Sentence:  Despite the opposition of the city newspapers , the Pratt Hall meeting `` brought together a very respectable <WSD>audience</WSD> , composed in part of those who had been distinguished for years for their radical views upon the subject of slavery , of many of our colored citizens , and of those who were attracted to the place by the novelty of such a gathering '' . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance