ance.
Prompted by their festive and hospitable feelings? Oh, of course; that
is to say, partly, and partly, at least the moving spirits in the
affair, with a shrewdish eye to business. For, behold! it is rumored
one summer's day through the Inns that a ball is projected; ay, and such
a ball! so well managed, so brilliant, so in every way desirable as has
never been known before. Every barrister, every student must be there.
BUT--and this is an all-important "but"--it is at the same time to be
understood that tickets will be issued to _members of the corps only_,
and that members of the Inns of Court who are _not_ also members of the
corps will be specially and particularly inadmissible. Observe the moral
pressure thus brought to bear. Brown, Jones and Robinson have hitherto
withstood all the persuasive recruiting efforts of their friends in the
corps, but this dance turns the scale. They have sisters of their own
who beg and demand and insist upon their procuring tickets, and they
know sisters of their friends who are sure to be there, and whom they
feel ready to give any price to meet; so the long and short of it is
that they go off to the orderly-room and qualify themselves for tickets
by taking the oath and becoming enrolled members of the corps. Whereat
those moving spirits in the affair wink their shrewd eyes gleefully.
They will dance all the more heartily, remembering the good stroke of
business they have done in the interest of the corps and its recruiting.

The ball committee and their workmen have been hard at the work of
preparation till the last minute, and now it is half-past 10 P. M., and
carriages are beginning to roll up to the hall with their freights of
fair and--other ones. The staircase and corridor are lined with stately
tropical plants and banks of many-colored flowers. First to the
tea-room, as the stream seems to be flowing in that direction. This
suite of cozy paneled rooms are the sacred and most private haunts of
the Benchers, the self-electing governing body of the Inn. How
astonished, not to say shocked, those berobed and bewigged legal
luminaries, in their frames upon the walls, must be to look down upon
this gay laughing, talking, tea-and-ice-consuming mob of invaders! I
fear no one heeds their possible feelings much to-night, though: there
are far more important matters--searching in the crowd for friends,
engaging partners for dances, introducing and being introduced--to
occupy all one's