His fellow-lunchers will be, as he may like well enough to fancy,
of somewhat lower degree than himself, but they will all seem
very respectable, and when they come out together, they will all
be equalized in the sudden excitement which has possessed itself
of the street, and lined the curbstones up and down with
spectators, their bodies bent forward, and their faces turned in
the direction of the station.
II
The excitement is caused by the coming of the King; and I wish
that I could present that event in just its sincere
unimpressiveness. I have assisted at several such events on the
Continent, where, especially in Germany, they are heralded as
they are in the theatre, with a blare of trumpets, and a
sensation in the populace and the attendant military little short
of an ague fit. There, as soon as the majesties mount into their
carriages from the station, they drive off as swiftly as their
horses can trot, and their subjects, who have been waiting for
hours to see them, make what they can of a meagre half-minute's
glimpse of them.
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