This was, at the outset, difficult.
Obstacles were thrown in the way, but they were overcome by the
pertinacity and ingenuity of Our Representative, who at last found
himself seated with the SULTAN on the very dais from which SHAH
LEFEVRE had conferred with his Imperial Majesty whilst other of the
forty guests, "including the Austrian Ambassador," looked on, green
with envy.
"It's a curious thing," said the SULTAN, laying down a book he had
been reading when Our Representative entered, "that, when you were
announced, I had just come upon a reference by your great Poet to your
still greater Statesman. You know the line in Lockandkey Hall,--
"'Oh the dreary, drear LEFEVRE! Oh the barren, barren SHAW!'"
"That," Our Representative writes, "is not precisely the line as I
remember it; but I make it a rule never to correct a SULTAN."
Accordingly His Majesty proceeded: "And so, my good Cousin, _Mr.
Punch_, wants to know all about this interview, the _bruit_ of which
has shaken the Universe. His wishes are commands to me. In the first
place, I will tell you (though this is not for publication), that it
was by the merest accident I had the advantage of knowing your great
countryman.
Pages:
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55