'Yes,' said I; 'how did you manage it ?' But he--your man, I mean--was not a bit put out.

'Why, your majesty,' says he, 'I just sat down on that there bit of carpet, wished I was here, and here _I ham_.

And I'd be glad, having had the trouble,--and my time not being my own,--to see the colour of them perkisits, according to the proclamation.' On this her majesty grew more indignant, if possible.

'Nonsense!' she cried; 'a story out of the _Arabian Nights_ is not suited for a modern public, and fails to win aesthetic credence.' These were her very words." "Her majesty's expressions are ever choice and appropriate," said the Ambassador.
"'Sit down there, on the carpet, knave,' she went on; 'ourself and consort'-- meaning _me_--'will take our places by thy side, and _I_ shall wish us in Gluckstein, at thy master's! When the experiment has failed, thy head shall from thy shoulders be shorn!' So your man merely said, 'Very well, mum,--your majesty, I mean,' and sat down.

The queen took her place at the edge of the carpet; I sat between her and the butler, and she said, 'I wish we were in Gluckstein!' Then we rose, flew through the air at an astonishing pace, and here we are! So I suppose the rest of the butler's tale is true, which I regret; but a king's word is sacred, and he shall take the place of that sneak, Prigio.