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WE GREW UP IN COMPARATIVE
HAPPINESS
He was always at hand
'Nevertheless, we grew up in comparative happiness until yesterday,
the fateful day when we all became eight years of age. Before
breakfast, and with all due solemnity, our faithful uncle handed over
to us the control and guardianship of the Blowdripping possessions,
which had been entrusted to him until we should arrive at our
present age, but, alas! we could not avail ourselves of the good
provision made for us by our thoughtful parents, as neither one of
us knew which of us we were. The Duchess, as head of the family,
could not give her consent to anything, or advance any money for
the housekeeping as, for all she knew, she might be one of her own
sisters, in which case she would have been touching that which did
not rightly belong to her. For the same reason Mellinid, not knowing
who she herself was, could not give her consent to our remaining at
the Hall, and likewise Edil could not allow the magnificent house still
to occupy its lovely situation in the Blowdripping Park. After talking
the matter over, and over again, we have come to the conclusion
that, without the permission of the proper owners, which, you will
see, it is impossible for us to obtain, the only course open to us was
to abandon our riches, and to leave the park and the castle for ever.
Our good uncle, putting all the blame for our troubles upon his own
negligence, insisted on accompanying us.'
At the conclusion of this strange story Bill was certainly aghast at the
very difficult problem put before him, and quite at a loss to offer any
solution. He therefore conducted the trembling triplets and their
grief-stricken uncle before the King, who had in the meantime
arrived upon the shore. Bill explained the difficult position in which
the poor young things found themselves; but, wise as he
undoubtedly was, the King for some time could make nothing
whatever of it. He called all his officers and soldiers round him, and
they formed one great semicircle, of which he was the centre; the
triplets were then placed before him, and he at once proceeded to
question them.
'Have you,' said he, addressing the first triplet, 'any idea as to which
of the three of you you really are?'
'None whatever,' answered the child.
He then repeated the same question to the other triplets, and
received the same answer.
'Come now,' continued the King, in a cheerful voice, 'does any one of
you feel at all like a duchess?'
'We don't know how a duchess should feel,' they all replied.
The King here frowned severely and ground his teeth.
'Now, one of you must be telling an untruth,' said he, 'for one of
you, as you say, is the Duchess, and must know exactly how she
feels, which must be how a duchess feels. Come now, which of you
is she?' And the quick-tempered monarch knit his brows into the
most terrible folds. 'Unless that one is one of her own sisters and not
the Duchess,' he roared, 'she ought to be ashamed of her deceit,
and severely punished; and if, indeed, she is not the Duchess, then
she ought to be punished all the same. I've half a mind to have the
three of you smacked hard, that I may at least be certain of
punishing the right one.'
Bill suggested timidly that perhaps this would be rather unfair, as
two of them at least would be unjustly punished.
'But which two?' snapped the irritated King. 'How can any of them
feel unjustly treated if she doesn't know whether she's the guilty one
or not?' And he worked himself into a terrible fury, and strode up
and down the sands, no one daring to approach him. Suddenly,
without any warning of his intention, he ran down to the sea, and
removing his shoes and stockings, cooled his temper by paddling his
feet in the sea-water. In a little time he returned, his excitement
much allayed, and soon the cries of the distracted and unhappy
triplets, together with the pitiful sighs of the dejected uncle, entirely
assuaged the wrath of the sympathetic, though quick-tempered, old
man.
When he once more resumed his place before the three children the
storm had passed, and a sweet, good-natured smile enlivened his
homely old face, and charmed all beholders.
'Well, well, well,' said he, 'triplets will be triplets after all, and uncles
uncles, all the world over.'
He at once resumed the inquiry, and placing his hand kindly on the
head of the second triplet he now addressed the first in the following
way:—
'Let us suppose for the moment that you happen to know which of
your sisters this particular one really is, who, in that case, would the
third one be, if she (the third) were not Mellinid?'
'Either Edil or the Duchess,' promptly replied the intelligent child.
'Quite right,' said the King encouragingly, 'Now as this is not so, and
you certainly do not know which of your sisters this one happens to
be, the reverse must be true, so that if your other sister is neither
Edil nor the Duchess, who must she be?'
'Mellinid, of course,' readily answered the child, and every one
applauded and wondered at the wisdom of the King.
'It only now remains,' proceeded the King, addressing the first and
second triplets 'to discover which of you is Edil and which the
Duchess.' Placing his hand once more upon the head of the second
triplet, he again addressed the first.
'Suppose, for the sake of argument, that this sister of yours whom
we now know not to be Mellinid were Mellinid and Mellinid the
Duchess, in that case you would assuredly be Edil. Now as you
cannot suppose this sister to be Mellinid when you know she is not,
and the Duchess is the Duchess and not Mellinid, then our
supposition must be wrong and the reverse true, so that Mellinid
remains Mellinid and, as we say you are not Edil, then this little girl
must be she.' Then shaking the first triplet by the hand, the
complacent old potentate said in conclusion:—'And you, my dear
creature, are thus proved to be neither Edil nor Mellinid but Blaura,
the charming Duchess of Blowdripping, to whom I offer my hearty
congratulations.' The cheerful soul now embraced the three children,
and when he had a hand free he slapped the old uncle, who now
looked the very picture of happiness, several times upon the back.