The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 4Poe, Edgar Allan
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The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 4
Poe, Edgar Allan
American fiction -- 19th century; Fantasy fiction; Horror tales, American; Short stories
There was Fricassée from the Rocher de Cancale. He mentioned
Muriton of red tongue; cauliflowers with _velouté_ sauce; veal _à
la St_. Menehoult; marinade _à la_ St. Florentin; and orange
jellies _en mosaïques_.
There was Bibulus O’Bumper. He touched upon Latour and
Markbrünnen; upon Mousseux and Chambertin; upon Richbourg and St.
George; upon Haubrion, Leonville, and Medoc; upon Barac and
Preignac; upon Grâve, upon Sauterne, upon Lafitte, and upon St.
Peray. He shook his head at Clos de Vougeot, and told, with his
eyes shut, the difference between Sherry and Amontillado.
There was Signor Tintontintino from Florence. He discoursed of
Cimabué, Arpino, Carpaccio, and Argostino—of the gloom of
Caravaggio, of the amenity of Albano, of the colors of Titian, of
the frows of Rubens, and of the waggeries of Jan Steen.
There was the President of the Fum-Fudge University. He was of
opinion that the moon was called Bendis in Thrace, Bubastis in
Egypt, Dian in Rome, and Artemis in Greece.
There was a Grand Turk from Stamboul. He could not help thinking
that the angels were horses, cocks, and bulls; that somebody in
the sixth heaven had seventy thousand heads; and that the earth
was supported by a sky-blue cow with an incalculable number of
green horns.
There was Delphinus Polyglott. He told us what had become of the
eighty-three lost tragedies of Æschylus; of the fifty-four
orations of Isæus; of the three hundred and ninety-one speeches
of Lysias; of the hundred and eighty treatises of Theophrastus;
of the eighth book of the conic sections of Apollonius; of
Pindar’s hymns and dithyrambics; and of the five and forty
tragedies of Homer Junior.
There was Ferdinand Fitz-Fossillus Feltspar. He informed us all
about internal fires and tertiary formations; about aëriforms,
fluidiforms, and solidiforms; about quartz and marl; about schist
and schorl; about gypsum and trap; about talc and calc; about
blende and horn-blende; about mica-slate and pudding-stone; about
cyanite and lepidolite; about hematite and tremolite; about
antimony and calcedony; about manganese and whatever you please.
There was myself. I spoke of myself;—of myself, of myself, of
myself;—of Nosology, of my pamphlet, and of myself. I turned up
my nose, and I spoke of myself.
“Marvellous clever man!” said the Prince.
“Superb!” said his guests;—and next morning her Grace of
Bless-my-Soul paid me a visit.
“Will you go to Almack’s, pretty creature?” she said, tapping me
under the chin.
“Upon honor,” said I.
“Nose and all?” she asked.
“As I live,” I replied.
“Here then is a card, my life. Shall I say you will be there?”
“Dear Duchess, with all my heart.”
“Pshaw, no!—but with all your nose?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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