126 WAYFARING NOTIONS 



We, as I say, observed them, and did so in 

 quite a superior de haut en bas manner, because 

 their ways were not conventional according to 

 our lights. One gentleman doubled the parts of 

 dancer and piper, or what did as well, performer 

 on the mouth-organ. A second and two ladies 

 made up a quartette, who did step it most vigor- 

 ously to his music. " What a sight ! " says one 

 of us, and '* What a sight ! " we all said to our- 

 selves — at least I did till I asked myself a question 

 — several questions, in fact. In the first place, I 

 came to wonder whether any of us could do a 

 step so well as the least expert of the four, or, for 

 that matter, whether we could do a step at all. 

 And, assuming that a representative might be 

 found to stand up with the East-Enders, whether 

 it was not a thousand to one against his being 

 equal to playing the mouth-organ in good time 

 and footing it also. Granting that extremely 

 unlikely matter, I am quite certain that not the 

 best of us would have had a chance in a match 

 against the ladies, all to start fair, off the same 

 mark, at level weights as regards clothing. 

 When you came to think of it, the performance 

 was wonderful, for the ladies had on thick dresses 

 of a draggy, velvety sort of material, the very last 

 kind of equipment to favour athletic exercise, and 

 don't you think that their dancing was not a very 

 athletic exercise indeed, because it was. More- 

 over, like the famous gentleman, on the top of 

 the wig was the hat, and such magnificent 

 structures as theirs require, you would fancy, 

 most exact adjustment and balancing. But, bless 

 you, not even the final high kick, the full stop of 

 the saltatory display, so much as put a feather 

 out of place. 



