The satisfaction of vanity, involving such a sacrifice, almost deserves admiration.
It was nearly midday when a sudden stir took place in the crowd.

Every one on the platforms sprang up and began to wave hats and handkerchiefs.

In the windows, on the roofs, in the spaces between the platforms, wherever men could be packed, suddenly all the heads turned to one side, just as a field of corn bends before a breeze.

Then uprose a roar of shouts and cheers, deafening and almost stunning in intensity.

It was impossible any longer to distinguish tone, but only a tumult, such as a diver in deep water might hear of the surface waves above him.