New-York tribune., 1867-09-03
LILLE rnRcE on rODnEP

According TO Mr.. Thomas Carlyle. the En-
pire of Great Britain Is IN a condition bad
enough now, and without promise OF improve
ment. Never before was = body polite 80
haunted by iicnds, spccter,. ca,mcras, shains,
phantasm,, gorgou,. devils OF al possible
varieties concrete mcnlacit.c- and niger
philanthropi,t," 1t i, notable fact, how
ever. that the general deterioration of the
British public hl, not in the lca,, Affected It's
appetitc. We have just been reading an ac-
count (from TAyiey', Noga:ire' OF the ball
given at Agricultural Hal % tAc Bcsans.
The Iush of crowd 10 an American steam
boat dinner-tablc has been described by
Mrs. Trollopc, MI. Hamilton, the Rev.
Isaac Fiddler, tourist who called him
self "Rubio.r Capt. Maryltt, and Mr..
Dickens; and it is the recorded opinion OF all
these Observers that in cIowdIng, hustling,
rushing, and elbowing, a hungry American
mob of travellers surpa,Scs ali creation. Ii Is
curious 20 find pleci.cly the Semc impollte
sort of conduct indulgcd in by the fashion
able feeders OF London. A. The Belgian ball,
according 10 the writer before ~, at the table
there was haud-to-haAd Isht, and no one
seemed to think of international or other
"in uniform or evening dress. threw them
selves into tie surging ser ot palpiiotne
"hungry bodies like divers, aimed wildly iol
4" the table aud retained 90 the surface, some
times with bit Of meat, or bread, or bot
"tle, and sometimes empty handed" The
women were, It appears, II, hungry as the
men. at was" says the same wriicr q" that
dragon of virtue, the British matron
"of unattractiye appearance and ripe years
"who gallantly led forlorn hopes, and bravely
"incited her male belongings to acts OF yio-
"lence.n The best of the joke was that the
Belgian guests, victims D! tho unappeaSable
hunger of these rayenOus hosts. although the
supper was spread for the special S0lace Of the
poor foreigners. could really get nothing to eat.
"By this tmc,n says our authority, :" the tables
"were nearly cleared, and champagne bottles
"and wcll-picked bones were the yiands left
"for such of tho BelSians aS had modestly
"shrunl from fighting with woman for a
"supper."
DR.. johnson once astonishcd his auditors by
asserting that his own personal politene5s was
very great We shall indulge in no such self
compacency upon our National account; but il
at any of the balls which were given to him in
this country II. X. ii. the Prince of Wales, by
Yankee crowding, shouldering and pushing, was
deprived of his supper, we hereby request him
to write to The Times and say so. We do not
ask strangers to any such tantalizing banquets
in this land of plenty. II an imperial Nitellius
himself were our guest, we should be careful to
see that ho had his enormous fill, although he
spread famine through our banquet-halls, and
devoured our very dishes. We fear that Albion
must give up her geological marl, of distinc-
tion Lions are better bred, and not half 50
hungry. There is quadruped, with brlsties,
and a broad snout and short tall and an
unfailing appctite-a quadruped well known III
our own Cincinnat-but we say no more!
The British critic from whom we have
quoted, might well pity the BelglanS. They
"werc left" he says, ito the tender mercies ol
ga well dressed English mob, who were KIND
"and consideate, while the entertainment was
"limitcd to dancing. but became rude ana
fierce directly the stranger stood between
"thcm and food II is singular and litle
unpleasant To consider, but this Is precisely what
the natural historians tell us ot tigers, croco-
diles, hycuas yulturcs. cOrmomnt3' and pythons'
When Nstr dinners aro plentiful aaI lAcIi