“Fresh and refreshed we all appeared ready for action, and as bright as could possibly be expected after such a fatigue.  The table was set out in grand style; indeed, it literally groaned under every delicacy of the season—­not excepting krout, the glows of which impregnated the atmosphere.  Buck said he would sit opposite the krout; but that was objected to, on the ground of his eating so much as to change the tone of his speech, which was expected to be more than usually spirited.  After so little opposition from Monsieur Souley, who wanted the place himself, it was voted that I should take the chair.  Of course I could not refuse the honor; but in order to illustrate the three principles of our political policy, I was cautious to stipulate that Buck sit on my right and Monsieur Souley on my left.  Here we were—­steady, very steady, and very fast.  Belmont insinuated, rather ironically, that Buck could no longer be considered of the steady school; in fact, Saunders had so cultivated his component parts that he might now, without any fear of contradiction be put down as remarkably fast.  I need scarcely add that the viands were discussed with great gusto, Monsieur Souley absorbing so much of the fricasee frog that his glossy black hair, which had before beautifully undulated over his shoulders, now curled tighter, his eyes sparkled brighter, his face became more olive, and his periods more intensely French.  O’Sullivan, too, had procured some capital Irish whiskey, which he said he already felt in his boots.  At ten o’clock there was a general secession of knife and fork, and a resort to the less tasteful amusement of speech-making.  Souley, however, had all the while said all manner of things about, and brought all sorts of charges against Louis Napoleon, whose government he denounced in very general terms, not dreaming that that shrewd sovereign had introduced two spies in the capacity of waiters.  The cloth being removed, Monsieur rose, considering he was in duty bound, and commenced throwing off the rounded sentences of the first part of a very long speech,—­at one moment denouncing princes and kings in general, and in the next threatening to smother Spain with an interesting exposition of her perfidy.  Her puppet government was a base mockery; he said Espartero had grossly deceived him!—­Here he was brought to a stand by Mr. O’Sullivan, ’It’s meself thinks the gintleman ’s about debatin matter what ‘ll cum afore the Convention to-morrow,’ interposed that gentleman.  Monsieur Souley replied somewhat tartly:  he hoped the gentleman from Ireland would not interrupt him.  Order! was now called for on every side, and an appeal made to the chair, without whose interposition a savage encounter must have resulted.  The whole company were now on foot, interposing for peace; nor had I time to assert my authority, when, decanters of port and claret standing close at hand, Souley seized one, and O’Sullivan the other, as if for weapons of mortal combat, and