Command if I wished for anything more; but that if I pleased, I
might give him as a present a trifling douceur. This I gave him
with pleasure, as I could not help fancying I was hardly entitled to
so much civility and good attention for one single half-crown.
I now went up into the gallery, and seated myself in one of the
boxes there; and from thence becoming all at once a grave and
moralising spectator, I looked down on the concourse of people who
were still moving round and round in the fairy circle; and then I
could easily distinguish several stars and other orders of
knighthood; French queues and bags contrasted with plain English
heads of hair, or professional wigs; old age and youth, nobility and
commonalty, all passing each other in the motley swarm. An
Englishman who joined me during this my reverie, pointed out to me
on my enquiring, princes and lords with their dazzling stars; with
which they eclipsed the less brilliant part of the company.
Here some moved round in an eternal circle to see and be seen; there
a group of eager connoisseurs had placed themselves before the
orchestra and were feasting their ears, while others at the well-
supplied tables were regaling the parched roofs of their mouths in a
more substantial manner, and again others, like myself, were sitting
alone, in the corner of a box in the gallery, making their remarks
and reflections on so interesting a scene.
