all plunged
into a sort of delirium and nearly all forgetting the serious side of
life. As I gazed on the frantic assembly, I wondered how the English
ever came to be considered a grave solid nation; I wondered, moreover,
how a great percentage of men representing a nation of conquerors,
explorers, administrators, inventors, should on a sudden decide to go
mad for a day. Perhaps, after all, the catchword "Merry England" meant
really "Mad England"; perhaps the good days which men mourned for after
the grim shade of Puritanism came over the country were neither more nor
less than periods of wild orgies; perhaps we have reason to be thankful
that the national carnivals do not now occur very often. Our ancestors
had a very peculiar idea of what constituted a merry-making, and there
are many things in ancient art and literature which tempt us to fancy
that a certain crudity distinguished the festivals of ancient days; but
still the latter-day frolic in all its monstrous proportions is not to
be studied by a philosophic observer without profoundly moving thoughts
arising. As I gazed on the endless flow of travellers, I could hardly
help wondering how the mob would conduct themselves during any great
social convulsion. Some gushing persons talk about the good humour and
orderliness of the British crowd. Well, I allow that the better class of
holiday-makers exhibit a kind of rough good nature; but, whenever
"sport" is in question, we find that a certain class come to the
front--a class who are not genial or merry, but purely lawless. While
the huge carnival is in progress during one delirious day, we have a
chance of seeing in a mild form what would happen if a complete national
disaster caused society to become fundamentally disordered. The beasts
of prey come forth from their lairs, the most elementary rules of
conduct are forgotten or bluntly disregarded, and the law-abiding
citizen may see robbery and violence carried on in broad daylight. In
some cases it happens that organized bands of thieves rob one man after
another with a brutal effrontery which quite shames the minor abilities
of Macedonian or Calabrian brigands. Forty or fifty consummate
scoundrels work in concert; and it often happens that even the
betting-men are seized, raised from the ground, and shaken until their
money falls and is scrambled for by eager rascaldom. Wherever there Is
sport the predatory animals flock together; and I thought, when last I
saw the