short, quick whistles announced that the whirligig caravan
was travelling round the world. The fat woman, the strong man, the
smashers tapping the "claret," the "Pelican of the Wilderness," that
mystic and melancholy bird, the rifle galleries, the popping for
nuts--behold these are they our fathers have seen.

There is nothing new under the sun--not even at Epsom. The first time I
saw the wonderful crowd of the Derby Day--perhaps the largest crowd in
the world--I could scarcely believe my eyes, for I found on passing
through it that the hundreds of thousands of people there had nothing
more to amuse them than they would have found at an ordinary country
fair. Swings, roundabouts, cockshies at cocoa-nuts, rootletum,
tootletum, and beer. That was all. No new amusement whatsoever: a very
humdrum sort of world, my masters!

The next finest crowd is the crowd on August bank-holiday all along the
Brighton beach, and there it is just the same. Nothing for the folk but
Punch, brass bands, and somersaulters--dull old stories in my
grandmother's time.

Xerxes offered a reward to anyone who could invent him a fresh
pleasure--the multitude of the Derby Day and Brighton beach should do
the same. But indeed they do, for an immense fortune would certainly be
the reward of such a discoverer. One gets tired of pitching sticks at
cocoa-nuts all one's time.

However, at Woolhorton nobody but the very rawest and crudest folk cared
for the shows, all they did care was to alternately stand stock still
and then shove. First they shoved as far as the "Lion" and had some
beer, then they shoved back to the "Lamb" and had some beer, then they
stood stock still in the street and blocked those who were shoving.
Several thousand people were thus happily occupied, and the Lion and the
Lamb laid down together peacefully that day.

Amaryllis and old Iden had in like manner to shove, for there was no
other way to get through, no one thought of moving, or giving any
passage, if you wanted to progress you must shoulder them aside. As
Grandfather Iden could not shove very hard they were frequently
compelled to wait till the groups opened, and thus it happened that
Amaryllis found herself once face to face with Jack Duck.

He kind of sniggered in a foolish way at Amaryllis, and touched his hat
to Iden. "You ain't a been over to Coombe lately, Mr. Iden," he said.

"No," replied the old man sharply, and went on.

Jack could hardly have struck a note