Squire Headlong, in the meanwhile, was superintending operations in four
scenes of action at the Hall--the cellar, the library, the
picture-gallery, and the dining-room-preparing for the reception of his
philosophical visitors. His myrmidon on this occasion was a little,
red-nosed butler, who waddled about the house after his master, while
the latter bounced from room to room like a cracker. Multitudes of
packages had arrived by land and water, from London, and Liverpool, and
Chester, and Manchester, and various parts of the mountains; books,
wine, cheese, mathematical instruments, turkeys, figs, soda-water,
fiddles, flutes, tea, sugar, eggs, French horns, sofas, chairs, tables,
carpets, beds, fruits, looking-glasses, nuts, drawing-books, bottled
ale, pickles, and fish sauce, patent lamps, barrels of oysters, lemons,
and jars of Portugal grapes. These, arriving in succession, and with
infinite rapidity, had been deposited at random--as the convenience of
the moment dictated--sofas in the cellar, hampers of ale in the
drawing-room, and fiddles and fish-sauce in the library. The servants
unpacking all these in furious haste, and flying with them from place to
place, tumbled over one another upstairs and down. All was bustle,
uproar, and confusion; yet nothing seemed to advance, while the rage and
impetuosity of the squire continued fermenting to the highest degree of
exasperation, which he signified, from time to time, by converting some
newly-unpacked article, such as a book, a bottle, a ham, or a fiddle,
into a missile against the head of some unfortunate servant.
In the midst of this scene of confusion thrice confounded, arrived the
lovely Caprioletta Headlong, the squire's sister, whom he had sent for
to do the honours of his house, beaming like light on chaos, to arrange
disorder and harmonise discord. The tempestuous spirit of her brother
became as smooth as the surface of the lake of Llanberris, and in less
than twenty-four hours after her arrival, everything was disposed in its
proper station, and the squire began to be all impatience for the
appearance of his promised guests.
The first visitor was Marmaduke Milestone, Esq., a picturesque landscape
gardener of the first celebrity, who promised himself the glorious
achievement of polishing and trimming the rocks of Llanberris.
A postchaise brought the Reverend Doctor Gaster, and then came the three
philosophers.
The next arrival was that of Mr. Cranium and his lovely daughter, Miss
Cephalis Cranium, who flew to the arms of her dear friend Caprioletta.
Miss Cephalis blushed like a carnation at the sight of Mr. Escot, and
Mr. Escot glowed like a corn-poppy at the sight of Miss Cephalis.
Mr. Escot had formerly been the received lover of Miss Cephalis, till he
incurred the indignation of her father by laughing at a very profound
dissertation which the old gentleman delivered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account