ey which Clive
paid over to her, beyond her lifetime; and will certainly leave it and
her savings to little Tommy. I should not be surprised if Madame de
Moncontour left a smart legacy to the Pendennis children; and Lord
Kew stood godfather in case--in case Mr. and Mrs. Clive wanted such an
article. But have they any children? I, for my part, should like her
best without, and entirely devoted to little Tommy. But for you, dear
friend, it is as you like. You may settle your Fable-land in your own
fashion. Anything you like happens in Fable-land. Wicked folks die a
propos (for instance, that death of Lady Kew was most artful, for if she
had not died, don't you see that Ethel would have married Lord Farintosh
the next week?)--annoying folks are got out of the way; the poor are
rewarded--the upstarts are set down in Fable-land,--the frog bursts with
wicked rage, the fox is caught in his trap, the lamb is rescued from the
wolf, and so forth, just in the nick of time. And the poet of Fable-land
rewards and punishes absolutely. He splendidly deals out bags of
sovereigns, which won't buy anything; belabours wicked backs with awful
blows, which do not hurt; endows heroines with preternatural beauty,
and creates heroes, who, if ugly sometimes, yet possess a thousand good
qualities, and usually end by being immensely rich; makes the hero
and heroine happy at last, and happy ever after. Ah, happy, harmless
Fable-land, where these things are! Friendly reader! may you and the
author meet there on some future day. He hopes so; as he yet keeps a
lingering hold of your hand, and bids you farewell with a kind heart.

Paris, 28th June 1855.

THE END

End of Project Gutenberg's The Newcomes, by William Makepeace Thackeray

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