Page:The Delectable Duchy.djvu/323



II.--THE GREAT FIRE ON FREETHY'S QUAY.

_From "Q_."

Troy Town.

New Year's Eve, 1892.

MY DEAR PRINCE,--The New Year is upon us, a season which the devout Briton sets aside for taking stock of his short-comings. I know not if Prester John introduced this custom among the Abyssinians: but we find it very convenient here.

In particular I have been vexing myself to-day over the gradual desuetude of our correspondence. Doubtless the fault is mine: and doubtless I compare very poorly with Dexter, whose letters are bound to be bright and frequent. But Dexter clings to London; and from London, as from your own Africa, _semper aliquid novi_. But of Troy during these twelve months there has been little or nothing to delate. The small port has been enjoying a