第33章
HOW A TREMENDOUS BATTLE TOOK PLACE, AND WHO WON IT
As soon as King Padella heard, what we know already, that his victim, the lovely Rosalba, had escaped him, His Majesty's fury knew no bounds, and he pitched the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chamberlain, and every officer of the Crown whom he could set eyes on, into the cauldron of boiling oil prepared for the Princess.Then he ordered out his whole army, horse, foot, and artillery; and set forth at the head of an innumerable host, and I should think twenty thousand drummers, trumpeters, and fifers.
King Giglio's advance guard, you may be sure, kept that monarch acquainted with the enemy's dealings, and he was in nowise disconcerted.He was much too polite to alarm the Princess, his lovely guest, with any unnecessary rumours of battles impending; on the contrary, he did everything to amuse and divert her; gave her a most elegant breakfast, dinner, lunch, and got up a ball for her that evening, when he danced with her every single dance.
Poor Bulbo was taken into favour again, and allowed to go quite free now.He had new clothes given him, was called 'My good cousin' by His Majesty, and was treated with the greatest distinction by everybody.But it was easy to see he was very melancholy.The fact is, the sight of Betsinda, who looked perfectly lovely in an elegant new dress, set poor Bulbo frantic in love with her again.And he never thought about Angelica, now Princess Bulbo, whom he had left at home, and who, as we know, did not care much about him.
The King, dancing the twenty-fifth polka with Rosalba, remarked with wonder the ring she wore; and then Rosalba told him how she had got it from Gruffanuff, who no doubt had picked it up when Angelica flung it away.
'Yes,' says the Fairy Blackstick, who had come to see the young people, and who had very likely certain plans regarding them.
'That ring I gave the Queen, Giglio's mother, who was not, saving your presence, a very wise woman; it is enchanted, and whoever wears it looks beautiful in the eyes of the world, Imade poor Prince Bulbo, when he was christened, the present of a rose which made him look handsome while he had it; but he gave it to Angelica, who instantly looked beautiful again, whilst Bulbo relapsed into his natural plainness.'
'Rosalba needs no ring, I am sure,' says Giglio, with a low bow.'She is beautiful enough, in my eyes, without any enchanted aid.'
'Oh, sir!' said Rosalba.
'Take off the ring and try,' said the King, and resolutely drew the ring off her finger.In HIS eyes she looked just as handsome as before!
The King was thinking of throwing the ring away, as it was so dangerous and made all the people so mad about Rosalba; but being a Prince of great humour, and good humour too, he cast eyes upon a poor youth who happened to be looking on very disconsolately, and said--'Bulbo, my poor lad! come and try on this ring.The Princess Rosalba makes it a present to you.'
The magic properties of this ring were uncommonly strong, for no sooner had Bulbo put it on, but lo and behold, he appeared a personable, agreeable young Prince enough--with a fine complexion, fair hair, rather stout, and with bandy legs; but these were encased in such a beautiful pair of yellow morocco boots that nobody remarked them.And Bulbo's spirits rose up almost immediately after he had looked in the glass, and he talked to their Majesties in the most lively, agreeable manner, and danced opposite the Queen with one of the prettiest maids of honour, and after looking at Her Majesty, could not help saying--'How very odd! she is very pretty, but not so EXTRAORDINARILYhandsome.'
'Oh no, by no means!' says the Maid of Honour.
'But what care I, dear sir,' says the Queen, who overheard them, 'if YOU think I am good-looking enough?'
His Majesty's glance in reply to this affectionate speech was such that no painter could draw it.And the Fairy Blackstick said, 'Bless you, my darling children! Now you are united and happy; and now you see what I said from the first, that a little misfortune has done you both good.YOU, Giglio, had you been bred in prosperity, would scarcely have learned to read or write--you would have been idle and extravagant, and could not have been a good King as now you will be.You, Rosalba, would have been so flattered, that your little head might have been turned like Angelica's, who thought herself too good for Giglio.'
'As if anybody could be good enough for HIM,' cried Rosalba.
'Oh, you, you darling!' says Giglio.And so she was; and he was just holding out his arms in order to give her a hug before the whole company, when a messenger came rushing in, and said, 'My Lord, the enemy!'
'To arms!' cries Giglio.
'Oh, mercy!' says Rosalba, and fainted of course.
He snatched one kiss from her lips, and rushed FORTH TO THEFIELD of battle!
The Fairy had provided King Giglio with a suit of armour, which was not only embroidered all over with jewels, and blinding to your eyes to look at, but was water-proof, gun-proof, and sword-proof; so that in the midst of the very hottest battles His Majesty rode about as calmly as if he had been a British Grenadier at Alma.Were I engaged in fighting for my country, _I_ should like such a suit of armour as Prince Giglio wore;but, you know, he was a Prince of a fairy tale, and they always have these wonderful things.
Besides the fairy armour, the Prince had a fairy horse, which would gallop at any pace you pleased; and a fairy sword, which would lengthen and run through a whole regiment of enemies at once.With such a weapon at command, I wonder, for my part, he thought of ordering his army out; but forth they all came, in magnificent new uniforms, Hedzoff and the Prince's two college friends each commanding a division, and His Majesty prancing in person at the head of them all.
Ah! if I had the pen of a Sir Archibald Alison, my dear friends, would I not now entertain you with the account of a most tremendous shindy? Should not fine blows be struck?