ate, and along the lighted circular avenue that led up to the front
entrance of the palace. Even on this misty night the grounds were gayly
illuminated and well filled. But crowded as the scene was, the utmost
order prevailed. The carriages that came up the right-hand avenue, full
of visitors, discharged them at the entrance hall and rolled away empty
down the left-hand avenue, so that there was a continuous procession of
full carriages coming up one way and empty carriages going down the
other.

At length Judge Merlin's carriage, coming slowly along in the line, drew
up in its turn before the front of the mansion. The whole facade of the
White House was splendidly illuminated, as if to express in radiant
light a smiling welcome. The halls were occupied by attentive officers,
who received the visitors and ushered them into cloakrooms. Within the
house also, great as the crowd of visitors was, the most perfect order
prevailed.

Judge Merlin and his party were received by a civil, respectable
official, who directed them to a cloakroom, and they soon found
themselves in a close, orderly crowd moving thitherward. When the
gentlemen had succeeded in conveying their ladies safely to this bourne
and seen them well over its threshold, they retired to the receptacle
where they were to leave their hats and overcoats before coming back to
take their parties into the saloon.

In the ladies' cloakroom Claudia and her chaperone found themselves in a
brilliant, impracticable crowd. There were about half-a-dozen tall
dressing glasses in the place, and about half-a-hundred young ladies
were trying to smooth braids and ringlets and adjust wreaths and
coronets by their aid. And there were about half-a-hundred more in the
center of the room; some taking off opera cloaks, shaking out flounces,
and waiting their turns to go to the mirrors; and some, quite ready and
waiting the appearance of their escort at the door to take them to the
saloon; and beside these some were coming in and some were passing out
continually; and through the open doors the crowds of those newly
arriving and the crowds of those passing on to the reception rooms, were
always visible.

Claudia looked upon this seething multitude with a shudder.

"What a scene!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, but with it all, what order! There has never been such order and
system in these crowded receptions as now under the management of Mrs.
----," said Mrs. Middleton, naming the accompli