He begged me to present
his compliments. I never saw him looking better.'
At this, the old lady was very much delighted. After glancing at
me for a moment, as if to be quite sure that I was serious in my
respectful air, she sidled back some paces; sidled forward again;
made a sudden skip (at which I precipitately retreated a step or
two); and said:
'I am an antediluvian, sir.'
I thought the best thing to say was, that I had suspected as much
from the first. Therefore I said so.
'It is an extremely proud and pleasant thing, sir, to be an
antediluvian,' said the old lady.
'I should think it was, ma'am,' I rejoined.
The old lady kissed her hand, gave another skip, smirked and sidled
down the gallery in a most extraordinary manner, and ambled
gracefully into her own bed-chamber.
In another part of the building, there was a male patient in bed;
very much flushed and heated.
'Well,' said he, starting up, and pulling off his night-cap: 'It's
all settled at last. I have arranged it with Queen Victoria.'
'Arranged what?' asked the Doctor.
'Why, that business,' passing his hand wearily across his forehead,
'about the siege of New York.
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