"There was a weaver (of all people) joined me at St. Ninians; he was
more of a man than my papa!" he thought. "I saw him lie doubled in his
blood and a grenadier below him--and he died for my papa! All died for
him, or risked the dying, and I lay for him all those months in the rain
and skulked in heather like a fox; and now he writes me his advice!
calls me Carluccio--me, the man of the house, the only king in that
king's race." He ground his teeth. "The only king in Europe! Who else?
Who has done and suffered except me? who has lain and run and hidden
with his faithful subjects, like a second Bruce? Not my accursed cousin,
Louis of France at least, the lewd effeminate traitor!" And filling the
glass to the brim, he drank a king's damnation. Ah, if he had the power
of Louis, what a king were here!

The minutes followed each other into the past, and still he persevered
in this debilitating cycle of emotions, still fed the fire of his
excitement with driblets of Rhine wine: a boy at odds with life, a boy
with a spark of the heroic, which he was now burning out and drowning
down in futile reverie and solitary excess.

From two rooms beyond, the sudden sound of a raised voice attracted him.

"By....

FABLES

FABLES

I

THE PERSONS OF THE TALE

After the 32nd chapter of "Treasure Island," two of the puppets strolled
out to have a pipe before business should begin again, and met in an
open place not far from the story.

"Good-morning, Cap'n," said the first, with a man-o'-war salute, and a
beaming countenance.

"Ah, Silver!" grunted the other. "You're in a bad way, Silver."

"Now, Cap'n Smollett," remonstrated Silver, "dooty is dooty, as I knows,
and none better; but we're off dooty now; and I can't see no call to
keep up the morality business."

"You're a damned rogue, my man," said the Captain.

"Come, come, Cap'n, be just," returned the other. "There's no call to be
angry with me in earnest. I'm on'y a chara'ter in a sea story. I don't
really exist."

"Well, I don't really exist either," says the Captain, "which seems to
meet that."

"I wouldn't set no limits to what a virtuous chara'ter might consider
argument," responded Silver. "But I'm the villain of this tale, I am;
and speaking as one sea-faring man to another, what I want to know is,
what's the odds?"

"Were you never taught your catechism?" said the Captain. "Don't you
know there's such a thing as an Author?"

"Such a t