whether he did not think it a funny thing that
Temugin, generally called Genghis Khan, should have married the daughter
of Prester John? {373} The Lion, after giving a side-glance at the
writer through his left spectacle glass, seemed about to reply, but was
unfortunately prevented, being seized with an irresistible impulse to
contradict a respectable doctor of medicine, who was engaged in
conversation with the master of the house at the upper and further end of
the table, the writer being a poor ignorant lad, sitting, of course, at
the bottom. The doctor, who had served in the Peninsula, having observed
that Ferdinand the Seventh was not quite so bad as had been represented,
the Lion vociferated that he was ten times worse, and that he hoped to
see him and the Duke of Wellington hanged together. The doctor who,
being a Welshman, was somewhat of a warm temper, growing rather red, said
that at any rate he had been informed that Ferdinand the Seventh knew
sometimes how to behave himself like a gentleman. This brought on a long
dispute, which terminated rather abruptly. The Lion having observed that
the doctor must not talk about Spanish matters with one who had visited
every part of Spain, the doctor bowed, and said that he was right, for
that he believed no people in general possessed such accurate information
about countries as those who had travelled them as bagmen. On the Lion
asking the doctor what he meant, the Welshman, whose under jaw began to
move violently, replied that he meant what he said. Here the matter
ended, for the Lion, turning from him, looked at the writer. The writer,
imagining that his own conversation hitherto had been too trivial and
commonplace for the Lion to consider it worth his while to take much
notice of it, determined to assume a little higher ground, and after
repeating a few verses of the Koran, and gabbling a little Arabic, asked
the Lion what he considered to be the difference between the Hegira and
the Christian era, adding that he thought the general computation was in
error by about one year; and being a particularly modest person, chiefly
he believes owing to his having been at school in Ireland, absolutely
blushed at finding that the Lion returned not a word in answer. 'What a
wonderful individual I am seated by,' thought he, 'to whom Arabic seems a
vulgar speech, and a question about the Hegira not worthy of an answer!'
not reflecting that as lions come from the Saharra, th