A Queer Race: The Story of a Strange People — page 135: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

132 A QUEER RACE. “ suit of black, a color which they reserved exclusively for mourning. In this dilemma I consulted Field. : «© A black coat, and of that peculiar shape, too, would certainly make you sadly conspicuous—I might almost say ridiculous,” he said, when I showed him my swallow- tail, ‘‘and the queen might think you had mistaken her dance for a funeral. Have you nothing a little less som- ber—a uniform, for instance?” ‘‘T have my uniform as captain in a volunteer rifle corps.” (My poor mother made me bring it, rather against my own wish. Officers in foreign countries al- ways wear their uniforms, she said, and I might find mine useful; so I brought it.) ‘< Where is it?” ‘Tn one of the boxes which came up from the Diana an hour ago.” , ‘“Wear it, by all means,” advised my host, when he had seen the uniform. ‘‘ Nothing could be better; and the queen, who has never seen an English uniform, will take it as a compliment. She takes great interest in everything that concerns the old couniry, and that red coat will match well with your—chestnut hair.” This point being settled, we went to the cock-fight, which took place in a public pit not far from Mr. Field’s house. A number of mains were fought, and many birds killed. At the outset I was rather disgusted, but after awhile I became as excited as the rest. I had never seen a main fought before, and I understood for the first time why the sport had been so attractive for our ancestors, and its suppression so difficult to enforce. Nobody showed more excitement or followed the fortunes of the various fights with keener enjoyment than Queen Mab. ‘A fine old English sport!” she observed to me, when the tournament came to an end. ‘I hope you have en- joyed it.” ‘“‘Tt was an English sport once, but, now, like bull ae bear- baiting, it 1s obsolete and illegal—forbidden by aw.” , ‘‘ Forbidden by law! But why? What can there be wrong init? Not having bulls and bears, we can bait neither the one nor the other. But cock-fighting! You surprise me, Mr. Erle. What is England coming to?” GOmiecbooks sco