taken under a strong guard to the City Hall, and locked up for the night.
It was followed by four or five thousand excited men, but no violence was
attempted.

The election was over. For three days the city had been heaving to the
tide of human passion, and trembling on the verge of a great disaster, and
all because a few ruffians, not a fourth part of whom could probably read
or write, chose to deny the right of suffrage to American citizens, and
constitute themselves the proper representatives of the city.

But the excitement did not end with the election. It was very close, and
as the returns came in slowly, the people assembled in great numbers, to
hear them reported. The next day, till three o'clock at night, ten or
fifteen thousand people blocked Wall Street, refusing to disperse, till
they knew the result. It was finally announced that Mr. Lawrence, the
Democratic candidate, was elected by a small majority.

The next thing was to ascertain the character of the Common Council. The
same mighty throng assembled next day, forgetting everything else in the
intense interest they felt in the result. It would seem impossible to get
up such a state of feeling over the election of a few local officers, but
the city shook from limit to limit as the slow returns came in. At last,
it was announced that the Whigs had carried the Common Council by a small
majority. As the news passed through the immense concourse, a shout vent
up that shook Wall Street from Broadway to the East River. It rolled back
and forth like redoubled thunder, till every throat was hoarse.

When the crowd at last dispersed, it was only to assemble again in
separate bodies in different parts of the city, and talk over the victory.