138 PRINCE FILDERKIN

had evidently pointed to his having some
negotiation with the mountebanks, and also
to his getting rid of his hump in the palace,
with their consent and assistance, which
seemed to put out of the question his re-
maining invisible all the time. He thought,
therefore, that it would be his best plan to
mix with the people, and keep as much as
possible out of the King’s sight, and hoped
that by some means or other he might
obtain entrance into the palace. He
followed this plan at first without difficulty,
as everybody in the crowd had his attention
fixed upon the procession and seemed to be
able to think of nothing else.

But when, after making a pretty wide
circuit, the head of the procession entered
the gates of the palace courtyard, it was
not long before Prince Filderkin found eyes
fixed upon him in a manner which caused
him some uneasiness. Indeed, it would
have been singular if this had not been the
case, because, except in the matter of the
hump, no one could look at our Prince and
discover any point of resemblance between
him and those who surrounded him. Prince
Filderkin was of the ordinary height of