OnsomegrandstateoccasionIforgotwhatthekingdeterminedtohaveamasquerade,andwheneveramasqueradeoranythingofthatkind,occurredatourcourt,thenthetalents,bothofHop-FrogandTrippettaweresuretobecalledintoplay。Hop-Frog,inespecial,wassoinventiveinthewayofgettinguppageants,suggestingnovelcharacters,andarrangingcostumes,formaskedballs,thatnothingcouldbedone,itseems,withouthisassistance。
Thenightappointedforthefetehadarrived。Agorgeoushallhadbeenfittedup,underTrippetta’seye,witheverykindofdevicewhichcouldpossiblygiveeclattoamasquerade。Thewholecourtwasinafeverofexpectation。Asforcostumesandcharacters,itmightwellbesupposedthateverybodyhadcometoadecisiononsuchpoints。Manyhadmadeuptheirmindsastowhatrolestheyshouldassumeaweek,orevenamonth,inadvance;and,infact,therewasnotaparticleofindecisionanywhereexceptinthecaseofthekingandhissevenminsters。WhytheyhesitatedInevercouldtell,unlesstheydiditbywayofajoke。Moreprobably,theyfounditdifficult,onaccountofbeingsofat,tomakeuptheirminds。Atallevents,timeflew;and,asalastresorttheysentforTrippettaandHop-Frog。
Whenthetwolittlefriendsobeyedthesummonsofthekingtheyfoundhimsittingathiswinewiththesevenmembersofhiscabinetcouncil;butthemonarchappearedtobeinaveryillhumor。HeknewthatHop-Frogwasnotfondofwine,foritexcitedthepoorcripplealmosttomadness;andmadnessisnocomfortablefeeling。Butthekinglovedhispracticaljokes,andtookpleasureinforcingHop-Frogtodrinkandasthekingcalledit
’tobemerry。’
“Comehere,Hop-Frog。”saidhe,asthejesterandhisfriendenteredtheroom;“swallowthisbumpertothehealthofyourabsentfriends,[hereHop-Frogsighed,]andthenletushavethebenefitofyourinvention。Wewantcharacterscharacters,mansomethingnoveloutoftheway。
Weareweariedwiththiseverlastingsameness。Come,drink!thewinewillbrightenyourwits。”
Hop-Frogendeavored,asusual,togetupajestinreplytotheseadvancesfromtheking;buttheeffortwastoomuch。Ithappenedtobethepoordwarf’sbirthday,andthecommandtodrinktohis’absentfriends’forcedthetearstohiseyes。Manylarge,bitterdropsfellintothegobletashetookit,humbly,fromthehandofthetyrant。
“Ah!ha!ha!”roaredthelatter,asthedwarfreluctantlydrainedthebeaker。“Seewhataglassofgoodwinecando!Why,youreyesareshiningalready!”
Poorfellow!hislargeeyesgleamed,ratherthanshone;fortheeffectofwineonhisexcitablebrainwasnotmorepowerfulthaninstantaneous。Heplacedthegobletnervouslyonthetable,andlookedrounduponthecompanywithahalfinsanestare。Theyallseemedhighlyamusedatthesuccessoftheking’s’joke。’
“Andnowtobusiness。”saidtheprimeminister,averyfatman。
“Yes。”saidtheKing;“Comelendusyourassistance。Characters,myfinefellow;westandinneedofcharactersallofusha!ha!ha!”andasthiswasseriouslymeantforajoke,hislaughwaschorusedbytheseven。
Hop-Frogalsolaughedalthoughfeeblyandsomewhatvacantly。
“Come,come。”saidtheking,impatiently,“haveyounothingtosuggest?”
“Iamendeavoringtothinkofsomethingnovel。”repliedthedwarf,abstractedly,forhewasquitebewilderedbythewine。
“Endeavoring!”criedthetyrant,fiercely;“whatdoyoumeanbythat?Ah,Iperceive。YouareSulky,andwantmorewine。Here,drinkthis!”andhepouredoutanothergobletfullandofferedittothecripple,whomerelygazedatit,gaspingforbreath。
“Drink,Isay!”shoutedthemonster,“orbythefiends-“
Thedwarfhesitated。Thekinggrewpurplewithrage。Thecourtierssmirked。Trippetta,paleasacorpse,advancedtothemonarch’sseat,and,fallingonherkneesbeforehim,imploredhimtospareherfriend。
Thetyrantregardedher,forsomemoments,inevidentwonderatheraudacity。Heseemedquiteatalosswhattodoorsayhowmostbecominglytoexpresshisindignation。Atlast,withoututteringasyllable,hepushedherviolentlyfromhim,andthrewthecontentsofthebrimminggobletinherface。
Thepoorgirlgotupthebestshecould,and,notdaringeventosigh,resumedherpositionatthefootofthetable。
Therewasadeadsilenceforabouthalfaminute,duringwhichthefallingofaleaf,orofafeather,mighthavebeenheard。Itwasinterruptedbyalow,butharshandprotractedgratingsoundwhichseemedtocomeatoncefromeverycorneroftheroom。
“Whatwhatwhatareyoumakingthatnoisefor?”demandedtheking,turningfuriouslytothedwarf。
Thelatterseemedtohaverecovered,ingreatmeasure,fromhisintoxication,andlookingfixedlybutquietlyintothetyrant’sface,merelyejaculated:
“II?Howcouldithavebeenme?”
“Thesoundappearedtocomefromwithout。”observedoneofthecourtiers。
“Ifancyitwastheparrotatthewindow,whettinghisbilluponhiscage-wires。”
“True。”repliedthemonarch,asifmuchrelievedbythesuggestion;“but,onthehonorofaknight,Icouldhaveswornthatitwasthegrittingofthisvagabond’steeth。”
Hereuponthedwarflaughedthekingwastooconfirmedajokertoobjecttoanyone’slaughing,anddisplayedasetoflarge,powerful,andveryrepulsiveteeth。Moreover,heavowedhisperfectwillingnesstoswallowasmuchwineasdesired。Themonarchwaspacified;andhavingdrainedanotherbumperwithnoveryperceptibleilleffect,Hop-Frogenteredatonce,andwithspirit,intotheplansforthemasquerade。
“Icannottellwhatwastheassociationofidea。”observedhe,verytranquilly,andasifhehadnevertastedwineinhislife,“butjustafteryourmajesty,hadstruckthegirlandthrownthewineinherface
justafteryourmajestyhaddonethis,andwhiletheparrotwasmakingthatoddnoiseoutsidethewindow,therecameintomymindacapitaldiversiononeofmyowncountryfrolicsoftenenactedamongus,atourmasquerades:buthereitwillbenewaltogether。Unfortunately,however,itrequiresacompanyofeightpersonsand-“
“Hereweare!”criedtheking,laughingathisacutediscoveryofthecoincidence;“eighttoafractionIandmysevenministers。Come!whatisthediversion?”
“Wecallit。”repliedthecripple,“theEightChainedOurang-Outangs,anditreallyisexcellentsportifwellenacted。”
“Wewillenactit。”remarkedtheking,drawinghimselfup,andloweringhiseyelids。
“Thebeautyofthegame。”continuedHop-Frog,“liesinthefrightitoccasionsamongthewomen。”
“Capital!”roaredinchorusthemonarchandhisministry。
“Iwillequipyouasourang-outangs。”proceededthedwarf;“leaveallthattome。Theresemblanceshallbesostriking,thatthecompanyofmasqueraderswilltakeyouforrealbeastsandofcourse,theywillbeasmuchterrifiedasastonished。”
“Oh,thisisexquisite!”exclaimedtheking。“Hop-Frog!Iwillmakeamanofyou。”
“Thechainsareforthepurposeofincreasingtheconfusionbytheirjangling。Youaresupposedtohaveescaped,enmasse,fromyourkeepers。
Yourmajestycannotconceivetheeffectproduced,atamasquerade,byeightchainedourang-outangs,imaginedtoberealonesbymostofthecompany;andrushinginwithsavagecries,amongthecrowdofdelicatelyandgorgeouslyhabitedmenandwomen。Thecontrastisinimitable!”
“Itmustbe。”saidtheking:andthecouncilarosehurriedlyasitwasgrowinglate,toputinexecutiontheschemeofHop-Frog。
Hismodeofequippingthepartyasourang-outangswasverysimple,buteffectiveenoughforhispurposes。Theanimalsinquestionhad,attheepochofmystory,veryrarelybeenseeninanypartofthecivilizedworld;andastheimitationsmadebythedwarfweresufficientlybeast-likeandmorethansufficientlyhideous,theirtruthfulnesstonaturewasthusthoughttobesecured。
Thekingandhisministerswerefirstencasedintight-fittingstockinetshirtsanddrawers。Theywerethensaturatedwithtar。Atthisstageoftheprocess,someoneofthepartysuggestedfeathers;butthesuggestionwasatonceoverruledbythedwarf,whosoonconvincedtheeight,byoculardemonstration,thatthehairofsuchabruteastheourang-outangwasmuchmoreefficientlyrepresentedbyflu。Athickcoatingofthelatterwasaccordinglyplastereduponthecoatingoftar。Alongchainwasnowprocured。First,itwaspassedaboutthewaistoftheking,andtied,thenaboutanotheroftheparty,andalsotied;thenaboutallsuccessively,inthesamemanner。Whenthischainingarrangementwascomplete,andthepartystoodasfarapartfromeachotheraspossible,theyformedacircle;andtomakeallthingsappearnatural,Hop-Frogpassedtheresidueofthechainintwodiameters,atrightangles,acrossthecircle,afterthefashionadopted,atthepresentday,bythosewhocaptureChimpanzees,orotherlargeapes,inBorneo。
Thegrandsalooninwhichthemasqueradewastotakeplace,wasacircularroom,verylofty,andreceivingthelightofthesunonlythroughasinglewindowattop。Atnighttheseasonforwhichtheapartmentwasespeciallydesigneditwasilluminatedprincipallybyalargechandelier,dependingbyachainfromthecentreofthesky-light,andlowered,orelevated,bymeansofacounter-balanceasusual;butinordernottolookunsightly
thislatterpassedoutsidethecupolaandovertheroof。
ThearrangementsoftheroomhadbeenlefttoTrippetta’ssuperintendence;
but,insomeparticulars,itseems,shehadbeenguidedbythecalmerjudgmentofherfriendthedwarf。Athissuggestionitwasthat,onthisoccasion,thechandelierwasremoved。Itswaxendrippingswhich,inweathersowarm,itwasquiteimpossibletopreventwouldhavebeenseriouslydetrimentaltotherichdressesoftheguests,who,onaccountofthecrowdedstateofthesaloon,couldnotallbeexpectedtokeepfromoutitscentre;thatistosay,fromunderthechandelier。Additionalsconcesweresetinvariouspartsofthehall,outofthewar,andaflambeau,emittingsweetodor,wasplacedintherighthandofeachoftheCaryaides[Caryatides]thatstoodagainstthewallsomefiftyorsixtyaltogether。
Theeightourang-outangs,takingHop-Frog’sadvice,waitedpatientlyuntilmidnightwhentheroomwasthoroughlyfilledwithmasqueradersbeforemakingtheirappearance。Nosoonerhadtheclockceasedstriking,however,thantheyrushed,orratherrolledin,alltogetherfortheimpedimentsoftheirchainscausedmostofthepartytofall,andalltostumbleastheyentered。
Theexcitementamongthemasqueraderswasprodigious,andfilledtheheartofthekingwithglee。Ashadbeenanticipated,therewerenotafewoftheguestswhosupposedtheferocious-lookingcreaturestobebeastsofsomekindinreality,ifnotpreciselyourang-outangs。Manyofthewomenswoonedwithaffright;andhadnotthekingtakentheprecautiontoexcludeallweaponsfromthesaloon,hispartymightsoonhaveexpiatedtheirfrolicintheirblood。Asitwas,ageneralrushwasmadeforthedoors;butthekinghadorderedthemtobelockedimmediatelyuponhisentrance;and,atthedwarf’ssuggestion,thekeyshadbeendepositedwithhim。
Whilethetumultwasatitsheight,andeachmasqueraderattentiveonlytohisownsafetyfor,infact,therewasmuchrealdangerfromthepressureoftheexcitedcrowd,thechainbywhichthechandelierordinarilyhung,andwhichhadbeendrawnuponitsremoval,mighthavebeenseenverygraduallytodescend,untilitshookedextremitycamewithinthreefeetofthefloor。
Soonafterthis,thekingandhissevenfriendshavingreeledaboutthehallinalldirections,foundthemselves,atlength,initscentre,and,ofcourse,inimmediatecontactwiththechain。Whiletheywerethussituated,thedwarf,whohadfollowednoiselesslyattheirheels,incitingthemtokeepupthecommotion,tookholdoftheirownchainattheintersectionofthetwoportionswhichcrossedthecirclediametricallyandatrightangles。Here,withtherapidityofthought,heinsertedthehookfromwhichthechandelierhadbeenwonttodepend;and,inaninstant,bysomeunseenagency,thechandelier-chainwasdrawnsofarupwardastotakethehookoutofreach,and,asaninevitableconsequence,todragtheourang-outangstogetherincloseconnection,andfacetoface。