Indeed, most of us were busy with the question of the hour--the eternal question of beer, its purity and the method of its sale.

For my part, I made few inquiries; like the ostrich of fable I hid my head in the sands of political excitement, hoping that the arrows of pestilence would pass us by.
And yet, although I breathed no word of my fears to a living soul, in my heart I was terribly afraid..