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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
bolted off to the kitchen , embraced the queen , took off the lid of the pot with his sceptre , sniffed it , and then returned to the council-board . 4 important moment arrived when the lard , which had been cut into little slices , was to be roasted upon the silver gridirons , and then thrown into the stewpan . The ladies in waiting , out of respect to her majesty , who wished to execute the affair by herself , stood aloof ; but
at the moment when the lard began to fry , a strange , little whistling voice exclaimed : " Give me some of this , sister ; I mean to feast ; I am also a queen 1 " The queen knew that it was dame Greymouse who spoke . Dame Greymouse had lived many years in the palace ; for she asserted that she was allied to the royal family . Now the queen , who was really a very good-natured and benevolent lady , though she would not acknowledge dame Greymouse for a relation , yet had no objection
to let her share in the feast , and so she said , ' * Well , dame Greymouse , you may taste the lard . " Greymouse went very pleased and eat up all the little bits of lard that the qneen gave her . But , before long , the relations of Greymouse , and her seven sons , very bad fellows , came running in and fell upon the lard . By great good luck the grand chamberlain came in just at this instant ; he drove them away , and what remained of the lard was put into the puddings , after the relative proportions had been adjusted by the court mathematician .
' The drums , the trumpets , and the cymbals sounded ; and the potentates and the princes , who were invited to the banquet , arrived at the palace , in gorgeous dresses , riding in coaches of crystal . The king received them with the greatest courtesy , and took his place on a throne at the table , with his crown on his head , and his sceptre in his hand . The banquet proceeded , when suddenly the king- changed countenance ; he raised his eyes to heaven ; he sighed profoundly ; he appeared
convulsed ; at last he threw himself back upon his throne , covered his face with his hands , and groaned audibly . Everybody rose from table in the greatest confusion . The court physician endeavoured in vain to feel the pulse of the unfortunate king ; but , at last , alter some feathers had been burnt under his nose , and other strong measures used , he came to himself and stammered out in words scarcely intelligible , " Not enough lard' ^ h
* The queen threw herself weeping at his feet . " O my dear husband , " cried she , " that you should suffer such misery ! But I am the faulty one ; punish me , punish me severely . Alas ! dame Greymouse , her seven sons , her cousins , and the Test of her relations eat almost all the lard ; and •" ' So saying , the queen fell back motionless . The king , enraged , called out , " Grand chamberlain , we wish to know how all this happened /'
' The grand chamberlain related all that he knew , and the king swore vengeance upon dame Greymouse and her relations . The privy council was immediately summoned ; the council determined to confiscate her goods first , and then to proceed against her ex offlcio ; so gave the attorney general his orders , iiut , suddenly it was recollected that none of these measures would prevent the family of Greymouse from eating lard , so the affair was laid before the court watchmaker and mechanician . This man , whose name was the same as mine , William Frederick Pivot , promised to do his beat to banish the family of Greymice forever .
Untitled Article
The Nutcracker . 19
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1835, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2641/page/19/
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