it, without question, its claims to the worship of the
vulgar masses, and confessed that when he saw one whom he took to be a
leader of fashion coming, he felt an involuntary movement of his right
hand towards his hat. He admitted that he had, by this manner of doing
indiscriminate homage to well-dressed people, on several occasions taken
off his hat to notorious horse-jockeys, faro-dealers, and gamblers.

"However," said John Spout, "if you want to go to a grand fancy dress
ball, where you will meet all 'the world,' as these try-to-be-fashionable
people call those who have scraped together dollars enough to entitle them
to their royal notice, I can very easily get you an invitation. Mrs.
Throughby Daylight, whose husband made a fortune by selling patent
medicine, and thereby purged himself of poverty and plebeianism together,
gives, in a short time, a grand fantasquerade, which is intended to be
the most consolidated fancy dress jam of the season. Do you want to go?"

"Go," replied Dropper, "how can I go? I don't know Mrs. Throughby
Daylight, or Mr. Throughby Daylight, or any of the Daylights, so that
Daylight is all moonshine."

"Dropper," was the response, "you're young; I excuse that, for you can't
help it; but you're also _green_, which I cannot forgive; your verdancy
is particularly noticeable when you revive the absolute absurdity of
supposing that it is necessary to be acquainted with a lady before you
are invited to attend her parties. That antiquated idea has been long
since exploded. Why, my dear sir, it is no more necessary that you
should have ever previously heard of a woman whose 'jam' you receive an
invitation to attend, than it is probable she knows who _you_ are, or
where the devil you come from."

Dropper was bewildered.

"It is a positive fact," continued Spout. "Why, bless your innocent
eyes, a woman of fashion no more knows the names of the individuals who
attend her grand party, than she knows who took tea last night with the
man in the moon. She merely orders music and provisions, makes out a
list of a few persons she _must_ have, has her rooms actually measured,
allows eight inches square to a guest; thus having estimated the number
that can crowd into her house, she multiplies it by two, which gives the
amount of invitations to be issued, after which she leaves the rest to
Brown. Brown takes the list; Brown finds the required number of guests.
Brown invites whom he pleases; Brown fills the