Vidal Gore — Eighteen Seventy [975]

At exactly five o’clock I arrived in Gramercy Park to find the air filled with a fine snow that the north wind with a most un-American fairness was trying to deposit on everything equally. The gas lamps had already been lit (because the Governor was in residence?) and their small pale halos hung in the middle air like so many purgatorial angels. — Vidal Gore, Eighteen Seventy, 975

Note

The description of the snow-laden air and gas lamps creates a vivid and atmospheric setting, contrasting the cold outside with the warmth of the indoor gathering. The simile comparing the gas lamps to ‘purgatorial angels’ adds a layer of depth to the scene, invoking a sense of the supernatural and hinting at themes of morality and judgment.