Penny Dreadfuls, 1916 · page 319 of 400
Tom Anderson, Dare-Devil: A Young Virginian in the Revolution — page 319: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a page of running prose from what appears to be a serialized Victorian fiction (page 301, titled "COLIBRI"). The text depicts drawing-room gossip in Bridgetown, where characters discuss the Marquis de la Jonquière's social entanglements with Princess Oczakoff and someone referred to as "that Zambo." Dick Knatchbull mocks the Princess's pretensions to aristocracy and suggests she amuses herself with the Marquis now that her French poodle ("Tiny") is aging, teaching him Russian to pass the time—a passage marked by barbed social commentary and class satire typical of Victorian sensation fiction.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CoLiBRi 301 when the unwonted procession set out: the Marquis de la Jonquiére on his newest mount from ‘Tattersall’s, the *“prune-skinned Marquis” in the sedan chair of the Prin- cess — oh, very old; very lame; very, very rich; yes: — Her Excellency lived on the mountain. Tongues wagged. They always do on Sunday after- noons; but on this particular Sunday, Bridgetown tongues wagged more than ever. The Bishop carried the news to Lord Mulgrave’s din- ner-table that night. And Dick Knatchbull — just back from Tobago — declared that De la Jonquiére was mak- ing an ass of himself about “that Zambo.”’ “And the Princess Oczakoff, Dick?” asked Lady Amy Dalton, turning her wide violet eyes on him. “She, you know, is a very ¢reat aristocrat.” “IT know she says she is. Whoever saw an Irish gentle- woman who did n’t claim more Irish kings than old Colo- nel Codrington had niggers? Old Oczakoff is perfectly silly about De la Jonquiére. It’s all 42s doing, of course. Now that her old French poodle ’s on its last legs, the Oczakoff is obliged to amuse herself with De la Jonquiére!— and that black upstart.” “Oh, Dick! You are bitter as gall,’ murmured Lady Amy, under cover of the Bishop’s extemporaneous cough. “The Princess is a woman of wide cultivation,’ His Lordship began. Dick’s careless, clattering laugh broke in. “Oh, yes. And now that Tiny won’t jump through a hoop or balance a bone on her nose any longer, Her Excellency is teaching De la Jonquiére things: to speak Russian, for one. Just to kill time, you know. De la Jon- quiére is getting a creditable knowledge of Russian, and the caniche may be seen with bones in her mouth instead of across her nose. Poor Tiny! She’s been turned down for a new pet! And such a pet! A beautiful young Mar- quis! Oh, you know the Princess is a neighbor of mine. ‘My neighbor’ is merely an expression meaning, “I know where to land hard!’ Quite true.” CORVICLI@OO® eS (CO) im