202 THE HISTOKY OF 



tee " came round, at laet, I found myself the recipient of 

 several of the leading premiums, for my "magnificent," 

 "superb" and "extraordinary" contributions, again. And 

 now commenced the fun, once more, in earnest. 



Everything that I sent to New York was quickly bought 

 up at enormous prices. Fifty, eighty, a hundred, a hun- 

 dred and twenty-five dollars per trio, was willingly paid my 

 agent for the rare and incomparable fowls I exhibited there. 

 " The people " were literally mad on the subject ; and I 

 had n't half enough to supply my customers with,"at figures 

 that astonished even my ideas of prices, — which, by the 

 way, were not easily disturbed ! 



During this exhibition, Mr. Barnum announced that a 

 "conversational" gathering would be held, one day, in the 

 lecture-room of his Museum ; whither the throng were in- 

 vited to repair, at last, to talk over matters pertaining to 

 the welfare of the trade generally, and the hen-humbug 

 more particularly. 



A rush was directly made for this hall, which waa 

 quickly filled up by the multitude, who now stood or sat, 

 with gaping mouths and staring eyes, in readiness to be 

 further bamboozled by the managers of this National 

 "Society," who duly paraded themselves upon the platform, 

 and commenced to show themselves up for the edification 

 of the uninitiated, and to the great amusement of those who 

 had " been there " before them. 



