ere kind enough to be present to guarantee the fairness of
the arrangements. At the suggestion of the mayor and the police, the
doors would now be closed, that no persons might interrupt the ceremony
till it was ended. And the distribution of the cyclopaedias would at once
go forward, in the order in which the lots were drawn,--earliest numbers
securing the earliest impressions; which, as Mr. Burrham almost
regretted to say, were a little better than the latest. After these had
been distributed two figures would be drawn,--one green and one red, to
indicate the fortunate lady and gentleman who would receive respectively
the profits which had arisen from this method of selling the
cyclopaedias, after the expenses of printing and distribution had been
covered, and after the magazines had been ordered.

Great cheering followed this announcement from all but me. Here I had
shut myself up in this humbug hall, for Heaven knew how long, on the
most important day of my life. I would have given up willingly my
cyclopaedia and my chance at the "profits," for the certainty of seeing
Fausta at five o'clock. If I did not see her then, what might befall
her, and when might I see her again. An hour before this certainty was
my own, now it was only mine by my liberating myself from this prison.
Still I was encouraged by seeing that everything was conducted like
clock-work. From literally a hundred stations they were distributing the
books. We formed ourselves into queues as we pleased, drew our numbers,
and then presented ourselves at the bureaux, ordered our magazines, and
took our cyclopaedias. It would be done, at that rate, by half past four.
An omnibus might bring me to the Park, and a Bowery car do the rest in
time. After a vain discussion for the right of exit with one or two of
the attendants, I abandoned myself to this hope, and began studying my
cyclopaedia.

It was sufficiently amusing to see ten thousand people resign themselves
to the same task, and affect to be unconcerned about the green and red
figures which were to divide the "profits." I tried to make out who were
as anxious to get out of that tawdry den as I was. Four o'clock struck,
and the distribution was not done. I began to be very impatient. What if
Fausta fell into trouble? I knew, or hoped I knew, that she would
struggle to the Astor Library, as to her only place of rescue and
refuge,--her asylum. What if I failed her there? I who had pretended to
be her pro