I told him I knew nothing of what I had to expect from it.  He undertook readily to inform me.  He said I was to be sumptuously arrayed, to sit in one of the best rooms at St. James’s, and there to receive all the ladies of the queen in particular, and to do the honours to all the gentlemen also, belonging to the establishment.

I laughed, and told him he had painted to me a scene of happiness peculiarly adapted to my taste!

He did not concern himself to examine whether or not I was serious, but said he supposed, of course, the dignity of such a matter of state could not be disagreeable to me, and added, he should take the liberty to wish me joy of the day, among the rest, when it arrived, and to see me in my glory.  After this he said, “You have now nearly seen the whole of everything that will come before you:  in a very short time you will have passed six months here, and then you will know your life for as many, and twice and thrice as many years.

444

You will have seen everybody and everything, and the same round will still be the same, year after year, without intermission or alteration.”

An equerry on the court concert.

Dec. 26-Colonel Goldsworthy ran on, till General Bud`e reminded him it was time they should appear in the concertroom.

“Ay,” cried he, reluctantly, “now for the fiddlers!  There I go, plant myself against the side of the chimney, stand first on one foot, then on the other, hear over and over again all that fine squeaking, and then fall fast asleep, and escape by mere miracle from flouncing down plump in all their faces.”

“What would the queen say if you did that?”

“O, ma’am, the queen would know nothing of the matter; she’d only suppose it some old double bass that tumbled.”

" Why, could not she see what it was?”

“O no! ma’am, we are never in the room with the queen! that’s the drawing-room, beyond, where the queen sits; we go no farther than the fiddling-room.  As to the queen, we don’t see her week after week sometimes.  The king, indeed, comes there to us, between whiles, though that’s all as it happens, now Price is gone.  He used to play at backgammon with Price.”

“Then what do you do there?”

“Just what I tell you—­nothing at all, but stand as furniture.  But the worst is, sometimes, when my poor eye-peepers are not quite closed, I look to the music-books to see what’s coming; and there I read ‘Chorus of Virgins:’  so then, when they begin, I look about me.  A chorus of virgins, indeed! why, there’s nothing but ten or a dozen fiddlers! not a soul beside! it’s as true as I’m alive !  So then, when we’ve stood supporting the chimney-piece about two hours, why then, if I’m not called upon, I shuffle back out of the room, make a profound bow to the harpsichord, and I’m off.”

Dr. HERSCHFL’s large telescope.