Philip II., whose one recorded hearty laugh was occasioned by the news
of the St. Bartholomew massacre, could mask his fanaticism or drop it
for the time being, when it seemed politic to do so. Queen Mary was a
maniac; but the successor of Torquemada was the incarnation of cruelty
pure and simple, and I have a mind to let my counterfeit presentment
of him stand on its head for the rest of its natural life. I cordially
dislike several persons, but I hate nobody, living or dead, excepting
Philip II. of Spain. He appears to give me as much trouble as Charles I.
gave the amiable Mr. Dick.
AMONG the delightful men and women whom you are certain to meet at an
English country house there is generally one guest who is supposed to be
preternaturally clever and amusing--"so very droll, don't you know." He
recites things, tells stories in costermonger dialect, and mimics public
characters. He is a type of a class, and I take him to be one of the
elementary forms of animal life, like the acalephae.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25