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Inasmuch as I was now the second personage in the kingdom, as farⒶrejected substantive as politicalⒶalteration in the MS power and authority were concerned, much was made of me. My raiment was ofⒶalteration in the MS silks and velvets and cloth of gold, and byⒶrejected substantive consequence was very showy, alsoⒶalteration in the MS uncomfortable. But habit would soon reconcile me to my clothes; I was aware of that. I was given the choicest suite of apartments in the castle, after the king’s. They were aglow with loud-colored silken hangings, but the stone floors had nothing but rushes on them for a carpet, and they were misfit rushes at that, being not all of one breed. AsⒶalteration in the MS for conveniences, properly speaking, there weren’t any. I mean little conveniences; it is the little conveniences that make the real comfort of life. The big oaken chairs, graced with rude carvings, were well enough, but that was the stopping-place. There was no soap, no matches, no looking-glass—except a metal one, about as powerful as a pail of waterⒶemendation. And not a chromo. I had been used to chromos for years, and I saw now, that without my suspecting it a passionⒶalteration in the MS for art had got worked into the fabricⒶemendation of my [begin page 99] being, and was become a part of me. It made me homesick to look around over this proud andⒶalteration in the MS gaudy but heartless barrenness and remember that in our house in EastⒶrejected substantive Hartford, all unpretending as it was, you couldn’t go into a room but you would find an insurance-chromo,

or at least a three-color God-Bless-Our-Home overⒶalteration in the MS the door; and in the parlor we had nine. But here, even in my grand room of state, there wasn’t anything in the nature of a picture except a thingⒶalteration in the MS the size of a bed-quiltⒶemendation, which was either woven or knitted, (it had darned places [begin page 100] in it,) and nothing in it was the right color or the right shape; and as for proportions, even Raphael himself couldn’t have botchedⒶrejected substantive them more formidablyⒶalteration in the MS after all his practice on those nightmaresⒶalteration in the MS they call his “celebrated Hampton Court CartoonsⒺexplanatory note.” Raphael was a birdⒶrejected substantive.Ⓐtextual note We had several of his chromos; one was his “Miraculous DraughtⒶalteration in the MS of Fishes,” where he puts in a miracle of his ownⒶemendation Ⓐtextual note—Ⓐalteration in the MSputs three men into a canoe which wouldn’tⒶrejected substantive have held a dog without upsettingⒶrejected substantive Ⓐalteration in the MS. I always admiredⒶalteration in the MS to study R.’s art, it was so fresh and unconventional.

ThereⒶalteration in the MS wasn’t even a bell or a speaking tubeⒶalteration in the MS in the castle. I had a great many servants, and thoseⒶalteration in the MS that were on duty lolled in the ante-roomsⒶrejected substantive Ⓐtextual note; and when I wanted one of them I had to go and call for him. There was no gas, there were no candles; a bronze dish half full of boarding-house butter,Ⓐemendation Ⓐrejected substantive Ⓐtextual note with a blazingⒶalteration in the MS rag floating in it was the thing that produced what was regarded asⒶrejected substantive light. A lot of these hung along the walls and modified the dark, just toned it downⒶalteration in the MS enough to make it dismal. If you went out at night, your servants carried torches. There were no books, pens, paper, or ink; and no glass in the openingsⒶalteration in the MS they believed to be windows. It is a little thing—glass is—until it is absent, then it becomes a big thing. But perhaps the worst of all was, that there wasn’t any sugar, coffee, tea or tobacco.Ⓐemendation I saw that I was just another Robinson Crusoe cast away on an uninhabited island, with no society but some more or less tame animals, and if I wanted to make life bearable I must do as he did—invent, contrive, create; reorganize things; set brain and hand to work, and keep them busy. Well, that was in my line.

One thing troubled me, along at first—the immense interest which peopleⒶtextual note took in me. Apparently the whole nation wanted a look at me. It soon transpired that the eclipse had scared the British world almost to death; that while it lasted the whole country, from one end to the other, was in a pitiable state of panic, and the churches, hermitages and monkeries overflowedⒶemendation with praying and weeping poor creatures who thought the end of the world was come. Then had followed the news that the producer of this awful event was a stranger, a mighty magician at Arthur’s court; that he could have blown out the sun like a candle, and was just going to do it when his mercy was purchased, and he thenⒶalteration in the MS dissolved his enchantments, and was now recognized and honored as the man who hadⒶtextual note by his unaided might saved the globeⒶalteration in the MS from destruction and its peoples from extinction. [begin page 101] Now if you consider that everybody believed that, and not only believed it but never even dreamed of doubting it, you will easily understand that there was not a person in allⒶemendation Britain that wouldⒶrejected substantive Ⓐalteration in the MS not have walked fifty miles to get a sight of me. Of course I was all the talk—all other subjects were dropped; even the king became suddenly a person of minor interest and notoriety. Within twenty-four hours the delegations began to arrive, and from that time onward for a fortnight they kept coming. The village was crowdedⒶalteration in the MS, and all the countryside. I had to go out a dozen times a day andⒶrejected substantive show myself to these reverent and awe-strickenⒶemendation multitudes. It came to be a great burden,

as to time and trouble, but of course it was at the same timeⒶalteration in the MS compensatingly agreeable to be so celebrated and such a centre of homage. It turned Brer Merlin green with envy and spite, which was a great satisfaction to me. But there was one thing I couldn’t understand: nobody had asked for an autograph. I spoke to ClarenceⒶrejected substantive about it. By George,Ⓐalteration in the MS I had to explain to him what it was.Ⓐemendation Then heⒶrejected substantive said nobody in the country could read or write but a few dozen priests. Land! think of that.

There was another thing that troubled me a little. Those multitudes presently began to agitate for anotherⒶemendation miracle. That was natural. To be able to carry back to their far homes the boast that they had seen [begin page 102] the man who could command the sun, riding in the heavens, and be obeyed, would make them great in the eyes of their neighbors, and envied by them all; but to be able to alsoⒶrejected substantive say they had seen him work a miracle themselves—why, people would come a distance to see them. The pressure got to be pretty strong. There was going to be an eclipse of the moon, and I knew the date and hour, but it was too far away. TwoⒶalteration in the MS years. I would have given a good deal for licenseⒶalteration in the MS to hurry it up and use it now when there was a big market for it. It seemed a great pity to have it wastedⒶalteration in the MS, so, and come lagging along atⒶalteration in the MS a time when a body wouldn’t have any use for it asⒶemendation like as not. If it had been booked for only a month away, I could have sold it short; but as matters stood, I couldn’t seem to cipher out any way to make it do me any good, so I gave up trying. Next, Clarence found that old Merlin was making himself busy on the sly, among those people. He was spreading a report that I was a humbug, and that the reason I didn’t accommodate the people with a miracle was because I couldn’t. I saw that I must do something. I presently thought outⒶrejected substantive a plan.

By my authority as executive I threw Merlin into prison—the same cell I had occupied myself,—and I didn’t thin out the rats any for his accommodation.Ⓐemendation Ⓐrejected substantive Then I gave public notice by herald and trumpet that I should beⒶalteration in the MS busy with affairs of state for a fortnight, but aboutⒶalteration in the MS the end of that time I would take a moment’s leisure and blow up Merlin’s ancientⒶemendation Ⓐrejected substantive stone tower by fires from heaven; in the meantime, whoso listened to evil reports about me, let him beware. Furthermore, I would perform but this one miracle at this time, and no more; if it failed to satisfy, and any murmured, I would turn the murmurers into horses, and make them useful. QuietⒶalteration in the MS ensued.

I took Clarence into my confidence, to a certain degree, and we went to work privately. I told him that this was a sort of miracle that required a trifle of preparation; and that it would be sudden death to everⒶrejected substantive talk about these preparations to anybody. That made his mouth safe enough. Clandestinely we made a few bushels of first-rate blasting-powder, and I superintended myⒶalteration in the MS armorers while they constructed a lightning rod and some wires.Ⓐalteration in the MS ThisⒶemendation Ⓐrejected substantive Ⓐtextual note old stone tower was very massive —and rather ruinous, too, for it was Roman, and four hundred years old.Ⓐalteration in the MS Yes, and handsome, after a rude fashion, and clothed with ivy from base to summit, as with a shirt of scale mail. It stood on a lonely eminence, in good view from the castle, and about half a mile away.

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Working by night, we stowed the powder in the tower—dug stones out, on the inside and buried the powder in the walls themselves, which were fifteenⒶalteration in the MS feet thick, at theⒶemendation base. We put in a peckⒶalteration in the MS at a time, in a dozen places. We could have blown up the TowerⒶalteration in the MS of London with these charges. When the thirteenth night was come we put up our lightning rod, bedded it inⒶrejected substantive one of the batches of powder,Ⓐalteration in the MS and ran wires from it to the other batches. Everybody had shunned that locality from the day of my proclamation, but on the morning of the fourteenth I thought best to warn the people, through theⒶtextual note heralds, to keep clear away—a quarter of a mile away. TheyⒶrejected substantive added, by command, that at some time during the twenty-four hours I would consummate the miracle, but would first give a brief notice; by flags on the castle towers, if in the daytime, orⒶrejected substantive by torch-baskets in the same places if at night.

Thunder showers had been tolerably frequent, of late, and I was not much afraid of a failureⒶrejected substantive; still, I shouldn’t have cared for a delay of a day or two; I should have explained that I was busy with affairs of state, yet, and the people must wait.

Of course we had a blazing sunny day—almost the first one without a cloud for three weeks; things always happen so.Ⓐalteration in the MS I kept secluded, and watched the weather. Clarence dropped in from time to time, and said the public excitement was growing and growing all the time, and the whole country filling up with human masses as far as one could see from the battlements. At last the wind sprangⒶrejected substantive up, andⒶalteration in the MS a cloud appeared—in the right quarter, too, and just at nightfall. For a little while I watched thatⒶrejected substantive distant cloud spread and blacken, then I judgedⒶalteration in the MS it was time for me to appear. I ordered the torch-basketsⒶemendation to be litⒶrejected substantive, and Merlin liberated and sent to me. A quarter of an hour later I ascended to theⒶrejected substantive parapet and there found the king and the court assembled and gazing off in the darkness towardⒶrejected substantive Merlin’s tower. Already the gloomⒶemendation Ⓐrejected substantive was so thickⒶemendation Ⓐrejected substantive Ⓐtextual note that one could not see far; these people, and the old turrets, being partly in deep shadow and partly in the red glow from the great torch-baskets overhead, made a good deal of a picture.

Merlin arrived in a sinisterⒶemendation Ⓐrejected substantive mood. I said:

“You wanted toⒶalteration in the MS burn me alive when I had not done youⒶalteration in the MS any harm, and latterly you haveⒶalteration in the MS been trying to injure my professional reputation. Therefore I amⒶalteration in the MS going to call down fire and blow up yourⒶalteration in the MS tower; but itⒶalteration in the MS isⒶalteration in the MS only fair to give youⒶalteration in the MS a chance; nowⒶalteration in the MS if you think you can [begin page 104]

break myⒶalteration in the MS enchantments and ward off the fires, step to the bat, it’s your innings.”Ⓐalteration in the MS

“I can, fair sir, and I willⒶemendation. Doubt it not.”Ⓐalteration in the MS

HeⒶalteration in the MS drew an imaginary circle on the stones of the roof,Ⓐalteration in the MS and burnt a pinch of powder in it which sent up a small cloud of aromatic smoke, whereat everybody fell back and began to cross themselvesⒶrejected substantive and get uncomfortable. Then he began to mutter and make passes in the air with his hands. He worked himself up slowly and gradually [begin page 105] into a sort of frenzy, and got to thrashing around with his arms like the sails of a windmill. By this time the storm had about reached us; the gusts of wind were flaring the torches and making the shadows swash about, the first heavy drops of rain were falling, the world abroad was black as pitch, the lightning began to wink fitfully. Of courseⒶalteration in the MS my rod would be loading itself, now. In fact, things were imminent. So I said:

“You have had time enough. I have given you every advantage, and not interfered.Ⓐalteration in the MS It is plain your magic is weak. It is only fair that I begin, now.”

I made about three passes in the air, and then there was an awful crash and that old tower leaped into the sky in chunks, along with a vast volcanic fountain of fire that turned night toⒶrejected substantive noonday and showedⒶalteration in the MS a thousand acres of human beings groveling on the ground in a general collapse of consternation. Well, it rained mortar and masonry the rest of the week. This was the report; but I reckon they added on a couple of daysⒶemendation Ⓐrejected substantive.

It was an effective miracle. TheⒶemendation Ⓐrejected substantive Ⓐtextual note great bothersome temporary population vanished. There were a good many thousand tracks in the mud the next morning, but they were all outward bound. If I had advertised another miracle I couldn’t have raised an audience with a sheriff.

Merlin’s stock was flat.Ⓐalteration in the MS The king wanted to stop his wages; he even wanted to banish him, but I interfered. I said he would be useful to work the weather, and attend to small mattersⒶalteration in the MS like that, and I would give him a lift now and then when his poorⒶalteration in the MS little parlor-magic soured on him. There wasn’t a rag of his tower left, but I had theⒶemendation government rebuild it for him, and advised him to take boarders; but he was too high-tonedⒶalteration in the MS for thatⒶalteration in the MS. And as for being grateful, he never even said thank-youⒶrejected substantive Ⓐtextual note. He was a rather hard lot, take him how you might; but then you couldn’t fairly expect a man to be sweet that had been set back so.