Page 216 [216]
LABOULAYE’S FAIRY "BOOK
Three decrees had already placed in his hands the police,
the courts, and the finances. The doctor well understood
all the advantages of centralization. "The way in which he
administered the taxes relieved him from all personal
anxiety for the future. The courts punished those who
clamored too loudly; the police silenced those who whispered
too much. Nevertheless, in spite of the ability of these
political schemes, the people, always ungrateful, did not
appreciate their happiness. The inhabitants of Wild
Oats delight in complaining; the pleasure was spoiled
for them.
King Bizarre’s name was in all hearts and every one
regretted the good old times when they shouted over the
roof-tops that they were gagged.
The doctor was ambitious; he was born for a prime
minister. Every morning some new ordinance made the
people feel that the king was nothing and the minister
everything. Charming was the only one that did not
perceive his nothingness. Shut up in his palace, and dying
of ennul, his sole companion was a page placed near him
by the prime minister on Rachimburg’s recommendation.
Frolicsome, chattering, and indiscreet, a good musician
and capital card-player, Tonto, for that was the page’s
name, amused the king by his pranks; he pleased the prime
minister no less, but by other virtues. Devoted to his
benefactor, the good-natured page innocently repeated to
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