two o'clock in the
morning
This being regarded as an oversight by his most famous general , and the corpulent alderman , he will be reminded that the safety of the building is really in danger from the enthusiasm of the citizens outside , who refuse to go peaceably to their homes until he appears before them on the balcony , where they can offer him their homage , and hear from his lips at least three speeches . All this being done to the entire satisfaction of his admirers , then let him snap his fingers at your unprogressive gentlemen of quality , -LRB- who are much given to sneering , -RRB- and comfort himself that `` the people '' are always right . The torchbearers having exhausted their pennies as well as their patriotism , and the peaceable intervention of a shower having dispersed the mob , the hero , satisfied he has received every honor a grateful people can bestow , will , as is customary , betake himself much fatigued to his apartments , where he must remain in consultation with his generals and a few select friends , -LRB- on the grave question of what is to be done next ? -RRB- until two o'clock in the morning , or , perhaps , until Aurora begins to open her windows in the east or the expert bar tender has wearied of mixing libations not even the most self-complacent of the generals has a shilling to pay for . This sad state of affairs being reported to head quarters , the hero will , unless the aldermen present pledge the city for security , hasten to his cot , and having snuffed out his candle get quietly to bed . Having overstepped the limits of my chapter in these few remarks upon our present system of hero making , the reader must look for something better in the next chapter , and accept for apology the fact that I have written of things I have seen , out of sheer love for the truth of history . In perusing this subject , I had almost forgotten to remark , that the hero , though he have gone quietly to bed , will not be considered at the very apex of his fame until the men of the newspapers , with their usual love of enterprise in journalism , shall have written down and published to the world -LRB- they , it must not be overlooked , follow close at the heels of the torch bearers -RRB- all that was said and done , not even forgetting to mention how delicately the horses raised their tails when occasion required .