King William quite blushed with confusion, and did not recover himself till dinner-time. One of his own jokes he enjoyed amazingly; and notably one which he played off soon after his accession. After his arrival at St. James’s Palace the populace summoned him again and again to the window to offer him the congratulations of their sweet voices. King William presented himself again and again, till twilight came on and he was tired of it. As the ‘gloaming’ thickened, and identity was a matter of difficulty, the king sent an old naval officer to bow for him at the window. At every summons the officer stepped forward and acted king, bowing and retiring, till it became too dark to make out whether any one was at the window or not. Then the loyal _mobile_ dispersed, and the affair was a joke for the remainder of the night at the jovial monarch’s table. And now we are called upon to pause, just as we had finished only the prologue to our drama. But if people _will_ make prologues as long as plays, editors will call out, _Lusisti satis!_ and the play is deferred to a more convenient opportunity. LONDON: PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET STANDARD WORKS PUBLISHED BY RICHARD BENTLEY & SON. The AUTOBIOGRAPHY of PRINCE METTERNICH. Edited by his Son, Prince RICHARD METTERNICH, and Translated by ROBINA NAPIER. 4 vols. demy 8vo. with Portrait and Facsimiles, 72_s._ The LIFE of LORD PALMERSTON. With Selections from his Diaries and Correspondence. By the Hon. EVELYN ASHLEY, M.P. The New Edition, 2 vols. crown 8vo. with Frontispiece to each volume, 12_s._ LORD BEACONSFIELD: his Life, Character, and Works. From the German of GEORG BRANDES. By JANE STURGE. Demy 8vo. 6_s._ MEMOIR of EARL SPENCER (Lord Althorp). By Sir DENIS LE MARCHANT, Bart. Demy 8vo. 16_s._ HISTORICAL CHARACTERS: Talleyrand, Mackintosh, Cobbet, Canning, Peel. By Lord DALDING and BULWER. Fifth and Enlarged Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s._ A MEMOIR of CHARLES the TWELFTH of SWEDEN. By his Majesty OSCAR II. Translated, by special permission, by GEORGE APGEORGE, Her Britannic Majesty’s Consul at Stockholm. Royal 8vo. with Two Illustrations, 12_s._ The FRENCH HUMORISTS from the TWELFTH to the NINETEENTH CENTURY. By WALTER BESANT, M.A., Christ’s Coll., Cambridge, Author of ‘Studies in Early French Poetry,’ &c. Demy 8vo. 15_s._ The LIVES of WITS and HUMORISTS. By JOHN TIMBS, F.S.A. 2 vols. crown 8vo. with Portrait. 12_s._ The LIVES of the LATER WITS and HUMORISTS. In 2 vols. crown 8vo. 12_s._ The LIVES of PAINTERS. By JOHN TIMBS, F.S.A., Author of ‘A Century of Anecdote,’ &c. Crown 8vo. with Portraits, 6_s._ The LIFE of OLIVER CROMWELL. From the French of M. GUIZOT. By ANDREW SCOBLE. Crown 8vo. with Four Portraits, 6_s._