The Project Gutenberg EBook of Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol. 99.,
November 8, 1890, by Various

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Title: Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol. 99., November 8, 1890

Author: Various

Release Date: May 28, 2004 [EBook #12469]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PUNCH, VOL. 99 ***

Produced by Malcolm Farmer, William Flis, and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.

PUNCH,

OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

VOL. 99.

November 8, 1890.

MR. PUNCH'S PRIZE NOVELS.

NO. V.--MIGNON'S MESS-ROOM.

(_BY_ TOM RUM SUMMER, _AUTHOR OF "MIGNON'S MA," "MIGNON'S HUB,"
"FOOTLE'S FATHER," "TOOTLE'S TOOTSIE," "UGLY TOM," "YOUR RICH
RICHARD," "A BABY IN BARRACKS," "STUCK," "HOOP-LORE," "WENT FOR THAT
PLEECEMAN," &C., &C., &C., &C., &C., &C., &C., &C._)

["This," writes the eminent Author, "is a _real, true_ story
of the life of soldiers and children. Soldiers are _grand,
noble_ fellows. They are so _manly_, and all smoke a great
deal of tobacco. My drawl is the only genuine one. I could do
a lot more of the same sort, but I charge extra for pathos.
I'm a man.--T.R.S."]

CHAPTER I.

"Three blind mice--
See how they run."
--_Old Song_,

The Officers of the Purple Dragoons were gathered together in their
ante-room. It was a way they had. They were all there. Grand fellows,
too, most of them--tall, broad-shouldered, and silky-haired, and as
good as gold. That gets tiresome after a time, but everything can be
set right with one downright rascally villain--a villain, mind you,
that poor, weak women, know nothing about. GAVOR was that kind of man.
Of course that was why he was to break his neck, and get smashed up
generally. But I am anticipating, and a man should never anticipate.
EMILY, for instance, never did. EMILY--Captain EMILY, of the Purple
Dragoons--was the biggest fool in the Service. Everybody told him so;
and EMILY, who had a trustful, loving nature, always believed what he
was told.

[Illustration]

"I nev-ah twry," he used to say--it was a difficult word to pronounce,
but EMILY always stuck to it as only a soldier can. and got it out
somehow-