dro touched the casket on the table with his forefinger.

"My lord, this casket contains two thousand guineas which her gracious
Majesty the Queen has sent you for your present wants."

Gwynplaine made a movement.

"That shall be for my Father Ursus," he said.

"So be it, my lord," said Barkilphedro. "Ursus, at the Tadcaster Inn.
The Serjeant of the Coif, who accompanied us hither, and is about to
return immediately, will carry them to him. Perhaps I may go to London
myself. In that case I will take charge of it."

"I shall take them to him myself," said Gwynplaine.

Barkilphedro's smile disappeared, and he said,--"Impossible!"

There is an impressive inflection of voice which, as it were, underlines
the words. Barkilphedro's tone was thus emphasized; he paused, so as to
put a full stop after the word he had just uttered. Then he continued,
with the peculiar and respectful tone of a servant who feels that he is
master,--

"My lord, you are twenty-three miles from London, at Corleone Lodge,
your court residence, contiguous to the Royal Castle of Windsor. You are
here unknown to any one. You were brought here in a close carriage,
which was awaiting you at the gate of the jail at Southwark. The
servants who introduced you into this palace are ignorant who you are;
but they know me, and that is sufficient. You may possibly have been
brought to these apartments by means of a private key which is in my
possession. There are people in the house asleep, and it is not an hour
to awaken them. Hence we have time for an explanation, which,
nevertheless, will be short. I have been commissioned by her Majesty--"

As he spoke, Barkilphedro began to turn over the leaves of some bundles
of papers which were lying near the casket.

"My lord, here is your patent of peerage. Here is that of your Sicilian
marquisate. These are the parchments and title-deeds of your eight
baronies, with the seals of eleven kings, from Baldret, King of Kent, to
James the Sixth of Scotland, and first of England and Scotland united.
Here are your letters of precedence. Here are your rent-rolls, and
titles and descriptions of your fiefs, freeholds, dependencies, lands,
and domains. That which you see above your head in the emblazonment on
the ceiling are your two coronets: the circlet with pearls for the
baron, and the circlet with strawberry leaves for the marquis.

"Here, in the wardrobe, is your peer's robe of red velvet, bordered with
ermine. To-