Chapter 9 of 12 · 61 words · ~1 min read

IX.

“Therefore now, restore the carpets, With a forfeit twenty-fold; And a goodly tribute offer Of your treasure and your gold: Sapienza, and the islet Cervi, ye shall likewise cede; So the mighty gods have spoken, Thus hath Palmerston decreed! Ere the sunset, let an answer issue from your monarch’s lips; In the meantime, I have orders to arrest your merchant ships.”