But he was an exceedingly pretty, amusing little humbug,
so it was no matter then. But when the truth came out, the Queen's faith
in Yankee showmen must have suffered a shock, as must that of the honest
old Duke of Wellington, who used to drop in at Egyptian Hall so often to
see the tiny creature assume the dress and the pensive pose of Napoleon
"thinking of the loss of the battle of Waterloo," and looking so like his
old enemy, seen through a reversed field-glass. Very likely the Queen's
"full-grown" Java horse turned out to be a young colt.
After the dwarf, came the giant--the tallest and grandest of the
sovereigns of Europe, Nicholas, the Emperor of all the Russias. He came
on one of his war-ships, but with the friendliest feelings, and "just
dropped in" on the Queen, with only a few hours' notice. It was a
pleasant little way he had of surprising his friends. However, he was
made welcome, and everything possible was done to entertain and do him
honor during his stay. He had visited England before, when he was much
younger and handsomer. Baron Stockmar met him at Claremont, in the time
of the Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold, and quotes a compliment
paid him by a Court lady, in the refined language of the Regency: "What
an amiable creature! He is devilish handsome! He will be the handsomest
man in Europe.
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