night at the Virginia House, in that jumping off place of
Western Virginia, Wheeling, some years ago, I had the pleasure or
pastime of meeting several of the big guns of the nation, on their way
from Washington city, home. It was in August, I think, when, as is most
generally the case, the Ohio river gets monstrous low and feeble; when
all of the large steamers are past getting up so far, and travelling
down the river becomes quite amusing to amateurs, and particularly
tedious and monotonous to business people, bound home. Three hundred
travellers, more or less, were laying back at the "Virginia" and "United
States," in the aforesaid hardscrabble of a city, or town, waiting for
the river to get up, or some means for them to get down.

The session of Congress had closed at Washington, some time before, and
as almost all of the M. C.'s, U. S. S.'s, wire pullers, hangers on,
blacklegs, horse jockeys, etc., etc., came over "the National Road" to
Wheeling, to take the river for Southern and Western destinations, of
course the assemblage at that place, at that time, was promiscuous, and
quite interesting; at least, Western and Southern men always make
themselves happy and interesting, home or abroad, and particularly so
when travelling. It was a glorious thing for the proprietors of the
hotels, to have such a host of guests, as a house full of company always
is a "host," the guests having nothing else to do but lay back, eat,
drink, and be merry, and foot the bills when ready, or when opportunity
offers, to---- go.

They drank and smoked, and drank again, and told jests, and played games
and tricks, and thus passed the time along. Among the multitude was one
of those ever-talkative and chanting men of the world, who knew all
places and all men--as _he_ would have it. Just after removing the
cloth, at dinner, a knot of the old jokers, bacchanalians and wits,
settled away in a cluster, at the far end of a long table, and were
having a very pleasant time. The man of all talk was there; he was the
very _nucleus_ of all that was being said or done. He was from below,
somewhere, on his way, as he informed the crowd, to Washington city,
upon affairs of no slight importance to himself and the country in
general.

"Oho!" says one of the party, a sly, winking, fat and rosy gentleman,
whom we shall designate hereafter, "you're bound to the capital, eh?"

"Yes, _sir_," responded the man of all talk.

"Of course you've been there be