these daughters of rich bankers, which was very kind of him. The
unrestrained quality of their speech at first struck me as being a
little curious, such indeed as I was not accustomed to; but I found
them extremely easy to become acquainted with, and in nowise
prudish. They did, however, keep up a suspicious intimacy with a
brilliantly lighted, though not very fragrantly scented, saloon on
the left. In this I was assured there was nothing improper, inasmuch
as it was sanctioned by the customs of the best society in New York,
and much frequented by the Mayor and Aldermen.

"One of the damsels, whose winning smiles excited the filaments of
my heart with joy, condescended to express an enthusiastic
admiration for my watch-chain, while another very modestly said she
would owe me a lasting obligation if I would lend her my watch, that
she might wear it at the Tammany Hall ball, to which she was invited
by one of the managers. She pledged her honor, of which she seemed
to have a large stock, to return it safe. As it was the first favor
she had ever condescended to ask of a gentleman, she felt sure I
could not deny a lady. Notwithstanding my respect for rich bankers
and their daughters, I begged that she would excuse me in this
instance, and charge to my poverty what might otherwise seem a want
of generosity. She said she would sing to me, and be the light of my
dreams; but even this failed to impress me with a due respect for
her desires. With that penuriousness characteristic of bankers,
their papas, it was clear, had not stocked their purses with change
enough to cover their wants, which habitually ran to ice-water and
something in it.

"It was clear they took me for a country bumpkin instead of a great
politician, and were inclined to make much of my excess of