The Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. YellowplushThackeray, William Makepeace
General
The Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush
Thackeray, William Makepeace
Didactic fiction; England -- Fiction; Household employees -- Fiction; Humorous stories; Master and servant -- Fiction
You shall here how. Ours, you know, is a Wig house; and ever sins his
third son has got a place in the Treasury, his secknd a captingsy in the
Guards, his fust, the secretary of embasy at Pekin, with a prospick
of being appinted ambasdor at Loo Choo--ever sins master's sons have
reseaved these attentions, and master himself has had the promis of a
pearitch, he has been the most reglar, consistnt, honrabble Libbaral, in
or out of the House of Commins.
Well, being a Whig, it's the fashn, as you know, to reseave littery
pipple; and accordingly, at dinner, tother day, whose name do you think
I had to hollar out on the fust landing-place about a wick ago? After
several dukes and markises had been enounced, a very gentell fly drives
up to our doar, and out steps two gentlemen. One was pail, and wor
spektickles, a wig, and a white neckcloth. The other was slim with a
hook nose, a pail fase, a small waist, a pare of falling shoulders, a
tight coat, and a catarack of black satting tumbling out of his busm,
and falling into a gilt velvet weskit. The little genlmn settled his
wigg, and pulled out his ribbins; the younger one fluffed the dust of
his shoes, looked at his whiskers in a little pockit-glas, settled his
crevatt; and they both mounted upstairs.
“What name, sir?” says I, to the old genlmn.
“Name!--a! now, you thief o' the wurrld,” says he, “do you pretind
nat to know ME? Say it's the Cabinet Cyclopa--no, I mane the Litherary
Chran--psha!--bluthanowns!--say it's DOCTHOR DIOCLESIAN LARNER--I think
he'll know me now--ay, Nid?” But the genlmn called Nid was at the botm
of the stare, and pretended to be very busy with his shoo-string. So the
little genlmn went upstares alone.
“DOCTOR DIOLESIUS LARNER!” says I.
“DOCTOR ATHANASIUS LARDNER!” says Greville Fitz-Roy, our secknd footman,
on the fust landing-place.
“DOCTOR IGNATIUS LOYOLA!” says the groom of the chambers, who pretends
to be a scholar; and in the little genlmn went. When safely housed,
the other chap came; and when I asked him his name, said, in a thick,
gobbling kind of voice:
“Sawedwadgeorgeearllittnbulwig.”
“Sir what?” says I, quite agast at the name.
“Sawedwad--no, I mean MISTAWedwad Lyttn Bulwig.”
My neas trembled under me, my i's fild with tiers, my voice shook, as
I past up the venrabble name to the other footman, and saw this fust of
English writers go up to the drawing-room!
It's needless to mention the names of the rest of the compny, or to
dixcribe the suckmstansies of the dinner. Suffiz to say that the two
littery genlmn behaved very well, and seamed to have good appytights;
igspecially the little Irishman in the whig, who et, drunk, and talked
as much as a duzn. He told how he'd been presented at cort by his
friend, Mr. Bulwig, and how the Quean had received 'em both, with a
dignity undigscribable; and how her blessid Majisty asked what was the
bony fidy sale of the Cabinit Cyclopaedy, and how be (Doctor Larner)
told her that, on his honner, it was under ten thowsnd.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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