Penelope's English Experiences: Being Extracts from the Commonplace Book of Penelope Hamilton — John Shaqi
Penelope's English Experiences: Being Extracts from the Commonplace Book of Penelope HamiltonWiggin, Kate Douglas Smith
General
Penelope's English Experiences: Being Extracts from the Commonplace Book of Penelope Hamilton
Wiggin, Kate Douglas Smith
Americans -- England -- Fiction; England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
Under the trees, each in the centre of his group, large or small
according to his magnetism and eloquence, stood the park 'shouter,'
airing his special grievance, playing his special part, preaching his
special creed, pleading his special cause,--anything, probably, for
the sake of shouting. We were plainly dressed, and did not attract
observation as we joined the outside circle of one of these groups after
another. It was as interesting to watch the listeners as the speakers.
I wished I might paint the sea of faces, eager, anxious, stolid,
attentive, happy, and unhappy: histories written on many of them; others
blank, unmarked by any thought or aspiration. I stole a sidelong look at
the Honourable Arthur. He is an Englishman first, and a man afterwards
(I prefer it the other way), but he does not realise it; he thinks he is
just like all other good fellows, although he is mistaken. He and Willie
Beresford speak the same language, but they are as different as Malay
and Eskimo. He is an extreme type, but he is very likeable and very
well worth looking at, with his long coat, his silk hat, and the white
Malmaison in his buttonhole. He is always so radiantly, fascinatingly
clean, the Honourable Arthur, simple, frank, direct, sensible, and he
bores me almost to tears.
The first orator was edifying his hearers with an explanation of the
drama of The Corsican Brothers, and his eloquence, unlike that of the
other speakers, was largely inspired by the hope of pennies. It was a
novel idea, and his interpretation was rendered very amusing to us
by the wholly original Yorkshire accent which he gave to the French
personages and places in the play.
An Irishman in black clerical garb held the next group together. He was
in some trouble, owing to a pig-headed and quarrelsome Scotchman in the
front rank, who objected to each statement that fell from his lips, thus
interfering seriously with the effect of his peroration. If the Irishman
had been more convincing, I suppose the crowd would have silenced the
scoffer, for these little matters of discipline are always attended to
by the audience; but the Scotchman's points were too well taken; he
was so trenchant, in fact, at times, that a voice would cry, 'Coom up,
Sandy, an' 'ave it all your own w'y, boy!' The discussion continued
as long as we were within hearing distance, for the Irishman, though
amiable and ignorant, was firm, the 'unconquered Scot' was on his native
heath of argument, and the listeners were willing to give them both a
hearing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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