~99~~
What coronation, tournament, or courtly pageant, can outshine thy
splendid innocence and delightful gaiety? what regal banquet yields half
the pure enjoyment the sons of old Etona experience, when, after
months of busy preparation, the happy morn arrives ushered in with the
inspiring notes of "_Auld lang syne_" from the well-chosen band in the
college breakfast-room? Then, too, the crowds of admiring spectators,
the angel host of captivating beauties with their starry orbs of light,
and luxuriant tresses, curling in playful elegance around a face
beaming with divinity, or falling in admired negligence over bosoms of
alabastrine whiteness and unspotted purity within! Grey-bearded wisdom
and the peerless great, the stars of honor in the field and state,
the pulpit and the bar, send forth their brightest ornaments to grace
Etona's holiday. Oxford and Cambridge, too, lend their classic aid,
and many a grateful son of _Alma Mater_ returns to acknowledge his
obligations to his early tutors and swell the number of the mirthful
host. Here may be seen, concentrated in the quadrangle, the costume of
every nation, in all the gay variety that fancy can devise: the Persian
spangled robe, and the embroidered Greek vest; the graceful Spanish, and
the picturesque Italian, the Roman toga and the tunic, and the rich old
English suit.
Pages:
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151