an alderman, I think; but, as in
our retired portion of the city none but the lowest vagabonds gave
politics a thought, there was comparatively no excitement. Mrs. Lawk,
from the wide circle of society in which she moved, had invited a goodly
number to an entertainment. Even our inordinate supply of sofas were
filled, and scarcely a chair in the house remained unoccupied. In a rash
moment I asked two or three of my own cronies; but not many minutes
elapsed ere both my companions and myself were made to feel the folly of
the temerity.

Ignorant of dancing, unskilled in whist or the art of polite
conversation, we were terminating our third hour of judicious snubbing
in a corner. Mrs. McSimpkins had just concluded a battle-piece of great
length and power, when the rehearsal of our shuddering comments was
suddenly banished by the deafening roll of a drum. I rushed to the
window, and, to my horror, discovered a torchlight procession halted
immediately in front of the house. Perhaps a hundred men, in all stages
of political enthusiasm and intoxication, surrounded by a crowd of
wretched women and girls, waved their lights with demoniac frenzy, and,
apparently through a common throat, gurgled three hideous cheers. There
was a charge of Mrs. Lawk's friends to the windows, and then a stampede
to the back parlor. In vain I expostulated; idly I insisted on my utter
lack of interest in the questions of the day: the political party
_would_ come in, and how was I to prevent it? The absence of
embarrassment and amiable indifference to form that characterized the
intrusion was something unique. There was a difference in shape and mode
of wearing, about the hats, really refreshing, and a variety of quality
and nauseousness in the cigars everybody smoked, that, if anything,
added zest to the scene.

Boots unconscious of the existence of a door-mat speedily graced the
hall-floor with a perfect cushion of mud. Their wearers, rapidly
dividing into groups, plunged into earnest conversation concerning the
events of the day. The candid manner in which my own character was
discussed, and their frankness in touching on my peculiarities, was not
the least gratifying feature of the visit. In the course of two or three
minutes, one would have supposed my residence a political club-room, and
my uninvited guests in the peaceful enjoyment of their inalienable
rights.

At length there was a cry of "Here he is! here he is!"

Every window on the squa