XI 



THE SIDE-SHOW 



THE side-show of a big three-ring circus, where 

 you may view at your ease and leisure the 

 freaks, is to my mind more amusing than the show 

 itself ; for nowadays the senses are stunned by the 

 ordered confusion of a triple entertainment. In like 

 manner the thoroughfares of modern life have be- 

 come so crowded and noisy that one turns with a 

 sigh of relief into the alleys and byways that run 

 to and from them. 



Americans, I believe, have a keener appreciation 

 of what they call " the side-show " than we. Per- 

 haps in a new country there are more side-shows, 

 but I doubt it. I know of a cathedral town in the 

 south of England where four great classes live 

 cheek by jowl : the military, the Dean and Chap- 

 ter and clergy, the masters and boys of a great 

 public school, and the ordinary townsfolk. By 

 those who like to bet on certainties, a sum might 

 be wagered that here within the shadow of four 

 ancient institutions could be found more side-shows 

 than in any city of the West; only you would 

 have to search for them patiently. In the West 

 the side-show is on the side-walk ! Take, for in- 

 stance, the side-shows of religion : Theosophy, Spirit- 

 ualism, Christian Science, and the like. In England 

 these entertainments are — so to speak — not 



