. A wanderer in London. uld probably feel as I always do in the presenceof the waxen — that they ought to be better. There ishardly a figure in this exhibition that conveys any illusionof life. Their complexions are not right; their hair isnot right. Their clothes are obviously the clothes of theinanimate; they have no notion what to do with theirhands. Thinking it over, I have come to the conclusion thatnot only the unreality, but also the eeriness, almost fear-someness, of a waxwork, reside principally in its naked waxwork, though unpleasant, would not be sobad: it is the clothes w
. A wanderer in London. uld probably feel as I always do in the presenceof the waxen — that they ought to be better. There ishardly a figure in this exhibition that conveys any illusionof life. Their complexions are not right; their hair isnot right. Their clothes are obviously the clothes of theinanimate; they have no notion what to do with theirhands. Thinking it over, I have come to the conclusion thatnot only the unreality, but also the eeriness, almost fear-someness, of a waxwork, reside principally in its naked waxwork, though unpleasant, would not be sobad: it is the clothes wanting life to vivify and justify itthat make it so terrible, just as clothes on a corpse addto the horror of death. One wonders where the clothescome from. Do they also, like the features and hair ofthese figures, approximate to life, or are they chosen atrandom ? Mr. Burns, it is well known, relinquished oneof his blue serge suits in exchange for a new one; butthe others ? Mr. Balfour, for example ? Are there under-. .IKAN AKNni I |\| WD .IKANNE. Ill> WIKK AFTKH IIIK l-K li l!l. .1 \ N VAN KVf K IN I UK NATIONAI- THE CHAMBER OF HORRORS 235 clothes too ? Does the Tussaud estabhshment include atailor and a modiste ? To these questions I could nodoubt obtain a satisfactory reply by merely writing to theexhiljition; but there are occasions when it is more amus-ing to remain in the domain of conjecture. This is one. I wandered into Madame Tussauds a Uttle while agoentirely for the purpose of saying something about it inthis book. As it was a foggy day, I had some difficultyin disentangling the visitors from the effigies; but whenI did so I saw that they wore a provincial air. I felt aUttle provincial myself as I passed from figure to figureand turned to the catalogue to see if I were looking at thelate Daniel Leno or Mr. Asquith. The Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussauds isLondons Cabaret des Neants, Londons Wiertz are not encouraged in England, a
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