ted the fire, when we ordered our breakfast; but how much better
would it have been to have taken our breakfast comfortably on board,
and then to have come on shore, especially as we had no money to
spare. Next to being too late, being too soon is the worst plan in
the world. However, we had our breakfast, and paid the bill; then we
sallied forth, and went up George Street, where we found all sorts
of vehicles ready to take us to the fair. We got into one which they
called a dilly. I asked the man who drove us why it was so called, and
he replied because he only charged a shilling. O'Brien, who had joined
us after breakfasting on board, said that this answer reminded him of
one given to him by a man who attended the hackney-coach stands in
London. "Pray," said he, "why are you called Watermen?" "Watermen,"
replied the man, "vy, sir, 'cause ve opens the hackney-coach doors."
At last, with plenty of whipping, and plenty of swearing, and a great
deal of laughing, the old horse, whose back curved upwards like a bow,
from the difficulty of dragging so many, arrived at the bottom of
Portdown hill, where we got out, and walked up to the fair. It really
was a most beautiful sight. The bright blue sky, and the coloured
flags flapping about in all directions, the grass so green, and the
white tents and booths, the sun shining so bright, and the shining
gilt gingerbread, the variety of toys and variety of noise, the
quantity of people and the quantity of sweetmeats; little boys so
happy, and shop people so polite, the music at the booths, and the
bustle and eagerness of the people outside, made my heart quite jump.
There was Richardson, with a clown and harlequin, and such beautiful
women, dressed in clothes all over gold spangles, dancing reels and
waltzes, and looking so happy! There was Flint and Gyngell, with
fellows tumbling over head and heels, playing such tricks--eating
fire, and drawing yards of tape out of their mouths. Then there was
the Royal Circus, all the horses standing in a line, with men and
women standing on their backs, waving flags, while the trumpeters blew
their trumpets. And the largest giant in the world, and Mr. Paap,
the smallest dwarf in the world, and a female dwarf, who was smaller
still, and Miss Biffin, who did every thing without legs or arms.
There was also the learned pig, and the Herefordshire ox, and a
hundred other sights which I cannot now remember. We walked about for
an hour or two, seeing t