he best of a bad job. We had some very agreeable companions on board;
but we had others very much the contrary, conspicuous among whom was an
undeniable Hebrew but no Nathanael. He was one of those pompous loud
talkers, whose every word and work bespoke vulgarity in its most
obnoxious form, and whose obtuseness in matters of manners was so great
that nothing short of the point of your shoe could have made him
understand how offensive he was. He spoke of courts in Europe, and of
the Vice-regal court in Ireland, as though he had the _entree_ of them
all; which it was palpable to the most superficial observer he never
could have had, except possibly when, armed with a dingy bag on his
shoulder and an "Ol clo'" on his lips, he sought an investment in
cast-off garments. He was taking cigars, which, from their quantity,
were evidently for sale; and as the American Government is very liberal
in allowing passengers to enter cigars, never--I believe--refusing any
one the privilege of five hundred, he was beating up for friends who had
no cigars to divide his speculations among, so as to avoid the duty; at
last his arrangements were completed, and his mind at ease.

On entering the port of Charleston he got up the box containing his
treasures, and was about to open it, when, to my intense delight and
amusement, an officer of the ship stayed his hasty hand. "What's that
for?" exclaimed the wrathful Israelite. "I guess that box is in the
manifest," was the calm reply, "and you can't touch it till it goes to
the custom-house." Jonathan had "done" the Hebrew; and besides the duty,
he had the pleasure of paying freight on them also; while, to add to his
satisfaction, he enjoyed the sight of all the other passengers taking
their five hundred or so unmolested, while compelled to pay duty on
every cigar himself. But we must leave the Jew, the "Isabel"--ay,
Charleston itself. "Hurry hurry, bubble bubble, toil and trouble!"
Washington must be reached before the 4th of March, or we shall not see
the Senate and the other House in session. Steamer and rail; on we
dash. The boiling horse checks his speed; the inconveniences of the
journey are all forgotten: we are at Washington, and the all-absorbing
thought is, "Where shall we get a bed?"

My companion[AC] and myself drove about from hotel to boarding-house,
from boarding-house to hotel, and from hotel to the Capitol, seeking a
resting-place in vain. Every chink and cranny was crammed; the
r