281 

 THE HORSES. 



" A horse ? — a horse ? — my kingdom for a horse. " 



Who says West's horses can 't draw ? — here 's a house ! packed 

 as full as a cask of Yarmouth herrings; heads as thickly stowed 

 as if Martin had arranged them for a new picture ; phizzes as 

 varied as if they had borrowed their several expressions from 

 Hogarth, yet not without many fair and gentle beauties scattered 

 among them. 



Look at the pit, not another butcher or man-milliner could find 

 standing room there, for the soul of him. This is the resort of tip 

 top " operatives," foremen of all crafts, thrifty Israelites, small 

 shopkeepers, swell-looking fellows in surtouts, just escaped from 

 behind the counter, where they have been praising flannel for pet- 

 ticoats and extolling the virtues of elastic stays for some twelve 

 hours : one or two veteran connoisseurs may also be observed, 

 wlio, for the sake of seeing the illusion in its perfection, will with- 

 stand the bounty showered on them by the " gods," and run the 

 risk of having their skulls stove in by a porter bottle ejected from 

 the slips. The house waxes hot, and what a mighty steam ascends 

 from this region, impregnated witli the effluvia of w^et leather and 

 all manner of pinguedinous things. And the dress circle, too, 

 lucus a non lucendo, where the young ladies are not quite half un- 

 dressed, and the young gentlemen sport box-coats and muddy 

 spurs. What a milky way of loveliness — what seraphic looks, they 

 never could frown — what exquisite lips, they know not how to 

 scold. And the masculine part of the groups too : what a world 

 of trouble the curling irons have had to-day; what eloquent 

 whiskers, what killing side locks, what unparalled neck-vestures, 

 what wow.sY7'ow.s(?/ delicate jewellery. The sweet Narcissi! how 

 much they must be in love with their own dear selves. 



The performance seems to be a very minor consideration in 

 this quarter; they are talking to one another instead of listening 

 to Vivash ; and have sundry abortions of telescopes levelled in 

 directions somewhat opposite to the stage : divers pretty pairs are 

 holding most pathetic converse, which is vastly more entertaining 

 to them than the death of many dukes of Brunswick. Half 

 a score midshipmen have got loose from between decks, and 

 have not the slightest doubt of their being now in heaven : how 

 much better than the odour of ropes is tlie fragrance of lavender, 

 eau de Cologne, and iive thousand rarer essences from Araby the 

 blest. 



VOL. IV. — 1834. MM 



