he sword of Ferrau."

I rapidly constructed by anticipation the familiar plot. The jealous
husband would kill his erring wife and would then be killed by her lover;
but, being unversed in the habits of Cathaian emperors and their
entourage, I had run off the track. Pasquale put me straight.

"Prima Ferrau uccide Medoro." (Ferrau first kills Medoro.)

"And then kills Angelica?" I inquired.

"No. Angelica si uccide personalmente, so as not to marry Ferrau."

I was next introduced to Galafrone, the father of Angelica, who also wore
a crown, and to two valorous knights, Sacripante, King of the
Circassians, and the Duca d'Avilla.

There were more than two hundred marionettes altogether, including
Turkish and Spanish soldiers. The knights and ladies were kept in green
holland bags to preserve them from the dust, and taken out as they were
wanted. They varied in height from twenty-four to thirty-two inches.
Ferrau was thirty-one and a half inches from the soles of his feet to the
top of his helmet; Angelica was twenty-six and a half inches; ordinary
Turks and Spanish soldiers were only twenty-four inches each.

Pasquale was very proud of Ferrau who really was magnificent. He was
made of wood with loose joints. An iron rod went through his head, and
was hooked into a ring between his collar-bones. Another rod was
fastened to his right wrist. There were three strings--one for his left
hand, which held his shield, one to raise his vizor and one which passed
through his right fist and across his body to his sword-hilt so that he
could draw his sword. I should have liked to buy him and bring him to
London with me; he would be an ornament to any house. But he was not for
sale; and, besides, it would not have been right to break up the company.
When Don Quixote, carried away by his feelings like a Sicilian facchino,
came to the assistance of Don Gayferos by drawing his sword and attacking
the Moorish puppets, he broke up Master Peter's company in a very literal
sense, and had to pay four and a half reals for King Marsilio of
Saragossa and five and a quarter for the Emperor Carlo Magno; but it is
not clear how large or how splendid they were.

Each figure requires one operator who stands between the wings, which are
about up to his waist and so solid that he can lean his elbows on them
and reach comfortably more than halfway across the stage. There are four
openings between the wings, and thus there can be eight pu