You may have seen them," she went on, mentioning
some names well known to _Mr. Punch_. "They are allowed to marry; but
only the wisest and noblest men may approach them. On earth their will
is free, and sometimes, alas, they fall away from righteousness, and
pass through bitter tribulation."
"Yes," said the Fleet Street Sage, "We call it the Divorce Court--your
Majesty will pardon the rough speech of an old man--and, somehow, we
don't seem able to get on without it. But here, of course, you have no
such institution?"
"No," replied the Queen. "There once was such a court among us,
hundreds of years ago, ere we had banished the men from our midst.
Now, however, we use the building in which petitions used to be heard
as our chief College. Come hither, ZOE," she proceeded, addressing
a sweet little girl of about fifteen. "Tell this wise gentleman your
solution of that pretty question relating to the concomitants of a
system of ternary quadrics."
Without a moment's hesitation, ZOE stated the question, and, what is
more, solved it with absolute correctness.
"Marvellous!" said _Mr. Punch_. "I congratulate you."
"CYNTHIA," said the Queen, beckoning with her rosy fingers to
another maiden, "will you recite to me your Pindaric Ode on the late
foot-race?"
CYNTHIA at once complied, and _Mr. Punch_ listened in amazement to
the resounding lines of an ode worthy of the great Greek.
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