The Prince and the Pauper

Коллекция текстов · novel

The birth of the Prince and the Pauper
In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of t…
Tom’s early life
Let us skip a number of years. London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town for that day. It had a hundred thousand inhabitan…
Tom’s meeting with the Prince
Tom got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, but with his thoughts busy with the shadowy splendours of his night’s dreams. He wandered her…
The Prince’s troubles begin
After hours of persistent pursuit and persecution, the little prince was at last deserted by the rabble and left to himself. As long as he…
Tom as a patrician
Tom Canty, left alone in the prince’s cabinet, made good use of his opportunity. He turned himself this way and that before the great mirro…
Tom receives instructions
Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, and made to sit down a thing which he was loth to do, since there were elder…
Tom’s first royal dinner
Somewhat after one in the afternoon, Tom resignedly underwent the ordeal of being dressed for dinner. He found himself as finely clothed as…
The question of the Seal
About five o’clock Henry VIII. awoke out of an unrefreshing nap, and muttered to himself, “Troublous dreams, troublous dreams! Mine end is…
The river pageant
At nine in the evening the whole vast river-front of the palace was blazing with light. The river itself, as far as the eye could reach cit…
The Prince in the toils
We left John Canty dragging the rightful prince into Offal Court, with a noisy and delighted mob at his heels. There was but one person in…
At Guildhall
The royal barge, attended by its gorgeous fleet, took its stately way down the Thames through the wilderness of illuminated boats. The air…
The Prince and his deliverer
As soon as Miles Hendon and the little prince were clear of the mob, they struck down through back lanes and alleys toward the river. Their…
The disappearance of the Prince
A heavy drowsiness presently fell upon the two comrades. The King said “Remove these rags.” meaning his clothing. Hendon disapparelled the…
‘Le Roi est mort--vive le Roi.’
Toward daylight of the same morning, Tom Canty stirred out of a heavy sleep and opened his eyes in the dark. He lay silent a few moments, t…
Tom as King
The next day the foreign ambassadors came, with their gorgeous trains; and Tom, throned in awful state, received them. The splendours of th…
The state dinner
The dinner hour drew near yet strangely enough, the thought brought but slight discomfort to Tom, and hardly any terror. The morning’s expe…
Foo-foo the First
Miles Hendon hurried along toward the Southwark end of the bridge, keeping a sharp look-out for the persons he sought, and hoping and expec…
The Prince with the tramps
The troop of vagabonds turned out at early dawn, and set forward on their march. There was a lowering sky overhead, sloppy ground under foo…
The Prince with the peasants
When the King awoke in the early morning, he found that a wet but thoughtful rat had crept into the place during the night and made a cosy…
The Prince and the hermit
The high hedge hid him from the house, now; and so, under the impulse of a deadly fright, he let out all his forces and sped toward a wood…
Hendon to the rescue
The old man glided away, stooping, stealthy, cat-like, and brought the low bench. He seated himself upon it, half his body in the dim and f…
A victim of treachery
Once more ‘King Foo-foo the First’ was roving with the tramps and outlaws, a butt for their coarse jests and dull-witted railleries, and so…
The Prince a prisoner
Hendon forced back a smile, and bent down and whispered in the King’s ear “Softly, softly, my prince, wag thy tongue warily nay, suffer it…
The escape
The short winter day was nearly ended. The streets were deserted, save for a few random stragglers, and these hurried straight along, with…
Hendon Hall
As soon as Hendon and the King were out of sight of the constable, his Majesty was instructed to hurry to a certain place outside the town,…
Disowned
The King sat musing a few moments, then looked up and said “‘Tis strange most strange. I cannot account for it.” “No, it is not strange, my…
In prison
The cells were all crowded; so the two friends were chained in a large room where persons charged with trifling offences were commonly kept…
The sacrifice
Meantime Miles was growing sufficiently tired of confinement and inaction. But now his trial came on, to his great gratification, and he th…
To London
When Hendon’s term of service in the stocks was finished, he was released and ordered to quit the region and come back no more. His sword w…
Tom’s progress
Whilst the true King wandered about the land poorly clad, poorly fed, cuffed and derided by tramps one while, herding with thieves and murd…
The Recognition procession
When Tom Canty awoke the next morning, the air was heavy with a thunderous murmur: all the distances were charged with it. It was music to…
Coronation Day
Let us go backward a few hours, and place ourselves in Westminster Abbey, at four o’clock in the morning of this memorable Coronation Day.…
Edward as King
Miles Hendon was picturesque enough before he got into the riot on London Bridge he was more so when he got out of it. He had but little mo…
CONCLUSION. Justice and Retribution
When the mysteries were all cleared up, it came out, by confession of Hugh Hendon, that his wife had repudiated Miles by his command, that…