FIRST PASSENGER
Yes, sir. A letter in his own hand, in which he expected the King
to reply to him in the same manner.
SOLDIERS [continuing, as they are left behind]
We be the King’s men, hale and hearty,
Marching to meet one Buonaparty;
Never mind, mates; we’ll be merry, though
We may have marched for nothing, O!
Right fol-lol!
THIRD PASSENGER
And was Boney’s letter friendly?
FIRST PASSENGER
Certainly, sir. He requested peace with the King.
THIRD PASSENGER
And why shouldn’t the King reply in the same manner?
FIRST PASSENGER
What! Encourage this man in an act of shameless presumption, and
give him the pleasure of considering himself the equal of the King
of England—whom he actually calls his brother!
THIRD PASSENGER
He must be taken for what he is, not for what he was; and if he calls
King George his brother it doesn’t speak badly for his friendliness.
FIRST PASSENGER
Whether or no, the King, rightly enough, did not reply in person,
but through Lord Mulgrave our Foreign Minister, to the effect that
his Britannic Majesty cannot give a specific answer till he has
communicated with the Continental powers.
THIRD PASSENGER
Both the manner and the matter of the reply are British; but a huge
mistake.
FIRST PASSENGER
Sir, am I to deem you a friend of Bonaparte, a traitor to your
country—-