The Man of Fancy now discerned another guest， whostood so quietly in the shadow of one of the pillars， thathe might easily have been overlooked.
“My dear sir，” exclaimed the host， grasping him warmlyby the hand， “allow me to greet you as the hero of theevening. Pray do not take it as an empty compliment； forif there were not another guest in my castle， it would beentirely pervaded with your presence！”
“I thank you，” answered the unpretending stranger， “but，though you happened to overlook me， I have not justarrived. I came very early， and， with your permission， shallremain after the rest of the company have retired.”
And who does the reader imagine was this unobtrusiveguest？ It was the famous performer of acknowledgedimpossibilities； a character of superhuman capacity andvirtue， and， if his enemies are to be credited， of no lessremarkable weaknesses and defects. With a generosity ofwhich he alone sets us the example， we will glance merelyat his nobler attributes. He it is， then， who prefers theinterests of others to his own， and a humble station toan exalted one. Careless of fashion， custom， the opinionsof men， and the influence of the press， he assimilates hislife to the standard of ideal rectitude， and thus proveshimself the one independent citizen of our free country.
In point of ability， many people declare him to be theonly mathematician capable of squaring the circle； theonly mechanic acquainted with the principle of perpetualmotion； the only scientific philosopher who can compelwater to run up hill； the only writer of the age whosegenius is equal to the production of an epic poem； and，finally—so various are his accomplishments—the onlyprofessor of gymnastics who has succeeded in jumpingdown his own throat. With all these talents， however，he is so far from being considered a member of goodsociety， that it is the severest censure of any fashionableassemblage， to affirm that this remarkable individualwas present. Public orators， lecturers， and theatricalperformers， particularly eschew his company. For especialreasons， we are not at liberty to disclose his name， andshall mention only one other trait—a most singularphenomenon in natural philosophy—that when hehappens to cast his eyes upon a looking-glass， he beholdsNobody reflected there！
Several other guests now made their appearance， andamong them， chattering with immense volubility， a brisklittle gentleman of universal vogue in private society， andnot unknown in the public journals， under the title ofMonsieur On-Dit. The name would seem to indicate aFrenchman； but， whatever be his country， he is thoroughlyversed in all the languages of the day， and can expresshimself quite as much to the purpose in English as inany other tongue. No sooner were the ceremonies ofsalutation over， than this talkative little person put hismouth to the host’s ear， and whispered three secrets ofstate， an important piece of commercial intelligence， anda rich item of fashionable scandal. He then assured theMan of Fancy that he would not fail to cir curate in thesociety of the lower world a minute deion of thismagnificent castle in the air， and of the festivities at whichhe had the honor to be a guest. So saying， Monsieur On-Dit made his bow and hurried from one to another of thecompany， with all of whom he seemed to be acquainted，and to possess some topic of interest or amusement forevery individual. Coming at last to the Oldest Inhabitant，who was slumbering comfortably in the easy-chair， heapplied his mouth to that venerable ear.
“What do you say？” cried the old gentleman， startingfrom his nap， and putting up his hand to serve the purposeof an ear-trumpet.
Monsieur On-Dit bent forward again， and repeated hiscommunication.
“Never， within my memory，” exclaimed the OldestInhabitant， lifting his hands in astonishment， “has soremarkable an incident been heard of！”
Now came in the Clerk of the Weather， who had beeninvited out of deference to his official station， althoughthe host was well aware that his conversation was likelyto contribute but little to the general enjoyment. Hesoon， indeed， got into a corner with his acquaintance oflong ago， the Oldest Inhabitant， and began to comparenotes with him in reference to the great storms， gales ofwind， and other atmospherical facts that had occurredduring a century past. It rejoiced the Man of Fancy， thathis venerable and much respected guest had met with socongenial an associate. Entreating them both to makethemselves perfectly at home， he now turned to receivethe Wandering Jew. This personage， however， had latterlygrown so common， by mingling in all sorts of society， andappearing at the beck of every entainer， that he couldhardly be deemed a proper guest in a very exclusive circle.
Besides， being covered with dust from his continualwanderings along the highways of the world， he reallylooked out of place in a dress party， so that the host feltrelieved of an incommodity， when the restless individual inquestion， after a brief stay， took his departure on a rambletowards Oregon.