The  success  of  the  Readings  in  New  York  far  ex-
ceeded Mr.  Dickens's  most  sanguine  expectations,  and
but  for  the  extra  exertion  in  reading  in  so  large  a  hall
as  the  Steinway,  under  the  burden  of  an  influenza  cold;
everything  would  have  been  in  the  highest  degree  satis-
factory. He  described  the  New  York  audience  as  being
"  far  better  than  that  at  Boston,"  which  was  saying  a
great  deal  for  them.
On  Wednesday,  December  nth,  the  second  sale  of
tickets  was  held  in  New  York  for  four  more  Readings
announced  for  the  following  week,  when  the  same
features  presented  themselves  as  on  the  occasion  of  the
first  sale,  only  in  a  more  exaggerated  form,  with  the
additional  inconvenience  to  those  who  had  to  stand  out
in  the  streets  all  night  to  secure  good  places  in  the  line.
They  were  in  position  long  before  the  Reading  of
Tuesday  evening  the  loth  was  over.  The  thermometer
had  fallen  to  several  degrees  below  zero  (Reaumur),  and
signs  were  not  wanting  that  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  was
imminent.  The  speculators  were  in  greater  force  than
ever,  the  New  York  brigade  being  augmented  by  con-
tingents from  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  Jersey  City,
all  of  whom  had  taken  temporary  offices  in  New  York,
for  the  disposal  of  the  tickets  at  handsome  premiums.
Some  of  these  gentry  had  attired  themselves  in  fancy
costumes,  one  of  them  being  made  up  like  George
Washington — wig,  three-cornered  hat,  and  all.  He  was
a  very  old  man,  and  would  have  looked  the  part  well


WE  ARE  SERVED  WITH  A  SUMMONS.        185

had  he  been  a  little  less  stout  and  less  like  Mr.
Pickwick.
