Page:Man Who Laughs (Estes and Lauriat 1869) v2.djvu/56

36 that it produced headache, Plutarch was a little out of his reckoning, inasmuch as the phœnix never existed."

"A detestable speech. The cinnamalker, which makes its nest with sticks of cinnamon, the rhintacus that Parysatis used in the manufacture of her poisons, the manucodiatas which is the bird of paradise, and the semenda, which has a beak with three holes, have been mistaken for the phœnix; but the phoenix has existed."

"I do not deny it."

"You are a stupid ass."

"I desire to be thought no better."

"You have confessed that the elder-tree cures the quinsy, but you added that it was not because it has a fairy excrescence at its root."

"I said it was because Judas hung himself on an elder-tree."

"A plausible opinion," growled the theologian, glad to strike his little blow at Æacus.

Arrogance repulsed soon turns to anger, Æacus was enraged.

"Strolling mountebank! your mind wanders as much as your feet. Your doctrines are not only startling but extremely suspicious in their nature. You are the next thing to a sorcerer. You have dealings with unknown animals. You speak to the populace of things that exist but for you alone, and the nature of which is unknown, such as the hœmorrhoüs."

"The hœmorrhoüs is a viper which was seen by Tremellius."

This repartee produced a certain disorder in the irritated science of Doctor Æacus.

Ursus added: "The existence of the hœmorrhoüs is quite as true as that of the odoriferous hyæna, and of the civet described by Castellus."

Æacus got out of the difficulty by charging home: