Page:Abroad with Mark Twain and Eugene Field.djvu/162

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.

faultily that after six months or so it tumbled down. And the débris having been carted away, Charles' dream of glory came to an abrupt end.

Mark and Bamberger had several more interviews and one morning, at the Legation, Clemens announced that his next book would be "The Three Charles's," Charles the First and the Second of England and Charles of Brunswick, who was also partly English.

"In all his long life," said Mark, "the Brunswick Charles did only one decent thing and that was a lie. 'Here reposes the murdered Queen of England,' he had chiselled upon the entrance to the mausoleum harboring the remains of Queen Charlotte, wife of George. Now this fellow George knew more about buttons for a waistcoat, or sauce for a partridge, than about kingship, he fought—but certainly did not murder his wife. On the other hand, Bamberger tells me, that the Brunswick Charles poisoned a number of people while playing at kingship. Yet all the punishment he got at the hands of his loving subjects was the dirty kick-out. They burned his palace, besides, but later had to rebuild it at their own cost. In short, get the true picture of Charles and loathe royalty ever afterwards," recommended Mark.

"You can't conceive of the meanness of this German kinglet," said Mark at another time. "Once he had trouble with a courtier, Baron Cramner. The Baron fled to escape

158