eared to have been just knocking down some member of
the company for a song.

Opposite him, and with her back to the door, was a lady of no whit the
less extraordinary character. Although quite as tall as the person just
described, she had no right to complain of his unnatural emaciation. She
was evidently in the last stage of a dropsy; and her figure resembled
nearly that of the huge puncheon of October beer which stood, with the
head driven in, close by her side, in a corner of the chamber. Her
face was exceedingly round, red, and full; and the same peculiarity, or
rather want of peculiarity, attached itself to her countenance, which I
before mentioned in the case of the president--that is to say, only one
feature of her face was sufficiently distinguished to need a separate
characterization: indeed the acute Tarpaulin immediately observed that
the same remark might have applied to each individual person of the
party; every one of whom seemed to possess a monopoly of some particular
portion of physiognomy. With the lady in question this portion proved
to be the mouth. Commencing at the right ear, it swept with a terrific
chasm to the left--the short pendants which she wore in either auricle
continually bobbing into the aperture. She made, however, every exertion
to keep her mouth closed and look dignified, in a dress consisting of a
newly starched and ironed shroud coming up close under her chin, with a
crimpled ruffle of cambric muslin.

At her right hand sat a diminutive young lady whom she appeared to
patronise. This delicate little creature, in the trembling of her wasted
fingers, in the livid hue of her lips, and in the slight hectic spot
which tinged her otherwise leaden complexion, gave evident indications
of a galloping consumption. An air of gave extreme haut ton, however,
pervaded her whole appearance; she wore in a graceful and degage manner,
a large and beautiful winding-sheet of the finest India lawn; her hair
hung in ringlets over her neck; a soft smile played about her mouth; but
her nose, extremely long, thin, sinuous, flexible and pimpled, hung down
far below her under lip, and in spite of the delicate manner in which
she now and then moved it to one side or the other with her tongue, gave
to her countenance a somewhat equivocal expression.

Over against her, and upon the left of the dropsical lady, was seated a
little puffy, wheezing, and gouty old man, whose cheeks reposed upon the
shoulders of th