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+====== A Short Digression ======
+//In which the Duke and the Doctor discuss the duelling of Grand Viziers
+and the uses of fish.//
+The doctor turned toward the Countess for askance. \\
+"Milady?" \\
+To which the Duke politely coughed in way of interruption.. \\
+"Actually, I believe it's Her Excellency (and of course, I am His
+Grace)."
+To which he continued to ponder in his way, vocally mentioning the
+thoughts he dwelt on :- \\
+"I couldn't find a reference to how one should address a Grand Vizier
+- but it probably involves being on you knees and begging for your
+life...."
+"Begging you pardon, your excellency, and thanking his grace for his
+indulgence.", The Doctor turned once more toward Duke Peter, " I
+believe the correct form of address for a Grand Vizier is "Toby" - at
+least it was last time I was in the Orient. (We were at Oxford
+together, you see.)"
+The Duke harumphed his displeasure, "What a coincidence, him being
+named after the Devil! Obviously you met him before I had the
+displeasure of dueling him to the death with a frozen haddock.."
+"Good Lord, sir!", exclamied Dr. van B_____, "That is no mean feat,
+given that he had been trained by warriors of the fish-duelling tribes
+of the Amazon, whose mastery of all forms of piscean combat is
+unmatched by any in the known world!".
+"'Twas not entirely difficult. I had, of course, recently seduced the
+queen of the Amazons and received the pre-eminant training in piscean
+combat (amongst other things) as well.", the Duke looked abashedly
+away briefly.
+"As I did manage to keep my fish fresh and frozen with my invention of
+the steam-powered gas cooling box, it came down to the superiority of
+the weapon itself. Whilst I had my frozen haddock, he was forced to
+use the local equivalent of a suprised looking catfish which decayed
+throughout the duel. The Orient has not, as yet appreciated the value
+of frozen fish, but prefer the fresh (and dare I say) uncooked
+version. Damn foreigners."
+Nodding his head, the doctor himself turned his thoughts to
+recollection.
+"This reminds me of a strange tribe I came across in my travels. As
+you know I was in the service of a Spanish sea captain, whose exploits
+are known to all and sundry. However, having become separated from
+the bulk of the fleet, and, indeed, my ship, I was pulled from the
+ocean by a short and rather scruffy chap who asked politely, in a
+dialect of certain Pacific tribes, if I would care to be eaten. When
+I explained rather indignantly that I did not, he sadly told me that
+it was the custom of their tribe to only eat fish who consented to it.
+However, not being familiar with the language of the sea, and not
+wishing to eat a fish that was not so disposed, the tribe had all but
+died from starvation. Happy to oblige, I taught him enough of that
+tongue to determine whether or not a fish wished to be eaten, and
+enough poor piscean poetry to ensure an affirmative answer."
+"But I digress."
+====== ======
+Back to [[duke_peter_of_gloucester]] \\
+Back to [[doctor_s_van_b]]