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A small mirror with mildew marks hung on the wall. Under one of the windows was a small table covered with a threadbare huckaback towel. The floor was bare except for a slice of brown carpet by the bed; Marcella liked the bare clean boards. They looked like the deck of a ship. She liked the room. Its clean bareness reminded her, a little, of rooms in the farm after the furniture had been sold.
Holy prophet! but these people have strange ideas," continued the pacha to the vizier; "to imagine that we must know or care about what is going on in their barbarous countries. You may proceed, Huckaback." It will be necessary to say a few words upon the subject, your highness, but I will be as concise as possible. I answered, most certainly, if they wished it. They cheered me, and went away.
I have not danced for a score of years; and I will not dance now, while the mistress and the owner of the harvest sits aside neglected. 'Nay, Master Huckaback, cried Sally Snowe, with a saucy toss of her hair; 'Mistress Ridd is too kind a great deal, in handing you over to me. You take her; and I will fetch Annie to be my partner this evening.
Possibly I may have mentioned that little Ruth Huckaback had been asked, and had even promised to spend her Christmas with us; and this was the more desirable, because she had left us through some offence, or sorrow, about things said of her. "It is our duty, my dear children," she said more than once about it, "to forgive and forget, as freely as we hope to have it done to us.
Therefore I drew the off-hand rein, at the cross-road on the hills, and made for the town; expecting perhaps to have breakfast with Master Huckaback, and Ruth, to help and encourage us. This little maiden was now become a very great favourite with me, having long outgrown, no doubt, her childish fancies and follies, such as my mother and Annie had planted under her soft brown hair.
Max held still till the square of huckaback portraying the economic existence of Jack Sprat and his wife was well beneath his chin, and the tapes gathered once more up into Anna's hands. Then he gave a movement like a plunging horse, seized the offending article and flung it with all his force across the table where it fell and floated upon the milk Muffie had poured over her porridge.
"The Kafir waits to kiss the dust of your sublime feet," replied the vizier. "Let him approach, then, Mustapha," said the pacha joyfully, and the renegade immediately made his appearance. "Kosh amedeid, you are welcome, Huckaback. We have had our ears poisoned since you quitted us. I forget where it was that you left off."
"Why am I thus ever to be persecuted?" exclaimed I in despair. And, as I uttered these words, a venerable personage, in a flowing beard, and a book in his hand, appeared before me, and answered me. "Because, Huckaback, you have not embraced the true faith." "What is the true faith?" inquired I, in fear and amazement. "There is but one God," replied he, "and I am his Prophet."
At last I found myself safely landed, and sat down to recover my breath which I had nearly lost for ever. "And, pray, where did you sit, Huckaback?" "On the cloud, your highness." "Holy prophet! What, a cloud bear your weight?" "If your highness will call to mind that at the same time the cloud took up several tons of water, you cannot be surprised at its supporting me."
"Well, I am sure!" said Annie, throwing her arms around poor mother: "who could have thought that little atomy had such an outrageous spirit! For my part I cannot think how she can have been sly enough to hide it in that crafty manner, that John might think her an angel!" "Well, for my part," I answered, laughing, "I never admired Ruth Huckaback half, or a quarter so much before.
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