the difficulty of my position? That fairy, gentlemen, has been the curse of my life. Let it be a warning to you all in that box, and above all to you my Lord on the bench, to beware of supernatural assistance. Trust to your own exertions, gentlemen, and you'll all do very well. I am very much obliged to you all for the attentive consideration you have devoted to my case, and as I know you are about to return a verdict of guilty (here the jury bowed), which will probably be followed by a sentence of penal servitude for life from my lord up there (here the learned Judge bowed), why, the best thing I can do is to make another change in my condition with all possible haste."
So saying, he drew the Harlequin from his pocket, and put it into his mouth, uttering at the same time these remarkable words, "I wish that the fairy on the twelfth cake, and all the consequences that sprung from my acquaintance with her, may be blotted out of my career for ever."
******
And, behold, Mr. Frederick Foggerty found himself once more in his little confectionery shop in the Borough Road in the act of selling the Twelfth Cake, with the Policeman, the Ship, and the Harlequin and the Fairy on the top of it, to a very bilious old lady with whom it was sure to disagree.
And Louisa was in the back shop with Theodore, and whenever Mr. Foggerty related the history of his adventure with the Twelfth Cake, she indignantly stopped him, telling him that he was a donkey, and had been dreaming.
Which I think was very likely the case.
