The Average Flush of Excitement

Abstract

I WITNESSED a curious instance of this on a large scale, which others may look out for on similar occasions. It was at Epsom, on the Derby Day last week. I had taken my position not far from the starling-point, on the further side of the course, and facing the stands, which were about half a mile off, and showed a broad area of white faces. In the idle moments preceding the start I happened to scrutinise the general effect of this sheet of faces, both with the naked eye and through the opera-glass, thinking what a capital idea it afforded of the average tint of the complexion of the British upper classes. Then the start took place; the magnificent group of horses thundered past in their fresh vigour and were soon out of sight, and there was nothing particular for me to see or do until they reappeared in the distance in front of the stands. So I again looked at the distant sheet of faces, and to my surprise found it was changed in appearance, being uniformly suffused with a strong pink tint, just as though a sun-set glow had fallen upon it. The faces being closely packed together and distant, each of them formed a mere point in the general effect. Consequently that effect was an averaged one, and owing to the consistency of all average results, it was distributed with remarkable uniformity. It faded away steadily but slowly after the race was finished.