Europe and elsewhere, by Mark Twain [pseud.] [with an appreciation by Brander Matthews and an introduction by Albert Bigelow Paine]

EUROPE AND ELSEWHERE

roof, like a flower garden trying to hold an earthquake down and not succeeding. It was a magnificent spectacle, and what with the roaring of the
chorus, the waving of handkerchiefs, the cheering
of the people, the blazing gas, and the awful splendor
of the long file of royalty, standing breast to breast
in the royal box, it was wonderfully exhilarating,
not to say exciting.
The chorus sang only three-quarters of a minuteone stanza-and down came the huge curtain and
shut out the fairyland. And then all those elevendollar people hunted their way out again.
A NATION DEMENTED
We are certainly gone mad. We scarcely look at
the young colossus who is to reign over 70,000,000
of people and the mightiest empire in extent which
exists to-day. We have no eyes but for this splendid
barbarian, who is lord over a few deserts and a
modest ten million of ragamuffins-a man who has
never done anything to win our gratitude or excite
our admiration, except that he managed to starve
a million of his subjects to death in twelve months.
If he had starved the rest I suppose we would set
up a monument to him now.
The London theaters are almost absolutely empty
these nights. Nobody goes, hardly. The managers
are being ruined. The streets for miles are crammed
with people waiting whole long hours for a chance
glimpse of the Shah. I never saw any man "draw"
like this one,
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