the army, captains, merchants, editors, clerks of the senate, and so
forth, were among them. My wife was the only lady besides the mistress
of the house.

We were all waiting in an ante-room for the summons to dinner. It came.
The door of the dining-room was thrown open; and before you could have
said "Jack Robinson," the whole had rushed through, were seated at
table, and sending forth a forest of forks in the direction of the
various dishes! I had often heard of this wolfish habit, but thought
our cousins were caricatured. Here, however, was the reality. Had I not
been an eye-witness, I could not have believed it. Not a single seat
had been kept vacant for the only lady who had to be accommodated, and
we were both left to console ourselves in the ante-room! The landlady,
however, having "an eye to business," arranged for our accommodation at
the table. There had been on the table a turkey, a piece of beef, some
fish, and pastry,--all ready carved. Most of these things had instantly
disappeared,--the knives and forks had borne them away in triumph.
There was no waiting to be served: every one stuck his fork in what he
liked best, or what was most within his reach. It was a regular
scramble. The principle seemed to be to _begin_ to eat as soon as
possible, no matter what! Some began with nothing but potatoes, some
with a bit of bread, some with a piece of beef, some with a limb of the
turkey. Some, I noticed, beginning with fowl, then taking roast beef,
then boiled mutton, then fish, and then some pastry,--all on the same
plate, and--faugh!--portions of most of them there at the same time! No
change of plate,--that would have been extravagant, and would have
savoured of aristocracy. Freedom, it seemed, allowed every one to help
himself; and that with his own knife and fork, which he had before used
for all sorts of purposes. Such luxuries as salt-spoons and
mustard-spoons are very rare south of the Ohio. My wife asked the lady