What palaces I would inhabit; what equipages I would drive;
what magnificent fetes I would give; what inimitable little dinners,
where beauty, wit, and genius alone should be gathered together;
what music should I possess in "my private band;" what exotics in
my conservatory; and how I should dispense these fascinations; what
happiness would I diffuse in the circle in which I moved, and what a
circle would that be! It was to this precise point my buoyant fancy had
brought me, as the second flask of champagne, iced almost to a crystal,
had warmed me into a glow of imaginative enthusiasm. I fancied myself
in a gilded saloon, where, amid the glare of a thousand wax-lights, a
brilliant company were assembled. I thought that at each opening of the
folding-door a servant announced some name, illustrious from position
or great in reputation, and that around me, as I stood, a group was
gathered of all that was distinguished in the world of fashion or
celebrity. "Your Royal Highness has made this the proudest day of my
life," said I, rising, and bowing reverentially before a faded old
arm-chair. "May I offer your Eminence a seat," continued
I to a red sofa-cushion I mistook for a cardinal. "Your Excellency
is most heartily welcome," said I to an empty decanter. And so did I
convert every adjunct of the chamber into some distinguished personage,
even, to my fast expiring lamp, which, with a glimmering flame and a
nauseous odor, was gradually dying away, and which I actually addressed
as a great ambassador!

After this, I conclude that I must have imagined myself in the
East,--possibly taking a cup of sherbet with the Sultan, or a chibouk
with the Khan of Tammerkabund; for when I became conscious once more, I
found myself upon the hearthrug, where I had been enjoying a delicious
sleep for some hours.

"Would his Excellency desire to see his chamber?" asked the landlord,
as, with a branch of candles, he stood in the doorway.

I waved my hand in sign of assent, and followed him.

CHAPTER XXVII. GUAJUAQUALLA

There are few things in this world gold cannot buy: but one among their
number assuredly is--"a happy dream." Now, although I went to sleep in
a great bed with damask hangings and a gilt crown upon it, my pillow
fringed with deep lace, my coverlet of satin edged with gold, I dreamed
the whole night through of strifes, combats, and encounters. At one time
my enemy would be an Indian; at another, a half-breed; now, a negr