CHAPTER VIII 



ORME AND THE DUKE 



An Allegory representing the True History of the Alleged Poisoning 

 of Orme and full Details given Facts and Fancies 



1 NEVER backed down from the belief that Orme 

 was never poisoned at all, but, of course, I did not 

 pursue the subject in The Sportsman as it had 

 already caused trouble. Nevertheless it seemed to be 

 a great pity that there should have been such alarums 

 and excursions about what was capable of simple and 

 natural explanation. So I gave my view of it all in 

 burlesque form, and this appeared of course, anony- 

 mously in The Sporting Times of i4th May 1892. By 

 the courtesy of that paper I am able to reproduce it here : 



THE DUCHESS OF PIMLICO'S CAT, OR POISON PROVED 



(A Society Dramalette) 



CHARACTERS 

 THE DUCHESS OF PIMLICO 



TOM .... Her Cat 



MRS STOUT .... Her Cook 



MR JOHNSON . . . A Chemist 



MR MUFFLER . . . A Chiropodist 



MR JINKS .... A Journalist 



MR GEORGE . . . A Solicitor 



Servants ', Journalist 's, etc., etc. 



SCENE I 



The Kitchen at Pimlico House 

 (TOM, the cat, discovered in convulsions) 

 MRS STOUT. Oh dear, oh dear ! whatever shall we do ? 

 91 



