Royal Doldrums

[William Ramsay]

This is a disappointing time, a time of frustration, of longing for action -- and no action is possible. No one can accomplish anything worthy without the assistance of others. My whole life as a monarch was a testimony to my skill in using other men. But now! Perhaps the key word is "man." My first effort to gain allies has foundered on the pitiful uxorious weakness of Lord March, on his susceptibilty to the rule of women. Imagine! My whole downfall here on the Other Side has been due to the cursed female principle, and now I find that my supposed companion and prospective aide lives under the thumb of his precious Isabella. Somehow she got wind of my plans to escape from tmy so-to-speak "imprisonment" and put her dainty little foot down. Blast! What have men come to? After a short interval of despair, however, I looked around for a new human resource and came up with Sir Francis West. I know, in happier days I felt free to despise the fellow -- but necessity, necessity... For it turns out that in his more mature years in the wilds of Virgina, he turned his devious mind to the study of the occult, learned the secrets of astrology, and possesses knowledge that I sorely need for escape my imaginary but suffocating fetters. But more must be done, and I'll report on all this at a later time.