The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1902-10-18


room. The place was no such ruin as
had expected. Many servants carried away
empty dishes and replaced them by full
/ Fall to, most excellent gentleman; fall
to = said the little man, rubbing his hands
and gazing at me with his head to one
side, and his sharp black eyes gloating
upon me-
''How long does the court stay z
asked.
| "Why, it will dance in the dawn he
responded; ''perhaps two hours hence the
coaches will be called for.
fell to then, realizing that was a
| hungry man, and faith, I cleaned the plat
tiers with a vengeance, but as fast as ate,
| other delicacies were laid before me as
though by magic And I drank great
draughts which seemed to take the cold
from my heart that had lain there so long
indeed, since Eleanora had left it empty.
had the last goblet to my lips, when
felt hand on my shoulder, and, turn
ing around, [ became aware that the room
was filled with ladies and gentlemen, all
very splendidly clad and sparkling with jew
els. There was not mask to be seen,
unless, indeed, it was the little cook, who
had fallen into the back ground, and stood
there rubbing his hands in an attitude of
great humility.
"Who are you, Master Yellow Domi-
no, - asked he whose hand was on my
shoulder, ''that wear the mask when the
signal has been given to unmask, and who
do such great justice to our good things p
knew the face well between its falling
masses of curls, even if | had not recog-
nized "Le Grand Monarque' by the stars
and orders with which he glittered magnif-
icently.
gave the soldiers salute | did not
dare uncover, for there, by the Queen,
stood Eleanora, all in white and gold tis-
sue, more beautiful, if more sad, than
remembered her.
The King gave me another slap on the
shoulder
why, you are the most prodigious
fellow, he said, "a grosser feeder even
than NJ Porthos Tell us again, good
Paul, what he has eaten
The little cook whom | now perceived
to be no other than the Kings cook, then
came forward and testified that since 10
o clock | had not been above five minutes
absent from the tables.
He produced his tablets, and will say
that even for 80 gentlemen of the Irish
regiment the consumption of food and
drink was indeed prodigious. As he went
on the King roared with laughter The
Queen and her ladies hid their merriment
behind their fans, all except Eleanora, who
watched me with strange intentness, as
though she had somehow fathomed my
disguise.
The supper room was now full to teh
door, every one tiptoeing and stretching to
catch sight of the Yellow Domino.
"Come sir, said the King, 'swe must
see your face. OFF with the domino You
are one of the wonders of the world. You
shall stay with us, and we will see how
many cooks it will take to satisfy your hun
ger
ssSire, [ said, before uncover, may
| explain to your Most Excellent Majesty
how it came that ate as for 30?''
s'Oh, ho = said the King, looking as
| thought little disappointed. so you
have not eaten all the food youself?''
s'Sire, | said, 'no man could do it
and live.
"Why, I thought not he replied.
'If you did it, Master Yellow Domino,
you would put in the shade all the gentry
who swallow swords and feed ON red hot
pokers Now, speak None shall hurt
you or your fellows. What is your name
and who are your comrades p
'Tf you please, Sire l replied, II
am Maurice Desmond, captain in your
Majesty's Irish Regiment of Horse, and
the Yellow Domino is not only myself, bn;
20 other gentlemen of the regiment
'sOh, no p he said; "you were my
guard tonight?'
"We were not invited to sup with your
Majesty" | said, $50 we bought ticket
for the mask and yellow domino 1t
has served us all. y
''And you are satisfied p he asked
politely. ''You approve of my cook p
'We never wish to sup better, Sire
| answered
.'Are there any more of you to sup p
he asked, his lips twitching.
~ am the last of the 30, Sire, said.
'Why, heaven be praised for that,
he responded, Cor else we should have
famine in our kitchen | envy the gen
tlemen of the Irish Regiment their appe-
tites
With that he roared with laughter, as
though he thought it the funniest jest in
the world; and all the others joined him,
so that the supper room rang with merri-
ment. But stood with my eyes on the
ground. not daring to look at Eleanora's
face
Suddenly the King became serious and
looked about him.
SIS there any one here who knows
Captain Maurice Desmond ?" he began.
There was little movement in the
crowd, but before any one else could speak.
my Eleanora stepped forward.
'.Sire, she said, ''Sir Maurice Dss-