One of the stanchest patrons was little Ned Higgins, the devourer of Jim Crow and the elephant, who to-day signalized his omnivorous prowess by swallowing two dromedaries and a locomotive.
The breakdown of the state was signalized in the Treaty of Verdun (843) when the three sons of Louis I, the Pious, divided the territories, the eastern portion going to Louis the German.
For the rest of the day, the more timid went whole streets about, for the sake of avoiding the Seven Gables; while the bolder signalized their hardihood by challenging their comrades to race past the mansion at full speed.