He wined and dined as before, viewed Adah Isaacs Menken in her celebrated role stripping in Mazeppa – was unimpressed, and became such a social lion that the ladies of the Lick House gave him a complimentary ball. The affair was a great success, he said, honored by the presence of the army and navy, also by C’his Grace the Duke of Benecia, the Countess of San Jose, Lord Blessyou, Lord Geeminy, and many others whose titles and faces have passed from my memory.” He began contributing to, The Golden Era: “How to Cure a Cold,” an exaggerated account of his recent stay at Steam- boat Springs;” “The Lick House Ball” and “All About the Fashions,” mostly parodies of elaborate fashion notes in society columns; “The Great Prize Fight,” a burlesque exposition, in round-by-round boxing terms, of the political contest between Governor Low and Leland Stanford. Publication the Era showed that he was making headway as a writer.