Contents me; and in thee calm sage I greet
Scepticism and meekness, virtues exquisite.
FOOTNOTES
[6] To “dance the basket” is the French idiom for the pilfering of the cook.
[p133]
CHAPTER VI. THE TAMERS.
The tamer’s performance is certainly one of those exhibitions which give the most valuable evidence of the superiority of man over animals.
Some morose spirits have put forth the lion’s claims to royalty in rivalry to the supremacy of Adam. In the [p134] menagerie the two candidates meet each other. The lion has formidable jaws and claws; the man has only a pair of boots and a whip. Yet it is the lion that obeys! The great feline’s spring through a paper hoop settles the disputed question in favour of humanity. One leaves the theatre with uplifted head and heart swollen with pride.