d
of sixty more speeches from the court gazette, where they had already
done service two or three times, and wherein they were again deposited
for the use of future generations. There is nothing so monotonous as
happiness, and we must be indulgent to those who sing its praises
officially. In such cases, the ablest is he who says the least.

The long evening, during which the king had lavished his most gracious
smiles on those whom he despised at the bottom of his heart, was at
length at an end, and Charming led Pazza, no longer to a dungeon, but
to a magnificent apartment, where a new surprise awaited her. At the
bottom of the room was an illuminated transparency, on which were
written lines so bad that a king alone could have been the author of
them. These lines, which were published in the official gazette, have
been handed down to us by one of those indiscreet persons who suffer
no follies of the past to be lost. Such persons are the rag-pickers of
history.

Ye indolent dunces, who rust in your sloth,
Too lazy or wilful to learn;
Ye courtiers, who crowd round the king, nothing loth
By base flattery his favor to earn;
Ye doctors, who laugh at us cowards, and sell
Long words and wise oracles dear--
Beware lest some night a mischievous sprite
Should give you a box on the ear.

And you, ye proud husbands, puffed up with conceit,
Who deem yourselves statesmen so wise
That the whole world admiringly bows at your feet--
Who truth, love, and goodness despise--
Beware lest some day your less frivolous wives,
Derided by those they held dear,
Should start from your side, aroused by just pride,
And give you a box on the ear.

"What means this enigma, sire?" asked Pazza.

"It means that I do myself justice," answered the king. "I am nothing
except through you, dear Pazza; all that I know and all that I think I
owe to you. Without you I am nothing but a soulless body, fit only for
follies."

"Pardon me if I contradict Your Majesty," said Pazza.

"Oh," returned the king, "I affect no false modesty; I know very well
that I have the clearest head of any in my council; my ministers
themselves are forced to acknowledge it, for they are always of my
opinion; but with all this there is more wisdom in your little finger
than in all my royal brain. My resolution, therefore, is fixed. Let my
court and people celebrate my wisdom, my goodness, and eve