Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
His Highness the Cacique, it is well known, came to England, and had
lodgings in Regent Street, where he held a levee, at which Eglantine
appeared in the Panama uniform, and was most graciously received by
his Sovereign. His Highness proposed to make Captain Eglantine his
aide-de-camp with the rank of Colonel, but the Captain's exchequer
was rather low at that moment, and the fees at the “War Office” were
peremptory. Meanwhile His Highness left Regent Street, was said by some
to have returned to Panama, by others to be in his native city of Cork,
by others to be leading a life of retirement in the New Cut, Lambeth;
at any rate was not visible for some time, so that Captain Eglantine's
advancement did not take place. Eglantine was somehow ashamed to mention
his military and chivalric rank to Mr. Mossrose, when that gentleman
came into partnership with him; and kept these facts secret, until
they were detected by a very painful circumstance. On the very day when
Walker was arrested at the suit of Benjamin Baroski, there appeared in
the newspapers an account of the imprisonment of His Highness the Prince
of Panama for a bill owing to a licensed victualler in Ratcliff Highway.
The magistrate to whom the victualler subsequently came to complain
passed many pleasantries on the occasion. He asked whether His Highness
did not drink like a swan with two necks; whether he had brought any
Belles savages with him from Panama, and so forth; and the whole court,
said the report, “was convulsed with laughter when Boniface produced a
green and yellow riband with a large star of the order of the Castle
and Falcon, with which His Highness proposed to gratify him, in lieu of
paying his little bill.”
It was as he was reading the above document with a bleeding heart that
Mr. Mossrose came in from his daily walk to the City. “Vell, Eglantine,”
says he, “have you heard the newsh?”
“About His Highness?”
“About your friend Valker; he's arrested for two hundred poundsh!”
Eglantine at this could contain no more; but told his story of how he
had been induced to accept three hundred pounds of Panama stock for
his account against Walker, and cursed his stars for his folly. “Vell,
you've only to bring in another bill,” said the younger perfumer;
“swear he owes you a hundred and fifty pounds, and we'll have a writ out
against him this afternoon.”
And so a second writ was taken out against Captain Walker.
“You'll have his wife here very likely in a day or two,” said Mr.
Mossrose to his partner; “them chaps always sends their wives, and I
hope you know how to deal with her.”
“I don't value her a fig's hend,” said Eglantine. “I'll treat her like
the dust of the hearth. After that woman's conduct to me, I should like
to see her have the haudacity to come here; and if she does, you'll see
how I'll serve her.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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