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09 - Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey · Adventure Books Library

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  Chapter nine, Bulgar and I are presented to Queen Galaxa, the Lady of
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  the Crystal Throne. How she received us her delight over Bulgar, who gives
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  proof of his wonderful intelligence in many ways. How the Queen creates him,
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  Lord Bulgar. All about the three wise men in whose care we are placed
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  by Queen Galaxa. Owing to the soft air, the never varying temperature,
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  and the absence of all noise and dust. The Micamenkis, although they die
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  in the end like other folk, yet do they never seem to grow old.
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  Their skin remains soft and free from wrinkles, and their eyes as clear
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  and bright as the crystal of Queen Galaxi's throne. At the time of our
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  arrival in the land of the Transparent Folk, Queen Galaxi's heart had almost run
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  down. In about two weeks more, it would come quietly and gently to
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  a stop. For, as I have already told you, dear friends,
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  the heart of the Micamenki being perfectly visible when the dazzling white light in its
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  full strength, was allowed to shine through his body. Why, it was
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  a very easy matter for a physician to take a look at the organ of
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  life and till almost to the hour when it would exhaust itself. In other
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  words, run down galaxy looked every inch a real queen. As she half
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  reclined upon her glorious crystal throne. She was clad in long, flowing silk
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  garments of a right royal purple, and the gems which encircled her neck and
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  wrists would have put to shame the crown jewels of any monarch of the upper
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  world. Her garb had very much the cut and style of the ancient Greek
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  costume, and the gold sandals worn by her added to the resemblance. But
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  the one thing that excited my wonder more than all the others put together was
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  her hair, so long, so fine and silk, and it was such
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  a mass of it was there, and so dazzling white. Was it not
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  the blue or yellow white that comes of age in our world, but a
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  milk white, a cotton white. And as we drew near to Bulgars,
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  but not to my amazement, her hair began to quiver and rustle and rise
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  until it buried her whole throne completely out of sight. Of course, I
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  knew that seated as she was upon a throne of glass, it was only
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  necessary to send a gentle current of electricity through her, to make her wonderful
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  head of hair stand up in this manner like the white and filmy tentacles of
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  some gigantic creature of the sea, half plant, half animal. Rise,
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  little baron, said Queen Galaxa, as I dropped upon my right knee on
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  the lowest step of the throne, and be welcome to our kingdom. While
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  thou may be pleased to tarry here, my people shall bestir themselves to show
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  thee all that may seem wonderful in thine eyes. For although our wise men
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  have often discussed to us of the upper world, yet art thou its first
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  inhabitant to visit us, And thy wonderful companion is right welcome too. Can
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  he talk that not exactly? Queen Galaxa, said I, with low obeisance.
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  Yet he can understand me and I him. He is quite harmless,
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  is he not, asked the Queen. You may try to imagine how I
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  felt, dear friends, when, as I was about to say perfectly so,
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  royal Lady, to my amazement, I saw Bulgar advance and sniff at
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  the Princess Cristelina, and then draw back and show his teeth. As she
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  stretch out her hand to caress him. Bending over him, I reproved him
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  in a whisper, and bade him kneel before the Queen. This he proceeded
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  to do, saluting her with three very stately bows, at which everyone laughed
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  heartily. I would have him come nearer, said the Queen, so that
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  I may lay my hand upon him. At a sign from me, Bulgar
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  began to lick his fore paws very carefully, and then, having wiped them
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  on the rug, sprang up the steps of the throne and placed his front
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  feet upon Queen Galaxa's lap. The fair ruler of the Mickama was delighted with
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  this sample of Bulgar's fine manners, and in order to amuse her still further,
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  I proceeded to put Bulgar through many of his quaint tricks and curious feats,
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  bidding him say his prayers faint death, weep for his sweetheart, count
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  ten, walk upright, go lame, and cry to tell how it hurts.
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  Scarcely had he gone half around the circle feigning lameness, when the Damoiselle
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  Glowstone began to weep herself, and, stooping down, commenced to caress Bulgar
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  and to kiss his lame foot caresses, which, to my more than surprise,
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  Bulgar was not slow in returning. And later two when I bade him
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  choose the maiden he loved best and kiss her hand, he bounded straight toward
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  Glowstone and bestowed not one, but twenty kisses upon her outstretched hand, while
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  the Princess Cristelina shrank away in fear and disgust from the ugly beast as she
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  turned him. Bid him bring my handkerchief to me, little Baron, cried
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  Galaxa, throwing it on the floor. I did, as a squeam demanded,
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  But Bulgar refused to obey. Thou, seest Queen, Galaxa, said
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  I, with a low bow. He refuses to lift the handkerchief without a
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  command from thy royal self, Which delicate compliment pleased the lady mightily. How
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  comes it, little Baron? She asked that thou shouldst be of noble lineage
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  in thy brother, as thou callest him, Plain Bulgar, it comes,
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  royal Lady, said I right humbly, as it often comes in the world
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  which I inhabit, that honors go to them that least deserve them. Well,
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  then, little Baron, cried Galaxa gaily. Though I be but a
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  petty sovereign compared with thine, Yet may small rulers do acts of great justice.
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  Bid thy four footed brother kneel before us. At a word from me,
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  Bulgar prostrated himself on the steps of Galaxa's crystal throne and laid his head
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  at her very feet. Leaning forward, she touched him lightly with her golden
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  wand and exclaimed, rise, Lord Bulgar Rise. Queen Galaxa, seated on
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  her crystal throne, bids Lord Bulgar rise. In an instant, Bulgar raised
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  himself up on his hind feet and laid his head in the Queen's lap,
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  while the whole room rang with loud huzzahs, and every lady gently clapped her
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  frail and glass like hands, save the Princess Cristallina, who feigned to be
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  asleep. Queen Galaxa now undid a string of pearls from her neck and tied
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  them with her own hands around Lord Bulger's. And so it was that my
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  four footed brother ceased to be plain Bulgar. Then, turning to her counselor's
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  of state, Queen Galaxa bade them assign a royal apartment to Lord Bulgar and
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  Me, and gave strict orders that the severest punishment be at once visited upon
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  any Macamechi who should dare to laugh at us or to make disrespectful remarks concerning
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  our dark eyes and skins and weather beaten appearance. For as the royal Lady
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  said to her people, ye might look worse than they who were ye compelled
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  to live on the outside instead of the inside of the world, exposed to
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  biting blasts, piercing cold, and clouds of suffocating dust. By the Queen's
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  orders, three of the wisest of the Macamenkes were selected to attend Bulger and
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  me look after our wants, explain everything to us. In a word,
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  do all in their power to make our stay in Goggleland as pleasant as possible.
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  Their names, as nearly as I can translate them, were Doctor Nebulosis,
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  Sir Amber Opaik, and Lord Corncore. I should explain to you,
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  dear friends, the meaning of these names, for you might be inclined to
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  think that doctor somewhat Cloudy, Sir clear as Amber, and Lord Heart of
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  Horn might indicate that they were more or less muddled in their intellects. Far
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  from it. I have already stated to you they were three of the very
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  wisest men in the land of the transparent folk, and the lack of clearness
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  indicated by their names had referenced solely to their eyes. Now, as you
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  know, the learned men of our upper world have a different look from ordinary
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  folk. They are stoop shouldered, shag eyebrowed, long haired, purse lipped,
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  near sighted, shambling gated. Well, the only effect that long years
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  of deep study had upon the Micamenkees was to rob their beautiful, crystal like
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  eyes of more or less their clearness. Now I think you'll understand why these
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  three learned Micamenkees were named as they were. At any rate, they were,
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  in spite of their strange names, three most charming gentlemen. And no
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  matter how many times I might ask the same question over again, they were
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  always ready with an answer quite as polite as the one first given me.
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  They did everything that I had a right possibly to expect them to do.
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  Indeed, there was but one single thing which I would have fain had them
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  do, and that was to let me look through them. This they most
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  carefully avoided doing. And no matter how warmed up, they might become in
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  their descriptions. And no matter how on the alert I was to catch the
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  coveted peep, the inevitable black fan was always in the way. Naturally,
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  not only they, but all the transparent felt a repugnance to have it.
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  Perfect stranger look through them, and I couldn't blame them for it either.
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  I despaired of ever giving a chance of seeing a human heart beating away for
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  dear life for all the world, just like the swinging of a pendulum or
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  the vibration of a balance wheel. End of Chapter nine