d put carefully to
bed by a Dutch chambermaid. This was at three o'clock in the
afternoon. At seven I marshalled all hands for a grand banquet, which
had been prepared without any regard to expense, it being intimated
that Uncle Sam would settle for the whole thing.

"Fresh and refreshed we all appeared ready for action, and as bright
as could possibly be expected after such a fatigue. The table was set
out in grand style; indeed, it literally groaned under every delicacy
of the season--not excepting krout, the glows of which impregnated the
atmosphere. Buck said he would sit opposite the krout; but that was
objected to, on the ground of his eating so much as to change the tone
of his speech, which was expected to be more than usually
spirited. After so little opposition from Monsieur Souley, who wanted
the place himself, it was voted that I should take the chair. Of
course I could not refuse the honor; but in order to illustrate the
three principles of our political policy, I was cautious to stipulate
that Buck sit on my right and Monsieur Souley on my left. Here we
were--steady, very steady, and very fast. Belmont insinuated, rather
ironically, that Buck could no longer be considered of the steady
school; in fact, Saunders had so cultivated his component parts that
he might now, without any fear of contradiction be put down as
remarkably fast. I need scarcely add that the viands were discussed
with great gusto, Monsieur Souley absorbing so much of the _fricasee
frog_ that his glossy black hair, which had before beautifully
undulated over his shoulders, now curled tighter, his eyes sparkled
brighter, his face became more olive, and his periods more intensely
French. O'Sullivan, too, had procured some capital Irish whiskey,
which he said he already felt in his boots. At ten o'clock there was a
general secession of knife and fork, and a resort to the less tasteful
amusement of speech-making. Souley, however, had all the while said
all manner of things about, and brought all sorts of charges against
Louis Napoleon, whose government he denounced in very general terms,
not dreaming that that shrewd sovereign had introduced two spies in
the capacity of waiters. The cloth being removed, Monsieur rose,
considering he was in duty bound, and commenced throwing off the
rounded sentences of the first part of a very long speech,--at one
moment denouncing princes and kings in general, and in the next
threatening to smother Spain wi