for, and at last catching, the Thunderer's eagle eye; notwithstanding which he made a very excellent and telling speech, as he presently found out; for, on account of his freedom of language, and being always boiling over with pure envy and jealousy, your Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Sir Dashmy Partigan was—or rather on account of his own selfish, bloodthirsty, unreasonable disposition—so much offended, that he savagely attacked your friend and my friend, and would have slaughtered him on the very table of the House, if the noble Princess had not uttered a piercing scream, and I immediately interfered. Then the furious Sir Dashmy, the hang-dog Bombastes Furioso, challenged him to fight him, and me too, Premier as I am, in a triple combat, then and there, or shortly afterwards; and as I know you, my lord, would never forgive me if I showed the white feather, I accepted his challenge, and advised Ubertus to do as he liked. It appears—you know, sir, what happened. His fate was a sad one, but he brought it on himself.'
'And you, sir—you—Ubertus, what have you to say?' bellowed the Demon, turning upon me furiously.
'Say, sir,' I replied trembling, 'I—I—have nothing to say, sir, except what this gentleman has said, sir, although he is mistaken in the motives he attributes to me for going to your Royal Palace, sir.'
'How about Sir Dashmy Partigan? Do you know that you have attacked the integrity of my empire, and made yourself responsible to me for the life of that valuable Minister? Answer me and excuse yourself if you can or dare; and let me not hear such a verbose abomination as that which your patron the Doctor has just stuffed down my throat.'
'The man of few words is the best man, sir; and as the carpenter is known by his chips, so is the murderer by his
