“Little Bo-Peep,” “The Maid in the garden hanging out the clothes,” “Punch and Judy”; “Oranges and Lemons”; while M. de Talleyrand appeared as a _mignon_ of Henry the Second. “Mother Goose” herself was also there. The feature of the evening was the singing of the nursery rhymes. The second was the “Pinafore” Quadrille introducing the music of that operetta. All the men who danced in it were in sailor’s dress. Then followed a Hunting Quadrille, in which every man wore a scarlet coat. I little knew what I was undertaking when I started these F. C. D. C. Balls. From the giving of the first of these dances, out of a private house, to the time of my giving them up, I had no peace either at home or abroad. I was assailed on all sides, became in a sense a diplomat, committed myself to nothing, promised much and performed as little as possible. I saw at once the rock on which we must split: that the pressure would be so great to get in, no one could resist it; that our parties must become too general, and that in the end the smart set would give up going to them. I knew that when this occurred, they were doomed; but I fought for their existence manfully, and if I could here narrate all I went through to keep these small parties select, I would fill a volume. My mornings were given up to being interviewed of and about them; mothers would call at my house, entirely unknown to me, the sole words of introduction being, “Kind sir, I have a daughter.” These words were cabalistic; I would spring up, bow to the ground, and reply: “My dear madam, say no more, you have my sympathy; we are in accord; no introduction is necessary; you have a daughter, and want her to go to the F. C. D. C’s. I will do all in my power to accomplish this for you; but my dear lady, please understand, that in all matters concerning these little dances I must consult the powers that be. I am their humble servant; I must take orders from them.” All of which was a figure of speech on my part. “May I ask if you know any one in this great city, and whom do you know? for to propitiate the powers that be, I must be able to give them some account of your daughter.” This was enough to set my fair visitor off. The family always went back to King John, and in some instances to William the Conqueror. “My dear madam,” I would reply, “does it not satisfy any one to come into existence with the birth of one’s country? In my opinion, four generations of gentlemen make as good and true a gentleman as forty. I know my English brethren will not agree with me in this, but, in spite of them, it is my belief.” With disdain, my fair visitor would reply, “You are easily satisfied, sir.” And so on, from day to day, these interviews would go on; all were Huguenots, Pilgrims, or Puritans. I would sometimes call one a Pilgrim in place of a Puritan, and by this would uncork the vials of wrath. If they had ever lived south of Mason and Dixon’s line, their ancestor was always a near