IN WHICH "HIS MAJESTY" EXHIBITS THE EMOTIONS OF A ROYAL BOSOM, AND
MRS. RUSSELL IS DAZZLED BY A BRILLIANT PROSPECT.
On the following morning there was great excitement in Mrs. Russell's
room. This was caused by one of the female attendants, who had come
with the announcement that they were to be honored in a short time by
a visit from "His Majesty the King."
"The King!" exclaimed Mrs. Russell, as soon as Dolores had translated
this. "What King? Who is he?"
"The King!" said Dolores. "He can only be one--one single person--Don
Carlos--King Charles."
"King!" cried Mrs. Russell, "and coming here! Oh dear! what shall I
do? And my dresses! and my jewels! and my toilet articles! Oh, what
ever--ever--ever will become of poor me!"
"Oh, auntie, it is useless to think of that," said Katie. "You are a
prisoner, and no one knows that so well as the 'King,' as he calls
himself."
Mrs. Russell, however, felt different, and continued her lamentations
until "His Majesty" himself appeared. Great was their surprise at
finding this exalted personage to be no other than their Carlist
chief; but they felt still greater surprise when "His Majesty" began
to address them in English, with an accent which, though foreign, was
still familiar.
"We have called, ladies," said he, with a magnificent bow, "to wish
yez all a good-marnmin', an' to ax afther yer healths."
The ladies murmured some reply which was not very intelligible, in
which, however, the words "Your Majesty" occurred quite frequently.
"His Majesty" now seated himself upon the only seat in the room,
namely, an oaken bench, and then, with a wave of his royal hand,
said:
"Be sated, ladies, be sated. Let's waive all farrums an' cirimonies,
an' howld conversation like frinds. _Be_ sated, we beg; it's our
r'y'l will, so it is."
The ladies looked at one another in meek embarrassment. There was
nothing for them to sit on except the rough couches where they had
slept; and finally, as there was nothing else to be done, they sat
there, Mrs. Russell being nearest to "His Majesty," while Katie and
Dolores sat farther away, side by side, holding one another's hands,
and looking very meek and demure indeed.
"On sich occasions as these," said "His Majesty," "we love to dhrop
all coort cirimonial, an' lave behind all our bodygyards, an' nobles,
an' barr'ns, an' chamberlains, an' thim fellers, an' come in to have
a chat like a private gintleman."
"Oh, 'Your Majesty!'" said Mrs. Russell, in a languishing tone, "how
very, very nice it must be!"
"It is that, bedad; that's thrue for you," said "His Majesty." "An'
sure it's meself that's the proud man this day at findin' that yez
can put a thrue interpretation on our r'y'l Majesty."
"Ah, sire," sighed Mrs. Russell, whose eyes fell in shy embarrassment
before the dazzling gaze of "His Majesty."
"Ax," resumed "His Majesty," "that seemed like thrayson to our r'y'l
person have unfortunately compilled us to detain yez; but we hope it
'll be all right, an' that ye'll be all well thraited. We thrust
we'll be able to come to terrunos av a satisfactory character."
A murmur followed from Mrs. Russell.
"Aifairs av state," continued "His Majesty," "doesn't allow us to
give full an' free play to that jaynial timpiramint that's our chafe
an' layding fayture. It's war toime now, so it is, an' our r'y'l
moind's got to be harsh, oystayre, an' onbinding. War wid our
raybellious subjix compile us to rayjuice thim to obejience by farree
av arrums."
"An' now, madame an' ladies," continued "His Majesty," after a brief
pause, "I hope yez won't feel alarrumed at what I'm going to say
nixt. Ye see, our Prime Ministher has conveyed to our r'y'l ear
charges against your worthy husband av a traysonable nature."
"My husband!" exclaimed Mrs. Russell. "What! my John? Oh!"
"Yis," said "His Majesty." "I'm towld that he's been passing himself
off as Lord John Russell, the Prime Ministher av England, an' as the
spicial ambassador exthraardinary from our r'y'l cousin, the Quane av
England, to invistigate the state av affairs in Spain, wid an' oi to
raycognition av our r'y'l claims. As such we've honored him wid an'
aujence, an' communicated to him siviral state saycrits av a highly
important nature. At that toime he wint an' he tuk onjew advantage av
our confidince to desayve our r'y'l moind. Upon the discovery av this
offince I felt the kaynist sorrow, not for him, ladies, but for you;
an' it's for your sakes that I now come here, to assure you av my
tinder sympathy, an' also to ax about the fax. Is he Lord John
Russell?"
Mrs. Russell had at first felt ready to faint at this woful
disclosure, but she felt the eye of majesty resting on her, and she
saw something there that reassured her. She afterward told Katie, in
confidence, that she could understand exactly how Queen Esther had
felt when Ahasuerus held out his sceptre.
"Ah, sire!" she replied. "Oh, Your Most Gracious Majesty! He isn't
quite a lord, sire, it's true, but he's a gentleman."
"Sure to glory that's thrue," said "His Majesty." "Don't I know
it?--meself does. He's a gintleman, so he is, ivery inch av him; an'
yit may I ax, madame, what made him praytind to be a British
nobleman?"
"Oh, Your Royal Majesty!" said Mrs. Russell, in deep distress.
"Spake on, fair an' beaucheous one," said "His Majesty," with great
gallantry. "Spake on. Our r'y'l bosom's full, so it is, av tindirist
sintimints. Power forth yer story into our r'y'l ear.
Come--or--whisht! Come over here an' sit by our r'y'l side."
Saying this, "His Majesty" moved over to one end of the bench and sat
there. Unfortunately, as he placed himself on the extreme end, the
bench tilted up and the royal person went down. Katie, who was always
yery volatile, tittered audibly and Dolores did the same. But "His
Majesty" took no offence. The fact is he laughed himself, and bore it
all magnanimously, in fact royally. He picked himself up as nimbly as
a common person could have done.
"Be the powers!" said he, "whin the King loses his gravity, it's
toime for everybody else to lose his. But come along, jool, come an'
sit by our r'y'l side, an' tell us the story."
Mrs. Russell had turned quite pale at the royal fall, and paler yet
at the sound of Katie's laugh, but these words reassured her. They
seemed to show that she, unworthy and humble, was singled out in a
special manner to be the mark of royal favor. And why? Was it on her
own account, or for some other reason? She chose to consider that it
was on her own account. At the renewed request of "His Majesty,"
which was so kind, so tender, and at the same time so flattering, she
could no longer resist, but with fluttering heart, shy timidity, and
girlish embarrassment, she went over to "His Majesty" and seated
herself on the bench by his side.
[Illustration: "The Bench Tilted Up, And The Royal Person Went
Down."]
The manner of Mrs. Russell, which had all the airs and graces of a
village coquette, together with the bashfulness of a school miss,
seemed to Katie and Dolores, but especially Katie, a very rich and
wondrous thing. She always knew that Mrs. Russell was a gushing,
sentimental creature, but had never before seen her so deeply
affected. But on this occasion the good lady felt as though she was
receiving the homage of the King, and might be excused if she had all
the sensations of a court beauty.
Mrs. Russell now, at "His Majesty's" renewed request, began to
explain the position of her husband. He was a tailor, it is true, but
not by any means a common tailor. In fact, he associated exclusively
with the aristocracy. He was very eminent in his profession. He had
an army of cutters and stitchers under him. He was not a tailor, but
a Merchant Tailor, and, moreover, he was a member of the Merchant
Tailors' Association, and a man of enormous wealth.
"Sure to glory," ejaculated "His Majesty," as Mrs. Russell paused for
breath, "I knowed it was just that. It makes all the differ in the
worruld whether a man's only a tailor wid a small 't' or a Merchant
Tailor wid capital letters."
"We keep our own carriage," continued Mrs. Russell, bridling and
tossing her head, "and we have our own coat of arms and crest--the
Russell arms, you know, the same as the Duke of Bedford."
"'Dade!" said "His Majesty," "so ye have the Russell arrums. I'm
acquainted wid His Grace the Juke av Bedford. I seen him in Paris.
He's a conniction av me own in a distant way, an' so you too must be
a conniction in a distant way, being a mimber av the House av
Russell."
"Oh, sire! Oh yes--may it please Your Gracious Majesty--yes, I dare
say I am. Oh yes." Mrs. Russell was quite overcome at the royal
condescension.
"Sure," continued "His Majesty," "we r'y'l personages always
acknowledge our cousins. You're a cousin av mine, a distant one, it's
thrue, but degrays don't count wid us. Wanst a cousin, alwavs a
cousin."
"Ah, sire!"
"I niver knowed that ve were a cousin befoor," said "His Majesty,"
"or else I'd saluted ye in our r'y'l fashion, just as our cousin
Quane Victoria did whin she acknowledged the Imperor Napoleon. It's
our way to acknowledge relationship wid the r'y'l kiss. We call it
the Kiss av State. Allow me, cousin."
And before the astounded Mrs. Russell understood his intention, "His
Majesty" put his arm round her waist, and gave her a sounding smack,
which seemed to Katie like the report of a pistol.
This was altogether too much for poor Katie. She had almost lost
control of herself several times already, but now it was impossible
to maintain it any longer, and she went off into a wild burst of
laughter. It proved contagious. Dolores caught it, and clung to
Katie, burying her face against her, and half hiding it behind her.
"His Majesty" dropped his "cousin" as though he had been shot, and,
turning round, regarded the two young ladies for some minutes in
silence, while Mrs. Russell sat rigid with horror at this shocking
irreverence. But in the royal eye, as it rested on Katie, there was a
merry twinkle, until at length the contagion seized upon "His
Majesty" himself, and he too burst forth into peals of laughter.
After this even Mrs. Russell joined in, and so it happened that the
King and the three ladies enjoyed quite a pleasant season.
The King at length recovered from his laughing fit, and drew himself
up as though preparing for business.
"Ye see," said he, "Misther Russell has committed an offince against
our r'y'l prayrogatives, an' ayven his being our cousin doesn't help
him, so it doesn't, for ye see it's a toime av danger--the habeas
corpus is suspindid, thrial by jury's done up; there's only martial
law, an', be jabers, there's a coort-martial in session at this
blessed momint in the room overhead."
"Oh, sire," exclaimed Mrs. Russell, clasping her hands, "they're not
sitting on my poor John!"
"Sure an' it's just him, an' divil a one else, so it is; an' it 'ud
be mesilf that 'ud be proud to git him off if I cud, but I can't, for
law is law, and there ye have it; and though we are King, yet even we
haven't any power over the law. _Fiat justitia, ruat coelum_. I've
got no more conthrol over the law than over the weather. But we've
got somethin', an' that is a heart that milts at the soight av beauty
in disthress."
"Oh, sire," said Mrs. Russell, "spare him!"
"His Majesty" took her hand, pressed it, and held it in his.
"Dearest cousin," said he, "ye ax impossibilities. Law is an' must be
shuprame. Even now the coort is deciding. But in any evint, even the
worst, ye have a frind in us--constant, tinder, an' thrue; in any
evint, no matther what, moind ye, I won't forgit. Niver, niver! I'll
be thrue to me word. Permit us to laymint that we had not met ye
befoor the late--that is, befoor John Russell obtained this hand.
Nay, dhrop not that beaucheous head, fair one. Let the r'y'l eye gaze
on those charrums. Our r'y'l joy is to bask an' sun ourselves in the
light av loveliness an' beauty."
The strain in which "His Majesty" spoke was certainly high-flown and
perhaps extravagant, yet his intention was to express tenderness and
sympathy, and to Mrs. Russell it seemed like a declaration made to
her, and expressive of much more. She felt shocked, it is true, at
the word "late" applied to her unfortunate husband by "His Majesty,"
yet the words which followed were not without a certain consolation.
"Oh, that it were possible," continued "His Majesty," "for some of us
in this room to be more to one another! Oh, that some one here would
allow us to hope! Let her think av all that we could do for her. She
should be the sharer av our heart an' throne. Her lovely brow should
be graced by the crown av Spain an' the Injies. She should be
surrounded by the homage av the chivalry av Spain. She should fill
the most dazzlin' position in all the worruld. She should be the
cynosure av r'y'l majistic beauty. She should have wealth, an'
honors, an' titles, an' dignities, an' jools, an' gims, all powered
pell-mell into her lap; an' all the power, glory, moight, majisty,
an' dominion av the impayrial Spanish monarchy should be widin the
grasp av her little hand. What say ye, me fair one?"
All this florid harangue was uttered for the benefit of Katie, and,
as he spoke, "His Majesty" kept his eyes fixed on her, hoping that
she would respond by some glance or sign. Yet all the time that he
was speaking he was unfortunately holding the hand of Mrs. Russell,
who very naturally took all this proposal to herself. "His Majesty's"
language had already seemed to convey the information that her
husband had passed away from earth, and was now the "late" John
Russell; and much as she might mourn over the fate of one so dear,
still it could not be but that the devotion of one like "His Majesty"
should touch her sensitive heart. So when these last words came, and
brought what seemed to her like a direct appeal, she was deeply
moved.
"What say ye, me fair one?" repeated "His Majesty" with greater
earnestness, trying to catch Katie's eye.
Mrs. Russell's eyes were modestly bent downward on the floor. She
clung to the royal hand.
"Oh, sire!" she murmured. "Oh, Your Royal Majesty! I am thine--yours
forever--I cannot refuse!"
And flinging her arms about him, her head sank upon his shoulder.