Count Fathom, part 2 | Page 5

enemy
having retreated with great precipitation, they took possession of their
ground without farther difficulty.
CHAPTER FORTY
HE CONTEMPLATES MAJESTY AND ITS SATELLITES IN
ECLIPSE.
This expedition being happily finished, General Macleaver put the
whole army, navy, transports, and scene of action into a canvas bag, the
prince unsaddled his nose, and Captain Minikin being admitted, our
hero was introduced in form. Very gracious was the reception he met
with from his majesty, who, with a most princely demeanour,
welcomed him to court, and even seated him on his right hand, in token
of particular regard. True it is, this presence-chamber was not so superb,
nor the appearance of the king so magnificent, as to render such an
honour intoxicating to any person of our hero's coolness and discretion.
In lieu of tapestry, the apartment was hung with halfpenny ballads, a
truckle-bed without curtains supplied the place of a canopy, and instead
of a crown his majesty wore a woollen night-cap. Yet, in spite of these
disadvantages, there was an air of dignity in his deportment, and a nice
physiognomist would have perceived something majestic in the
features of his countenance.
He was certainly a personage of very prepossessing mien; his manners
were engaging, his conversation agreeable, and any man whose heart
was subject to the meltings of humanity would have deplored his

distress, and looked upon him as a most pathetic instance of that
miserable reverse to which all human grandeur is exposed. His fall was
even greater than that of Belisarius, who, after having obtained many
glorious victories over the enemies of his country, is said to have been
reduced to such extremity of indigence, that, in his old age, when he
was deprived of his eyesight, he sat upon the highway like a common
mendicant, imploring the charity of passengers in the piteous
exclamation of Date obolum Belisario; that is, "Spare a farthing to your
poor old soldier Belisarius." I say, this general's disgrace was not so
remarkable as that of Theodore, because he was the servant of Justinian,
consequently his fortune depended upon the nod of that emperor;
whereas the other actually possessed the throne of sovereignty by the
best of all titles, namely, the unanimous election of the people over
whom he reigned; and attracted the eyes of all Europe, by the efforts he
made in breaking the bands of oppression, and vindicating that liberty
which is the birthright of man.
The English of former days, alike renowned for generosity and valour,
treated those hostile princes, whose fate it was to wear their chains,
with such delicacy of benevolence, as even dispelled the horrors of
captivity; but their posterity of this refined age feel no compunction at
seeing an unfortunate monarch, their former friend, ally, and partisan,
languish amidst the miseries of a loathsome jail, for a paltry debt
contracted in their own service. But, moralising apart, our hero had not
long conversed with this extraordinary debtor, who in his present
condition assumed no other title than that of Baron, than he perceived
in him a spirit of Quixotism, which all his experience, together with the
vicissitudes of his fortune, had not been able to overcome. Not that his
ideas soared to such a pitch of extravagant hope as that which took
possession of his messmates, who frequently quarrelled one with
another about the degrees of favour to which they should be entitled
after the king's restoration; but he firmly believed that affairs would
speedily take such a turn in Italy, as would point out to the English
court the expediency of employing him again; and his persuasion
seemed to support him against every species of poverty and
mortification.

While they were busy in trimming the balance of power on the other
side of the Alps, their deliberations were interrupted by the arrival of a
scullion, who came to receive their orders touching the bill of fare for
dinner, and his majesty found much more difficulty in settling this
important concern, than in compromising all the differences between
the Emperor and the Queen of Spain. At length, however, General
Macleaver undertook the office of purveyor for his prince; Captain
Minikin insisted upon treating the Count; and in a little time the table
was covered with a cloth, which, for the sake of my delicate readers, I
will not attempt to describe.
At this period they were joined by Sir Mungo Barebones, who, having
found means to purchase a couple of mutton chops, had cooked a mess
of broth, which he now brought in a saucepan to the general rendezvous.
This was the most remarkable object which had hitherto presented itself
to the eyes of Fathom. Being naturally of a meagre habit, he was, by
indigence and hard study, wore almost to the bone, and so bended
towards