"My Prince and my King!" said she.
And Deodonato shot to his feet, and before them all he kissed her, and,
turning, spoke:
"As I have wooed, let every man in this Duchy woo. As I have won, let
every man that is worthy win. For, unless he so woo, and unless he so
win, vain is his wooing and vain is his winning, and a fig for his
wedding, say I, Deodonato! I, that was Deodonato, and now am--Deodonato
and Dulcissima."
And a great cheer rang out in the Hall, and Fusbius fled to the door;
and they tore his gown as he went and cursed him for a knave. But the
President raised his voice aloud and cried--"May Heaven preserve your
Highnesses--and here's a blessing on all windows!"
And that is the reason why you will find (if you travel there, as I
trust you may, for nowhere are the ladies fairer or the men so gallant)
more windows in the Duchy of Deodonato than anywhere in the wide world
besides. For the more windows, the wider the view; and the wider the
view, the more pretty damsels do you see; and the more pretty damsels
you see, the more jocund a thing is life-and that is what the men of
the Duchy love--and not least Duke Deodonato, whom, with his bride
Dulcissima, may Heaven long preserve!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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