And so they drove along the shore.
At the town gate the sentinels presented arms and saluted; on the
streets people cried "Hurrah!" and when they reached the Admiralty,
cannon were fired and the yards manned. But the Czar seriously or in
play, as though he were on the sea, shouted "Anchor!"
So saying, he so threw the grapnel towards the wall, that it caught
in a torch-holder, which bent but did not break. But the horses,
which were still running, were suddenly forced back, and sank on
their knees. The first of the three rose no more; it had been
fatally injured by bursting in the toll-gate.
Three hours later, when the fleet and docks had been inspected, the
Czar and Jaen Scheerborck sat in a seamen's tavern. The cabriolet
stood without, and was "anchored" to a thatched roof. Brandy was on
the table, and their pipes had filled the room with smoke. The two
friends had discussed serious matters. The Czar had paid six visits,
one to his staff of generals, from which he returned in a very
excited state to the waiting captain. But, with his extraordinary
capacity for shaking off what was unpleasant and for changing his
moods, he now beamed with hilarity.
"You ask whence I shall get the inhabitants for my new town. I first
brought fifty thousand workmen here.
Pages:
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314