk— At this moment the door burst open, and a tall gaunt form stsede in, with the spindie-shanks clothed in a strange pair of inéxpressibles. This was the Baron Raggidbak; and the reigning Duke of Muxe-Stolburg-Quotha assumed his haughtiest demeanour on beholding the discharged and dis. graced functionary. “I want my rights!” exclaimed Raggidbak, striking his fisteforcibly upon the table up to and me no get dronk! Me only too dam glad to ba for seeing anything at Quotha,to get dronk upon! Nothing but small beer—dam small beer! Den deyeall say me ateal de plate off de harness— de plate not worth de stefling! And why for your Royal Highness not pay my wage regular? De Ponch and Judy showman he pay my wage re- gular: but de Grand Duke he never hav not one farden! Dat all de difference! I want my rights ” “ Begone!” exclaimed the Grand Duke: “be- gone, I say !—or you shall be locked up in a fgy- tress for the rdémainder of your life.” ‘Ab J dat all vare goot in Faderlard,” exclajmed Raggidbak maliciously ; “but dat no goot in dis contry! Your Royal Highness sall be for making me one excuse—vor hog you call it P—one apology ; and you sall be for taking me back into your ser- vice, mit de pledge dat you sall not be for ill-treat- ing me when we get back to Faderland.” ; ‘‘ Now, my good fellow,”’ said the Court official, who had no recollection of Baron Raggidbak, “you had better take yourself off—or I shall call a constable and give you into his custody.” Baron Raggidbak began to curse and swear both in English and in German: he rent hia hair —he stamped and stormed—and be vowed that be would expose the characters of all the Grand Duke’s officials, as well as their real position and standing in their native land, unless his Royal HighneS%s should consent to do him justice. All these threats he uttered in English—which indeed, apart from the interjected German imprecations, was the language that he tad spoken from *the outset, fof the express behoof of the British Court official whom he found with his Royal Highness. ihe unfortunate Baron proceeded to create such a tremendous disturbance, that it wae deemed necessary to sond for‘ a, police- officer. He was then moat ignominiously Yiven Pato custody: but it was not thought ex- pedient to convey him into the presence of a magistrate, on account of the threatened revele- tions. The miserable Baron was therefore dragged to the office of the Home Seoretary,—where, after a brief examination, a warrant was made out for his committal to Bethlem, “aa a rabid hnd dan- gerous lunatic who had deak in menaces against the august person of the reigning Duke of Maxe- Stolburg-Quoths.” A highly coloured account appeared in the daily journals, accompanied by many comments tpon “the state of mind of the unfortunate oobleman, .who had once filled a distinguished post at the Court of his Royal Highness, but from which he had been dismissed for malversstion to the extent of some hahdreds of thousands of pounds.” , Had those journals been honest, they would have used she word “peoulation ;” and if they had been truthful, they would have represented © ! inwe, iee quest @ =e Gears @f96S2Rtn = eee Smee yy Beets, £O é larceny at the value of about ress the public mind with the grandeur, pomp, and riches whiob prevailed at the Dacal Court of Maxe Stolburg-Quotha. On the following day the Ohevalier Gumbinnen, the Chevalier Kadger, and Count Frumpenbausen appeared each in a bran hew suit of clothes, pur- chased ready-made and privately of Moses and Gon ; and they received a warning from their ducal master to abstain thenceforth from the. habit of eating raw onions, smoking bad cabes, and going without shirta when on « visit to this eountry— especially to avoid getting into rows—-with full permission to relapse into their old. ways on their return to their own beloved Fatherland. aprelas CHAPTER OLivV. THE SUNGLE. Tas scene changes toa far distant country. Ie @ cloudless sky the noon-day aun wae eet like « huge ball of fire,—its torrid pouring down with a sultriness from which if would almost ap- pear that every living thing would shrink t? the neareat shade. Not a breath of air fanned the leaves: motionless they hang, as if all artificial, with etems of iron wires. Upon the pools there was not the slightest raffle: the streams flowed so languidly that they seemed to be of quicksilver— a fluid too heavy to permit the slightest agitation upon the surface. All was likewise silent, as if the scene which we are describing was utterly une - tenanted by a living thing. It was one vast. wilderness of verdure, broken only by the places where the pools existed or the streams were sluggishly and almost imperceptibly gliding. Masses of underwood were interspersed with trees,—in many spots appearing singly—ia others forming small groupe-—in others again, con- Bregating into jhe extent of woods—but in the distance so tHickly aggregated as to expand inte the magnificence of forests. Though the atyo- sphere wae so clear and eo fully illuminated with the golden “ffulgence of the sun, yet was it not ne eavy with its intense sultriness; but in and discase. To breathe it was fraught with a profound oppressivences : it seemed impossible that the lungs could become expanded with sach inhalation. Breathing itself was gasping: thére was no vitality in that airs i¢ afforded not the sense of agkive vigorous life. All was sileht ; and no evidence of the existence of any living thing met the eye of the obesrver— if an observer there were. And yet how different was the case! Within the dense shade of the tn- derwood wild beaste were lastly reposing, rendered languid almost to torpor by & stifling heat. Within the cup of the wikh flower home venomout little reptile was coiled up: the cobra was con- cealed in the grass: and what seemed to be an uncouthly awolled part of the branch of some tall tree, was in reality the boa-constrictor twigted and ‘twined around into a loathsome slimy knot." And there wae an observer amidet that egene. By the side of a pool a man was seated, bathisg 4 Ee, rere a, Rh ae stagnation there was @ sense of noisometess, COMMUC OOO) SS (CO)