A senator's masquerade ball in Washington, D.C., 1858.

"To that gay Capital where congregate
The worst and wisest of this might State;
Where patriot politicians yearly wend,
The Nation's fortunes, and their own, to mend;
Where snobbish scribblers eke the skanty dole
By telegraphing lies from pole to pole;
Where bad Hotels impose their onerous tax;
And countless Jehus sport untiring hacks..."

- from "A Metrical Glance at the Fancy Ball" by Major John De Haviland

Sort a reminds me of Washington, DC in 2009, no?