and thought of their social,
professional or political distinction, the lustre of which he felt to
be, for the time, reflected upon himself. It was good to be in such
company, and to feel that he was equal with the best. He had not always
been the peer of such men. There had been an era of obscurity out of
which he had slowly emerged, and therefore he had the larger pride and
self-satisfaction in the position he now held.

Mrs. Birtwell was a woman of another order. All her life she had been
used to the elegancy that a wealthy parentage gave, and to which her
husband had been, until within a few years, an entire stranger. She was
"to the manner born," he a parvenu with a restless ambition to
outshine. Familiarity with things luxurious and costly had lessened
their value in her eyes, and true culture had lifted her above the
weakness of resting in or caring much about them, while their newness
and novelty to Mr. Birtwell made enjoyment keen, and led him on to
extravagant and showy exhibitions of wealth that caused most people to
smile at his weakness, and a good many to ask who he was and from
whence he came that he carried himself so loftily. Mrs. Birtwell did
not like the advanced position to which her husband carried her, but
she yielded to his weak love of notoriety and social eclat as
gracefully as possible, and did her best to cover his too glaring
violations of good taste and conventional refinement. In this she was
not always successful.

Of course the best of liquors in lavish abundance were provided by Mr.
Birtwell for his guests. Besides the dozen different kinds of wine that
were on the supper-table, there was a sideboard for gentlemen, in a
room out of common observation, well stocked with brandy, gin and
whisky, and it was a little curious to see how quickly this was
discovered by certain of the guests, who scented it as truly as a bee
scents honey in a clover-field, and extracted its sweets as eagerly.

Of the guests who were present we have now to deal chiefly with Mr.
Ridley, and only incidentally with the rest. Dr. Hillhouse was there
during the first part of the evening, but went away early--that, is,
before twelve o'clock. He remained long enough, however, to do full
justice to the supper and wines. His handsome and agreeable young
associate, Dr. Angler, a slight acquaintance with whom the reader has
already, prolonged his stay to a later hour.

The Rev. Dr. Elliott was also, among the guests, di