It is not the first time the
loyal faith of the people has proved a better guide than carping
critics, and likely it will not be the last.
[Illustration: "Horse-meat to-day!" ]
I rediscovered on that trip the ancient bellwoman, sole advertising
medium before the advent of the printing-press, the extinct
chimney-sweep, the ornamental policeman who for professional excitement
reads detective novels at home, and the sacrificial rites of--of
what or whom I shall leave unsaid. But it must have been an
unconscious survival of something of the sort that prompted the
butcher to adorn with gay ribbons the poor nag led to the slaughter
in the wake of the town drummer. He designed it as an advertisement
that there would be fresh horse-meat for sale that day. The horse
took it as a compliment and walked in the procession with visible
pride. And I found the church in which no collection was ever
taken. It was the very Dom in my own old town. The velvet purses
that used to be poked into the pews on Sundays on long sticks were
missing, and I asked about them.
Pages:
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466