Every Girl's Library, Volume 8 of 10: A Collection of Appropriate and Instructive Reading for Girls of All Ages from the Best Authors of All Time
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Every Girl's Library, Volume 8 of 10: A Collection of Appropriate and Instructive Reading for Girls of All Ages from the Best Authors of All Time
Literature -- Collections
Gruffanuff, who had seen what had happened with the King, and knew that
Giglio must come to grief, got up very early the next morning, and went
to devise some plans for rescuing her darling husband, as the silly old
thing insisted on calling him. She found him walking up and down the
garden, thinking of a rhyme for Betsinda (_tinder_ and _winda_ were all
he could find), and indeed having forgotten all about the past evening,
except that Betsinda was the most lovely of beings.
"Well, dear Giglio?" says Gruff.
"Well, dear Gruffy?" says Giglio, only _he_ was quite satirical.
"I have been thinking, darling, what you must do in this scrape. You
must fly the country for awhile."
"What scrape?--fly the country? Never without her I love, Countess,"
says Giglio.
"No, she will accompany you, dear Prince," she says in her most coaxing
accents. "First, we must get the jewels belonging to our royal parents,
and those of her and his present Majesty. Here is the key, duck; they
are all yours, you know, by right, for you are the rightful King of
Paflagonia, and your wife will be the rightful Queen of Paflagonia."
"Will she?" says Giglio.
"Yes, and having got the jewels, go to Glumboso's apartment, where,
under his bed, you will find sacks containing money to the amount of
£217,000,000,987,439 13_s._ 6-1/2_d._, all belonging to you, for he took
it out of your royal father's room on the day of his death. With this we
will fly."
"_We_ will fly?" says Giglio.
"Yes, you and your bride--your affianced love--your Gruffy!" says the
Countess, with a languishing leer.
"_You_ my bride!" says Giglio. "You, you hideous old woman!"
"Oh, you--you wretch! didn't you give me this paper promising marriage?"
cries Gruff.
"Get away, you old goose! I love Betsinda, and Betsinda only!" And in a
fit of terror he ran from her as quickly as he could.
"He! he! he!" shrieks out Gruff: "a promise is a promise, if there are
laws in Paflagonia! And as for that monster, that wretch, that fiend,
that ugly little vixen--as for that upstart, that ingrate, that beast
Betsinda, Master Giglio will have no little difficulty in discovering
her whereabouts. He may look very long before finding _her_, I warrant.
He little knows that Miss Betsinda is----"
Is--what? Now, you shall hear. Poor Betsinda got up at five in winter
morning to bring her cruel mistress her tea; and instead of finding her
in a good-humour, found Gruffy as cross as two sticks. The Countess
boxed Betsinda's ears half a dozen times whilst she was dressing; but as
poor little Betsinda was used to this kind of treatment, she did not
feel any special alarm. "And now," says she, "when her Majesty rings her
bell twice, I'll trouble you, miss, to attend."
So when the Queen's bell rang twice, Betsinda came to her Majesty and
made a pretty little courtesy. The Queen, the Princess, and Gruffanuff
were all three in the room. As soon as they saw her they began.
"You wretch!" says the Queen.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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