The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 140: what you’re looking at

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

122 REYNOLDS’ WORKS of the stole and dubbed a baron. When he gets back to Germany he will have to shovel up the dung again. Then comes Himmelspinken; he is another groom, but here called a general and master of the horse. Master of the horse indeed! he has rubbed one down pretty often, I can tell you! Next comes Herr Humbogh — and a veritable hum- bug, too, as you would call him in your language. Here he is figuring away as the privy seal, whereas in Germany he is messenger at the duke’s gate. The fellow Kadger is in reality a footman, but now a chevalier and equerry. Frum- penhausen, rejoicing in the title of count, and acting as Gold Stick, is a lackey who attends on the duke’s carriage, and in that capacity carries the brass-headed cane which here is dignified as a gold stick. Ah! there is one more whom I had almost forgotten, and this is the man Farthenless, who must be very much astonished to find himself a baron, but perhaps still more so at being privy purse, seeing that the ducal purse is not so capacious as to render a custodian necessary. But now, what do you think Farthenless is? A pawnbroker’s man! ”’ Christian could not speak for astonishment. ‘Yes, such, I can assure you, is the fact,’’ proceeded the German, “ and I will tell you how it happens. You must know that all the duke’s plate was unfortunately in pledge when he received the invitation to pay his present visit to England. What was to be done? He could not redeem it; the pawnbroker would not part with it out of his own keeping; and a reigning sovereign could not come to England to stay at a hotel without his own plate. The dilemma was serious, but a compromise was hitupon. It was agreed that the pawnbroker’s assistant should bring over the plate, travelling in the ducal retinue, and with special injunc- tions to keep a sharp eye upon the property; for the duke is quite as capable of laying hands upon it as any of the starve- lings that surround him. So I suppose it was deemed prudent to give the fellow Farthenless an official department; hence the dignity of baron and the post of privy purse, both of which he will have to renounce the instant he gets back to Germany.”’ Christian was amazed almost to stupefaction by what he had heard, and the especial care which he had seen Baron Farthenless bestow upon the ducal plate was now fully CORMICOOOKS. EO)