General McCook, an Ohio soldier, and an ex-Representative from New York city, was elected Secretary of the Senate, defeating George C. Gorham, who had been the candidate of the Republican caucus. The Republican nominee for Sergeant-at-Arms, Mr. Riddleberger, was also dropped, and Colonel Wm. P. Canaday, of North Carolina, was chosen. At the commencement of the next session, Mr. Riddleberger took his seat as a Senator from Virginia.

A Democratic tidal wave had swept over the country at the preceding fall elections, and the Democrats had a considerable majority in the House of Representatives. John G. Carlisle, of Kentucky, who was elected Speaker, was a tall, well-made man, with a studious look in his eyes, and the winning manners of Henry Clay. He had a sweet voice, and his expositions of parliamentary law in the preceding sessions had elevated him to the front rank of statesmanship in the opinion of the House. His impartiality as a presiding officer was recognized by all parties, and his firmness of purpose could not be moved by corrupt intriguers or brawling sycophants. He was also fortunate in having a devoted wife, tall and graceful, whose attractive personal appearance was equaled by her well-balanced mind and her practical common sense. As Mrs. Edmunds was at that time absent from Washington, on the New Year's Day after her husband's election as Speaker Mrs. Carlisle was "the first lady in the land," and stood at President Arthur's right hand during the official reception.

Washington society was very gay during the closing year of President Arthur's Administration. The receptions to which invitations were given and those open to the public at the White House were largely attended, while there was a succession of balls, German masquerades, and receptions at the residences of diplomats, housekeeping Senators, officials, and citizens. Several entertainments were given "for charity's sake," which realized considerable sums, and the theatres also were unusually well attended.

The world-weary rejoiced when the matin chimes of Lent announced that the gay season was ended, but although gayety arrayed itself in sackcloth and sprinkled ashes broadcast, the sackcloth moved in the waltz as its wearer tripped over the ashes. There were successions of informal dancing parties, lunch parties, and card parties during the penitential forty days, and then came the post-Lenten festivities.

The giving of good dinners was, however, the distinguishing feature of Washington society during the Arthur Administration. The example was set at the White House, where, instead of dinners supplied by a caterer at two dollars a plate, with cheap wines of doubtful origin, a gastronomic artist served the delicacies of the season, cooked in the latest Parisian style, while the wines were of the rarest vintages, embodying the fervor of long Gascon summers, the warmth of Burgundian suns, and the delicate flavor of Xeres. Never had epicures so enjoyed themselves at Washington, and they rejoiced when they contrasted his dispensation with the barbaric repasts of former years, when "hog and hominy" was the principal dish, and tangle-foot whisky punch was the fashionable table beverage.

Washington City was greatly improved during President Arthur's Administration. The National Museum was completed and opened to visitors, the northern wing of the stupendous pile, the State, War, and Navy Department Building, was occupied, and that hideous architectural monstrosity, the Pension Office, was built. At the West End scores of elegant private houses were erected, varying in size from the palatial mansion built by Mr. Blaine to the rustic cabin of Joaquin Miller, and the small Queen Anne cottages, now so popular, and some of which are models of convenience and beauty. Many avenues and streets were repaved, others were planted with bordering lines of shade trees, and several of the large reservations were adorned with statues and fountains. The previously unfinished city, which Governor Shepherd had "lifted from out of the mud," became a national metropolis, in which the people of the country could take pride.

The dedication of the Washington National Monument, on the 22d of February, 1885, was a fit conclusion to President Arthur's official career. This work had been long in progress, as its record, engraved on its aluminum tip, shows. It is as follows: "Corner-stone laid on bed of foundation, July 4, 1848. First stone at height of 152 feet laid August 7, 1880. Capstone set December 6, 1884." The laying of the capstone was duly celebrated. The wind, at the top of the monument, was blowing at the rate of sixty miles an hour, and thousands of eye-glasses were pointed toward the little party on the scaffoldings at the summit. All on the upper platform, five hundred and fifty feet above the ground, spread a portion of the cement, and the capstone, weighing three thousand three hundred pounds, was lowered into place. The tip was then fitted and the work was done, which fact was duly announced by flying the flag at the top of the monument, and by the answering boom of cannon from various points below.

The day of final dedication was clear and cold, the ground around the base of the majestic shaft was covered with encrusted snow, and the keen wind that came sweeping down the Potomac made it rather uncomfortable for those who were assembled there. The regular troops and the citizen soldiery were massed in close columns around the base of the monument, the Freemasons occupied their allotted position, and in the pavilion which had been erected were the invited guests, the executive, legislative, and judicial officers; officers of the army, the navy, the marine corps, and the volunteers; the Diplomatic Corps, eminent divines, jurists, scientists, and journalists, and venerable citizens representing former generations, the Washington National Monument Society, and a few ladies who had braved the Arctic weather. After addresses had been delivered by Senator Sherman, W. W. Corcoran, and Colonel Casey, the chief engineer, President Arthur made a few well-chosen remarks, and concluded by declaring the monument dedicated from that time forth "to the immortal name and memory of George Washington." The cost of the structure has been nearly two millions of dollars, about half of which the Government has paid, the remainder having been secured by the Monument Association. After the exercises at the monument, a procession was formed headed by Lieutenant-General Sheridan, which marched along Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol. The President's special escort was the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, chartered in 1638, which had come to participate in the exercises of the day. Two addresses were delivered in the House of Representatives at the Capitol—one (which was read by ex-Governor Long) by Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, of Boston, who had delivered the address when the corner-stone was laid in 1848, and the other by Hon. John W. Daniel, of Virginia. In the evening the Ancient and Honorable Artillery attended a special reception at the White House, reciprocatory of courtesies extended by the corps to President Arthur, one of its honorary members.

Meanwhile there had been a Presidential campaign. The National Republican Convention met at Chicago on June 3d; on the 6th, James G. Blaine, of Maine, was nominated for President on the fourth ballot, receiving five hundred and forty-one of the eight hundred and nineteen votes cast, and General John A. Logan, of Illinois, was nominated for Vice-President without opposition. The National Democratic Convention met at Chicago on July 6th, and on the 11th Hon. Grover Cleveland, of New York, was nominated for President on the second ballot, receiving six hundred and eighty-four of the eight hundred and twenty votes cast, and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, was nominated for Vice-President without opposition. The National Prohibition Convention met at Pittsburg on July 23d, and nominated for President ex-Governor St. John, of Kansas, and for Vice-President William Daniel, of Maryland. The National Greenback Convention met at Indianapolis on May 29th, and nominated for President General B. F. Butler, of Massachusetts, and for Vice- President A. M. West, of Mississippi.

The Presidential contest was disgracefully personal. The private characters of the two prominent candidates were mercilessly assailed, and political principles were apparently forgotten in the degrading desire to defame the nominees. The result turned upon the vote in the State of New York, which was very close. The shrewdest political manipulators were sent over the State to correct pretended irregularities, but it soon became evident that the Democrats had chosen the Cleveland electors by a decisive plurality. The official count showed five hundred and sixty-three thousand one hundred and fifty-four votes for Cleveland, against five hundred and sixty-two thousand and five votes for Blaine, twenty-five thousand and six votes for St. John, and seventeen thousand and four votes for Butler. The total vote in the United States was four million nine hundred and thirteen thousand two hundred and forty-seven votes for Cleveland, four million eight hundred and forty thousand eight hundred and twenty-five votes for Blaine, one hundred and fifty thousand one hundred and thirty-four votes for St. John, and one hundred and thirty-four thousand and twenty-eight votes for Butler.

[ Cleveland 563,154 in New York, 4,913,247 overall Blaine 562,005 4,840,025 St. John 25,006 150,134 Butler 17,004 134,028 ]

President Arthur's numerous friends contemplated his departure from the White House without regret, and were confident that his Administration would present a creditable appearance on the pages of impartial history. Utility to the country had been the rule of his official life, and he attained that high standard of official excellence which prevailed in the early days of the Republic, when honesty, firmness, and patriotism were the characteristics of public men. He saw himself deserted by influential early associates because he would not avenge their political grievances, while those whom he protected ungratefully repaid him by defeating the election of his friend, Judge Folger, as Governor of the State of New York —a treacherous demonstration of partisan bigotry, which killed the Judge as certain as the assassin's bullet killed Garfield. Under President Arthur's lead, the Republican party, disorganized and disheartened when he came into power, became gradually strengthened and united before the Presidential election, in which it was very near being victorious.

President Arthur, in his desire to administer his inherited duties impartially, made himself enemies among those who should have been his friends. Before President Garfield was interred, General Grant asked that his own personal friend, General Beale, might be appointed Secretary of the Navy, and he never forgave President Arthur for not complying with his request.

The removal of Judge Robertson from the New York Custom House would doubtless have been acceptable to Roscoe Conkling, but it was not made, and the ex-Senator, after refusing the tendered appointment of a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, turned his back on his former friend. Appointments which had been promised by Mr. Blaine, when President Garfield's Secretary of State, were invariably made, although the recipients had personally abused President Arthur, yet the "Garfield Avengers," as the officious friends of the martyr President chose to style themselves, never alluded to his successor except as the man who had profited by the assassination. Slander, calumny, and falsehood were resorted to by the press to deceive the people by giving them an untrue idea of their Chief Magistrate. His private life was invaded, his social relations were violated, his most patriotic actions were sneered at, and he was made the object of obloquy and vituperation by that faction of the Republican party opposed to his policy.

I well remember with what sadness and indignation he referred to the manner in which he had been treated when I had been selected by him to write a campaign life of him, which was to have been published by his friends had he been nominated for the Presidency in 1884. There were several matters about which he had been mercilessly abused for which I found ample explanations exonerating him. One was his going to Albany in 1881, when he was Vice-President, to labor for the re-election of Messrs. Conkling and Platt. I had ascertained that he had done this in return for a visit made to Ohio during the preceding campaign by Mr. Conkling to speak in favor of the election of General Garfield. This had been on the personal solicitation of Mr. Arthur, and it would have been ungrateful for him to have declined an appeal to aid Mr. Conkling in an hour of need by a visit to Albany. When President Arthur read what I had written on this subject he said pleasantly: "That is all true, but I must ask you not to publish it." Never have I seen a public man so determined not to criminate others, even in self- justification.

During his Presidential term Mr. Arthur did what friends and fortune can do for no man, and what neither friends nor foes could take from him. "He won a fame for which he himself fought, and from which no man's censure could detract." While he was emphatically "the first gentleman in the land," giving unequaled receptions, dinners, and evening entertainments with lavish hospitality, he was, as he used to cheerily remark, "a night-bird," and his favorite enjoyment was to have two or three personal friends eat a late supper with him, and then chat with them far into the "wee sma' hours." His thorough knowledge of prominent men and politics during the preceding quarter of a century enabled him to entertain his listeners with graphic descriptions of remarkable scenes, piquant but never indelicate anecdotes, keen sketches of men and women, and interesting statements about the workings of political machinery, especially in the State of New York.

Unfortunately, President Arthur, before he left the White House, became impressed with the idea that the people had misunderstood his official conduct, and that his sacrifices of friends and of fortune in the Administration of the General Government had not been appreciated. When he was at last relieved from executive cares his robust constitution had been undermined, the ruddy look of health left his cheeks, and his stalwart form wasted away, until (as this work is passing through the press) his sad heart found its peace, and his remains were laid, without pomp, by the side of those of his beloved wife in a rural cemetery near Albany, N. Y.

An appreciative and elegant biographer of this lamented ex-President writes thus: "Flos Regum Arthur the Laureate heads the noble dedication of his Arthurian legends to the manes of Albert. Not 'flower of kings' shall history call this Arthur of ours, and yet must she accord him some attributes of his mythic namesake—a high and noble courtesy to all men, small and great; an unflinching, uncomplaining loyalty to friends who turned too often ingrate; a splendid presence, a kindly heart, a silent courage, and an even mind. These things go no small way toward the making of America's first gentleman."

[Facsimile] W.W. Corcoran WILLIAM W. CORCORAN was born at Georgetown, D. C., December 27th, 1798; he engaged in mercantile pursuits, and then in banking, becoming the Government banker during the Mexican War. Since he retried from business in 1854 he has founded and endowed the Louise Home for gentlewomen in reduced circumstances, the Corcoran Art Gallery, and the Oak Hill Cemetery, on Georgetown Heights, while he has contributed liberally to the Columbian College, the University of Virginia, the William and Mary College, and the churches and orphan asylums of Washington, besides numerous private charities.

CHAPTER XLIII. PRESIDENT CLEVELAND.

The inauguration of Grover Cleveland as the twenty-second President of the United States, on the 4th of March, 1885, restored the executive power of the Federal Government to the Democrats, after it had been enjoyed by the Republicans for twenty years. The throng of visitors was great, the railroads leading into Washington having brought nearly half a million of passengers during the week, while several thousand more came by the Potomac River steamboats. The hotels and boarding-houses were full, yet there was always room for late arrivals, and the military were quartered in the spacious halls of the Departments.

The day was spring-like, with breeze enough to display the flags which floated from nearly every building. Pennsylvania Avenue and other thoroughfares were elaborately decorated. The procession was the largest of its kind that ever passed along Pennsylvania Avenue, and the military escort was exceeded only by the great reviews of 1865. General H. W. Slocum was Chief Marshal, efficiently aided by General Albert Ordway, his chief of staff. The United States troops, commanded by Major-General Ayres, headed the escort. President Arthur and President-elect Cleveland rode with two Senators in an open carriage drawn by four bay horses, and next came Vice- President-elect Hendricks, with a Senator, in a carriage drawn by four white horses. As the carriages passed along the occupants were loudly cheered, especially Vice-President Hendricks, who was well known in Washington and personally popular.

The militia organizations which came next presented a fine appearance, particularly a division of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, commanded by Major-General John F. Hartranft. The Southern troops were commanded by Major-General Fitzhugh Lee, of Virginia, a nephew of the great Confederate war-leader, who received a rousing ovation the whole length of the route. Prominent among the military organizations were the New York Sixty-ninth, "wearing the green;" the Grenadiers Rochambeau, of New York; the Jackson Corps, of Albany; the Continentals, of Schenectady; the Fifth Maryland Infantry, the Meagher Guards, of Providence; the Busch Zouaves, of St. Louis, and several companies of colored men from the South.

The feature of the procession, however, was the civic portion, which included organizations representing many States in the Union. Each one had its band, its banner, and its badges, while nearly all of them were uniformly dressed and carried canes. The Society of Tammany, of New York, one thousand strong, marched in an inaugural procession for the first time in its long history, its officers carrying Indian tomahawks. Nearly a hundred other political organizations followed; and in the ranks of one of them from the city of New York there was a body of men wearing the old Knickerbocker costume and carrying long canes, with which they beat time on the pavements as they marched along in a grotesque manner, creating much merriment.

A distinguished audience had gathered in the Senate Chamber, including the Supreme Court, the Diplomatic Corps, many prominent officials, and those officers of the army and navy who had received the thanks of Congress. Shortly after twelve o'clock President Arthur entered the Chamber, and was escorted to his seat. The deputy Sergeant-at-Arms then announced the "President-elect of the United States," and the entire assemblage rose as Mr. Cleveland passed down the aisle and took a seat at the side of President Arthur. Vice-President-elect Hendricks then entered and advanced to the desk of the presiding officer, where Senator Edmunds, President pro tempore, administered to him the oath of office as Vice-President of the United States. Senator Edmunds then delivered a brief valedictory address, at the conclusion of which he declared the Senate adjourned sine die.

Vice-President Hendricks took the chair, called the Senate to order, delivered a short address, and administered the oath to the new Senators. When the Senate had been thus organized, a procession was formed by those in the Senate Chamber, which moved through the rotunda to the platform erected before the eastern portico. On the large plaza in front of the Capitol were gathered at least two hundred thousand people, while behind them as a framework were the military and civic organizations, with waving banners, gay uniforms, and gleaming bayonets.

When Mr. Cleveland came to the front of the platform, he was received with tumultuous applause; after it had subsided, he delivered his inaugural address in such a clear voice that it was heard by nearly all of those before him. When he had finished, he turned to Chief Justice Waite, bowed, and said "I am now prepared to take the oath prescribed by law."

The Chief Justice, holding in his left hand a small open Bible, which had been given to Mr. Cleveland by his mother when he had started to seek his fortune in the world, raised his right hand and recited the oath: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Mr. Cleveland, whose right hand had rested on the Bible, responded: "I swear," and raising the book to his lips, kissed it. His lips touched verses 5-10 inclusive, of the 112th Psalm.

Those on the platform congratulated the President; the assembled multitude cheered; over a hundred bands played "Hail to the Chief," and the cannon at the Navy Yard and the Arsenal thundered forth a Presidential salute. The procession was then re-formed, and moved up Pennsylvania Avenue. When the head of the column reached the Treasury Building, a brief halt was made, that President Cleveland might go to the reviewing stand in front of the White House. There he witnessed the procession pass in review, which occupied three hours, and it was after five o'clock when he entered the White House.

Early in the evening there was a display of fireworks, which attracted much attention; then came the inauguration ball, held in the interior court-yard of the unfinished Pension Building, which was covered by a temporary roof. The waxed dance-floor was three hundred and sixteen feet long and one hundred and sixteen feet wide, surrounded by reception-rooms, supper-rooms, and telegraph offices. The decorations were very effective, and electric lamps supplied a bright, clear light. Nearly ten thousand people were present and the receipts from the sale of tickets amounted to forty thousand dollars. President Cleveland and Vice-President Hendricks were present for an hour, and the ball was regarded as a fitting close to the ceremonies of the day.

Mr. Cleveland's Cabinet gave general satisfaction to the Democrats at Washington. The selection of Senator Bayard for Secretary of State was in deference to the national sentiment of the party that had twice asserted itself in presenting him for the Presidency, and that had made him Mr. Cleveland's chief competitor at Chicago. Senator Bayard, when first summoned to Albany and invited to become the Premier of the incoming Administration, had frankly told Mr. Cleveland that he might consider himself absolved from all obligation to bestow his chief Cabinet honor upon him, and that he would prefer to remain in the Senate. He finally consented, however, to accept the portfolio of State, to the delight of the Diplomatic Corps, who were acquainted with his accomplished wife and daughters, and who looked forward to the enjoyment of their hospitality. He took an early opportunity to publicly declare that he was heartily in favor of civil service reform, and he followed the traditions of the Department of State by retaining the experienced clerks. Mr. Bayard has no appreciation of humor or fondness for political intrigue, and department drudgery would be intolerable to him were it not for his passionate fondness for out-door exercise. A bold horseman, an untiring pedestrian, and enthusiastic angler, and a good swimmer, he preserves his health, and gives close attention to the affairs of his Department.

Mr. Daniel Manning, who was appointed Secretary of the Treasury, had been graduated in boyhood from a printing office, that best of colleges, and had gradually become a reporter, a sub-editor, and finally the sole manager and principal owner of the Albany Argus. Devoting all his energies to his business, he was richly rewarded pecuniarily, and under his direction the time-honored "organ" of the Democracy of the Empire State challenged admiration by the boldness and the success of its editorial management. His sagacity as a politician attracted the notice of Mr. Tilden, whose champion he became, and subsequently his untiring efforts in the columns of his paper and at the Chicago Convention did much to secure for Mr. Cleveland the Presidential nomination. His financial experience as President of a national bank was favorably regarded in Wall Street, and his views coincided with those entertained by Mr. Cleveland. Old stagers have detected in him a striking personal resemblance to that sturdy New York Democrat of a former generation, William L. Marcy, except that he wears a moustache, fiercely upturned.

Mr. William C. Endicott, a representative of the worth and intelligence of New England, was appointed Secretary of War. A lawyer by profession, he had been forced by ill health to resign his seat on the State Supreme Bench, and his defeat as the Democratic nominee for Governor of the Bay State gave him a claim on the party for its honors. Prominent in cordially welcoming those who had renounced their party allegiance to vote for Mr. Cleveland, he was the pledged advocate of civil service reform. He is a very handsome man, with long brown hair and moustache, slightly silvered by time.

The Secretary of the Navy, Mr. William C. Whitney, is the son of a famous old Massachusetts "War Horse," who entered upon the practice of law at New York city. He made his professional mark while he was City Corporation Attorney in the prosecution of "Boss Tweed," but his large fortune is the result of successful railroad operations. He is rather youthful in appearance for a man forty-five years of age, rather slenderly built, quick of movement, and with the air of courageous self-reliance that marks a successful and experienced business operator.

Mr. Lucius Quintius Curtius Lamar, the Secretary of the Interior, had taken broader views since the war on national questions than any other Southern leader. The possessor of a well-balanced and highly cultivated intellect, a thorough acquaintance with the theories of Federalism and State Rights, and a varied civil and military experience, Mr. Lamar may well be called a successful molder of public opinion. Some used to regard him as ideal rather than practical, but the business-like manner in which he directed his subordinates dispelled that mistaken idea. His studious habits are shown by his rounded shoulders, and his grizzled long hair, beard, and moustache impart a leonine character to his features.

Postmaster-General William F. Vilas is a native of Vermont, who went to Wisconsin when a lad, became a successful lawyer there, and served gallantly in the Union army during the war. He is probably better versed in the machinery of American politics than any other member of the Cabinet, and he is slowly but surely replacing the Republican incumbents of fifty thousand offices with Democrats. He is a man of showy, brilliant manners, vigorous eloquence, fascinating conversational powers, and an attractive personal appearance.

Mr. Augustus H. Garland, the Attorney-General of the new Administration, took with him from the Senate a high legal and social reputation. His Roman features are clean shaven, his jet black eyes sparkle with intelligence, and his manners are polished, although he rarely mingles in society.

Not of the Cabinet, but the President's confidential adviser, is Colonel Daniel S. Lamont, who, like the Secretary of the Treasury, received his political education in the office of the Albany Argus. Colonel Lamont left his editorial chair to become the private secretary of Mr. Cleveland when he became Governor of the State of New York, and has since been his devoted adherent. Slender, with intellectual features and a dark red moustache, which lights up his pale face, Colonel Lamont has the mouth of a man who is silent and the ears of a man who listens, while the quick glances of his eyes take in what there is to be seen. The possessor of great personal urbanity, always clear-headed, and very reticent, especially concerning the President, he is emphatically "the right man in the right place." He keeps up his Albany habit of calling Mr. Cleveland "Governor," while the President familiarly calls him "Dan." There is no "Kitchen Cabinet" to act as office-brokers and to secure the Executive approval of measures "for a consideration."

At the Cabinet meeting held at the Executive Mansion, the President sits at the head of the Council table, and the members occupy positions as indicated in the accompanying diagram. The Cabinet has no legal existence. Any other official or any individual not holding official position can be called upon by the President to meet with him as a member of his Cabinet, and to consult him on the days in the week designated by him for that purpose. In some Administrations—notably those of Presidents Taylor and Pierce— the members of the Cabinet assumed a power equal to that of the Venetian oligarchy. But Mr. Cleveland has not chosen to act the part of King Log, and right autocratically has he exercised his prerogative.

This habit of personally assuming responsibility has ever characterized Mr. Cleveland. When Mayor of Buffalo and when Governor of New York, he was open to suggestions from those whose judgment he valued, but he was always ready to carry his own full share of responsibility, as he now does in his relations with his chosen advisers of the Cabinet.

[Fascimile] Grover Cleveland GROVER CLEVELAND was born at Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey, March 18th, 1837; studied law at Buffalo and commenced practice there; was Mayor of Buffalo, 1882, 1883; was Governor of the State of New York, 1883-1885; was elected President of the United States on the Democratic ticket, November 4th, 1884, and was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1885.

CHAPTER XLIV. OFFICIAL AND SOCIAL LIFE.

President Cleveland is emphatically a working man. Possessing a strong physique, he industriously devotes his time and his energies to the duties of his office. Gentle in his strength, unobtrusive in his modesty, and unswerved by partisan clamor, he endeavors to do what he—from his personal and political standpoint—regards as right. He is above medium height, quite stout, and rather sluggish in his movement. He is of the Teutonic type—blonde, with ruddy color. His head is large, with a broad forehead, deeply set blue eyes, a large, straight nose, with vigorous nostrils, and a firm mouth, partly shaded by a drooping light mustache. He generally wears a frock coat, buttoned up so high that only an inch or so of his shirt bosom is visible, with a slight black cravat encircling a standing collar. In conversing with strangers, he generally stands with his hands clasped behind him, and when he thinks that he has heard enough from the person addressing him he brings his hands forward.

The President rises early, shaves himself, dresses without assistance, and then reads the newspapers until breakfast time. From the breakfast-table he goes to the library, an oval-shaped room in the second story of the White House, with large windows at one end commanding a fine southern view, with Alexandria and Arlington in the background. The room is partially lined with book-cases, and the furniture is upholstered with red leather, while in the centre of the room, near the windows, is the President's desk. It was presented by Queen Victoria, and was made from the oaken timbers of the Resolute, which was sent to the Arctic regions by the British Government in search of Sir John Franklin, abandoned in the ice, saved by American whalers, and restored to the British Government by the United States. On this desk the many papers before the President are methodically arranged, and he never has to waste time in hunting for mislaid letters.

The morning mail first passes through the hands of Colonel Lamont, who lays before the President such letters as require instructions as to the replies to be made. Mr. Cleveland answers many of his private letters himself, writing with great rapidity and not always very legibly. At ten o'clock visitors begin to arrive, Senators and Representatives claiming precedence over all others. A few of the Congressmen escort constituents who merely desire to pay their respects, but the greater portion of them—Republicans as well as Democrats—have some "axe to grind," some favor to ask, or some appointment to urge.

At one o'clock the President goes down-stairs to lunch, and on his way to the private dining-room passes through the East Room to see the sovereign people congregated there. There are queer mosaics of humanity at these daily impromptu receptions, generally including a few persistent place-hunters, who are invariably referred to the heads of Departments; several bridal couples in new clothes; an old Bourbon in a shiny black dress-coat, who "has voted for every Democratic President, sir, since the days of Jackson;" half a dozen commercial drummers—travelers, I mean—with their pockets full of samples, and three or four fond mothers, whose children invariably forget to speak the complimentary little piece taught them. The President wastes no time, but goes along the line like an old- fashioned beau dancing the grand right and left figure in a cotillion, and then goes to his luncheon.

Two days in the week, when there is a Cabinet meeting, the reception in the East Room is held at noon, or omitted. After luncheon, the President returns to his desk and works there steadily until five o'clock, unless some one calls who cannot be refused an audience. None of his predecessors have ever weighed the qualifications and claims of candidates for Federal appointment with such painstaking care as has Mr. Cleveland. He has carefully read the recommendations in every case, and, after such investigation as it has been possible for him to make into the character and antecedents of the rival applicants, he has made his appointments.

At five o'clock the President takes a drive, although the carriage is often sent back to the stable that the examination of the papers in some case may be finished that day. Dinner is served at seven, and by half-past eight the President is at work again, often remaining at his desk until midnight. But then he leaves his cares behind him. When asked if he ever carried the work to bed with him, as many men of a nervous organization would do, he replied: "No! I generally fall asleep without any difficulty. I generally am asleep as soon as I am fairly in bed, and never wake until morning."

Miss Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, one of the President's sisters, presided over the domestic arrangements of the White House after the inauguration of Mr. Cleveland. She is a lady of literary tastes, and under her direction the routine of receptions and dinners was carefully continued. On these occasions the floral decorations were remarkably elegant, and there was a profusion of palms, India rubber plants, roses, azalias, tulips, hyacinths, and growing orchids.

The first state dinner was given in honor of the Cabinet. At each end of the long table were ornaments of white wax. At the eastern end the figures upholding three fancy molds of jellied pate de foie gras were white swans, with outspread wings, under the shelter of which rested a brood of snowy young ones. At the opposite end of the table the figures were those of eagles, while the pates de foie gras arranged above on horseshoes were little square blocks, attached to the horseshoes by means of silver skewers, with ornamental hilts. Interspersed the length of the board were glass and silver stands of conserves, bonbons, and salted almonds. The service used at the first course was that especially decorated for the White House during the Hayes Administration. At each plate were set six Bohemian wine-glasses, a cut-glass carafe, tumbler, and champagne glass. Salt-sellers of cut-glass, with golden shovels, and silver pepper-stands were beside these. On each plate was folded a large damask napkin, on the top of which rested a bouquet of roses and ferns, tied with a broad white satin ribbon, on one end of which, running bias, were painted the colors of the Union. On the other end was an etching in black and white of the White House and surrounding shrubbery, while underneath, in gilt lettering, was "Jan. 14, 1886." Gilt bullet-headed pins, to attach the bouquet to the corsage, lay beside these, while above lay a large white card bearing the name of the guest assigned to the seat. Above the name of the guests, blazoned in gold, was the American eagle, above whose head, through a cluster of stars, was the motto, "E Pluribus Unum." At the plates laid for the gentlemen were boutonnieres of green, with a single Bon Silene rosebud. Miss Cleveland had a corsage bouquet of pink roses; Miss Bayard, who occupied the seat to the right of the President, Perie du Jardin roses, and Mrs. Manning, who sat to the left, lilies of the valley and ferns.

The guests assembled in the East Room, and when dinner was announced as served, passed down the corridor, the Marine Band performing selections from the "Mikado," and entered the state dining-room in the following order: President Cleveland and Miss Bayard, who wore a trained dress of pink silk, the front of which was white lace; Secretary Whitney and Mrs. Vilas, who wore a blue silk dress; Senator Edmunds and Mrs. McCullough, who wore cream satin and lace; Senator Harris and Mrs. Edward Cooper, who wore white satin, with side panels embroidered in gold and silver; General Sheridan and Mrs. Endicott, who wore a court train of black velvet over a pink satin petticoat, with point lace flounces; Secretary Bayard and Mrs. Whitney, who wore white cut velvet, trimmed with clusters of ostrich tips. Postmaster-General Vilas and Mrs. Sheridan, who wore sky-blue silk, with front brocaded in roses; Mr. Speaker Carlisle and Mrs. Edmunds, who wore black velvet; Mr. McCullough and Miss Weddell, who wore white brocaded satin; Secretary Lamar and Mrs. Carlisle, who wore gold-flowered brocade, with front of network of iridescent beading; Admiral Rogers and Mrs. D. Willis James, who wore cardinal velvet with court train, over a white satin and lace petticoat; Hon. Edward Cooper, of New York, and Miss Love, who wore white satin, with black velvet train; Mrs. D. Willis James, of New York, and Mrs. Utley, who wore white satin brocade; Secretary Manning and Miss Cleveland, who wore a gown of white satin, with court train of white plush.

Miss Cleveland had her afternoon receptions, and she also gave several luncheon parties to ladies, at which her temperance principles were exemplified. At the first of these luncheon parties Miss Cleveland graciously received her guests in a morning dress of pink surah silk, with a high-necked bodice and panels of ruby velvet, trimmed with white lace, and Miss Van Vechten, an inmate of the White House, wore a walking-dress of dark blue velvet, with a vest of light blue silk, trimmed with blue steel beads. Nearly all of the ladies wore walking-dresses and bonnets, although a few were in the evening attire that they would have worn to a dinner-party. Mrs. Warner Miller wore a bronze-green Ottoman silk with panels of cardinal plush; Mrs. Potter (the amateur actress) wore a bright green Ottoman silk short dress, with a tight-fitting jacket of scarlet cloth, richly embroidered; Mrs. John A. Logan wore a dress of peacock-blue satin, trimmed with blue brocade; Mrs. Marshal Roberts wore a brown velvet dress, and Mrs. Van Rensselaer a black satin dress trimmed with jet. The repast was an abbreviated dinner, daintily served, but in the place of seven kinds of wine there were served iced Potomac water, Apollinaris water and lemonade.

Miss Cleveland talks very much as she writes, and those who have enjoyed her Summer Hours can imagine the bright staccato strain of her conversation. She seemed when in the White House to be always longing for what she used to call her "little old house on the Holland Patent, with the village on the one side and the hills on the other." She remarked one day to a lady visitor: "I wish that I could observe Washington life in its political phase; but I suppose I am too near the centre to get an accurate perspective on that. Those who live on Mount Athos do not see Mount Athos."

Society was saddened early in the fashionable season of 1886 by the sudden death of Secretary Bayard's eldest daughter, a young lady whose personal attractions, gifted intellect, and quick wit endeared her to a large circle of devoted friends. A fortnight later, the bereaved father was deprived by death of his wife, a lady of gracious presence and refined disposition, who was the mother of twelve children, eight of whom survived her. These sad events closed the pleasant home of the Premier on Highland Terrace, greatly to the regret of the diplomats and others, who loved to congregate there.

Prominent among the wives of the members of the Cabinet was Mrs. Whitney, the only daughter of Senator Harry B. Payne, of Ohio, whose unstinted expenditures have made her house in Washington, like her other residences, noted for their hospitality. The residence of Secretary Manning, with its drawing-room fitted up in the Louis XVI. style, is palatial, while those who visit the home of the Secretary of War admire the quiet style of its furniture and the rare old family silver on its table.

The death of Vice-President Hendricks removed an official around whom the disaffected Democrats could have crystallized into a formidable opposition. Believing as he did, that he had been defrauded of the office of Vice-President by the Electoral Commission in 1876, he regarded his election in 1884 as a triumphant vindication of his rights, and he was not disposed to have the position longer regarded as "like the fifth wheel of a coach." He made no secret of his opposition to civil service reform and to his Indiana rival, ex-Senator McDonald, against whose appointment to a place in the Cabinet he formally protested. Perhaps a social antagonism between Mrs. McDonald and Mrs. Hendricks had something to do with this.

Vice-President Hendricks was slightly lame, from a singular cause. He spoke in public a great deal in the Presidential campaign of 1882, and while speaking he was in the habit of bending forward on the tip of his right foot, resting his entire weight upon it. From the pressure of his right shoe a swelling arose on one of his toes, shortly after he reached home after making a speech at Newcastle, Indiana. In twenty-four hours erysipelas developed, and it was only after an illness of six months that he recovered. But he always afterward was somewhat lame, especially when he was fatigued.

[Facsimile] T. A. Hendricks THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, September 7th, 1849; was taken when three years of age to Indiana, where he studied law and practiced; was a Representative in Congress from Indiana, 1851-1855; was Commissioner of the General Land Office, 1855-1859; was United States Senator from Indiana, 1863- 1869; was Governor of Indiana, 1872-1877; was nominated for Vice- President on the Democratic ticket at St. Louis in 1876, and was defeated; was again nominated for Vice-President on the Democratic ticket at Chicago in 1884, and was elected; was inaugurated March 4th, 1885, and died at Indianapolis, November 25th, 1885.

CHAPTER XLV. THE FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS.

The first session of the Forty-ninth Congress was commenced on the 7th of December, 1885. The Republicans had a majority in the Senate, but it was understood that they would not oppose the Administration in a factious way, but would insist upon having the reasons for the removals of Republican officials and the appointment of Democrats in their places. The President, on the other hand, intimated that he should assert all his prerogatives. A number of the Democratic Senators were not happy, and asked each other whether they had dragged their weary way out of the wilderness to the top of a civil service Mount Pisgah only to gaze upon the promised land, there to see the pleasant pastures and shady groves of official life, without being permitted to enjoy them.

John Sherman was elected President pro tempore of the Senate. Although he had twice lost the Republican nomination for the Presidency by the treachery of Ohio politicians, he had not "sulked in his tent," but had done all in his power to carry that State for Garfield and then for Blaine. It was understood that Senator Edmunds had resigned in his favor all claims to the Presidency of the Senate, and he was elected by the full party vote, thirty-four against twenty-nine. He stated in his brief inaugural speech that he should endeavor to enforce the rules with impartiality, ascertaining, if possible, the sense of the majority, and giving to the minority its full constitutional rights and protection.

There was a prolonged and acrimonious debate in the Senate, called the third battle of Bull Run, as it related to the conduct of Fitz John Porter in the second battle. One day Senator Plumb, of Kansas, declared that the attempt to reinstate Porter was the beginning of an attempt to re-write the history of the Union army, and to put that which was disloyal and unfaithful above that which was loyal and faithful. "This," said Mr. Plumb, "was our quarrel, if quarrel it was, and the other side ought to refrain from voting on it."

This roused Senator Butler, of South Carolina, who had served as a Brigadier-General in the Confederate army, and he, in sharp tones, protested against what Mr. Plumb had said, denouncing it as "absolutely and entirely and unqualifiedly untrue. And, sir," he went on to say, "if it were in another form I would pronounce it as false and cowardly." He concluded by declaring that he did not believe Fitz John Porter was a traitor. He did not believe that he deserted his colors, and believing that, he should vote to reinstate him. "Ah!" quietly remarked Mr. Plumb, "I knew all that before the Senator arose." "Then," retorted Mr. Butler, "I hope the Senator will stop his insinuations." To this Mr. Plumb replied, "As the Senator has not restrained himself from making a somewhat lively speech here, I hope he will not feel under any restraint elsewhere."

Senator Butler was by that time thoroughly enraged, and, advancing toward the Senator from Kansas, he exclaimed: "I can say this to the Senator, that if he were to indulge in just such sentiments and expressions elsewhere as he has, he would be very likely to hear from me." "Oh! Mr. President," cooly remarked Mr. Plumb, "we hear a great many things in these days. There are signs and portents, and all that sort of thing. It is just what the Senator has said that I was commenting upon; that, while the men who served in the Union army and the Northern people were divided to some extent on this question affecting the honor, the good name, the faithfulness, and the loyalty of one of their own soldiers, no Confederate soldier had any doubt upon the subject, but voted nem. con. that he was not guilty."

A few moments later, Mr. Plumb said he has just been informed that the President had vetoed a bill giving a pension of fifty dollars a month to the widow of Major-General Hunter, who had been presiding officer of the court-martial that had tried Fitz John Porter. That seemed a fitting accompaniment for the passage of the Fitz John Porter Bill. But the loyal people of the country would see to it that Mrs. Hunter did not suffer. The debate then lagged, and in a few minutes the vote was reached and the bill was passed.

The champion of President Cleveland in the Senate was Arthur P. Gorman, of Maryland, the son of a respectable citizen of Washington and the grandson of an Irishman. Educated at the public schools in Howard County, Maryland, he was appointed, when thirteen years of age, a page in the Senate of the United States. Prompt, truthful, and attentive to whatever was entrusted to him, he was gradually promoted until he became the Senate Postmaster. Among his warmest friends was Andrew Johnson, and when he was removed from office because he always spoke well of the President, Mr. Johnson appointed him Collector of Internal Revenue for the Fifth District of Maryland, which place he held until the Grant Administration came into power. Entering into Maryland politics, and thoroughly acquainted with parliamentary law, he was elected Speaker of the House of Delegates, and afterward State Senator. When forty years of age he was elected United States Senator, defeating William Pinckney Whyte, who was the representative of the aristocratic element in Maryland. This element at once commenced a merciless warfare against Mr. Gorman, but he was in no wise daunted, and he has been re-elected by a large majority. He is rather an under-sized, squarely built man, with jet-black hair, a Roman nose, a clean-shaven face, very dark blue eyes, and a decisive manner. He is noted for his fidelity to his friends, and at the same time he often forgives those who have shamefully treated him, but who come to ask favors of him. He did much toward securing the election of Mr. Cleveland as President, and he has had the satisfaction of seeing that what he did has been fully appreciated at the White House.

Senator Kenna, of West Virginia, another stanch defender of President Cleveland, was the youngest Senator when he took his seat, but he had served three terms in the House of Representatives and was chosen for a fourth term when he was elected to the seat formerly occupied by Henry G. Davis. He is a tall, thick-set man, with a full, clean-shaven face, blue eyes, chestnut hair, rather inclined to curl. He is negligent in his dress and rather slow in the utterance of his sentences, as he speaks extemporaneously, what he says, however, is always to the point at issue.

General Charles F. Manderson is one of the ablest among the younger Senators on the Republican side of the Chamber. A native of Pennsylvania, he commenced the practice of law in Ohio, but went into the Union army, where he fought gallantly, receiving severe wounds. After peace was declared he migrated to the young State of Nebraska, whose interests he carefully looks after while he participates in general legislation, especially military affairs and printing. He is of medium height, compactly built, with bright eyes and a well-modulated voice.

Senator Spooner, of Wisconsin, is the young orator of the Senate. Slender in form, and not of commanding presence, he has a well- modulated voice, and his words are always well chosen. Whatever he says is characterized by depth of reflection and purity of style, and he is fearlessly independent in the expression of his ideas.

General McCook, the Secretary of the Senate, taking a wife, it became necessary, in accordance with the traditions of that body, to make him a wedding present. The Quaker Senator, Jonathan Chace, of Rhode Island, was one of a committee appointed to collect the contributions for a gift to General McCook, and he began to solicit donations while the Senate was in session, which made it necessary for him to speak low, and, perhaps, somewhat indistinctly. No sooner had be interviewed Mr. Dolph, of Oregon, than that Senator, leaving his seat, went out into the cloak-room, where sat several of the upper house, enjoying their cigars and a chat. "Well," said Mr. Dolph, as he joined them, "I have been called upon, since I have been in public life, to contribute to all sorts of enterprises and for all sorts of purposes, but I just had a request that beats any demand I have ever had made upon my pocket-book." "What was it?" asked the Senators, in a body. "Why," replied Mr. Dolph, "Friend Chace just came to me, and in a mysterious way said that his cook was about to be married, and that he wanted to have me subscribe to a testimonial to her. What in—" but here his auditors broke out in roars of laughter, in which Mr. Dolph joined when he saw his mistake. It was not the cook of Friend Chace who was to receive a wedding testimonial, but handsome Aaron McCook, the Secretary of the Senate.

The House of Representatives, in which the Democrats had a good working majority, re-elected Mr. Speaker Carlisle, with nearly all of the old officers. The only real contest was over the Chaplainship. Mr. Morrison, of Illinois, presented as his candidate the Rev. W. H. Milburn, known as the blind preacher, who received ninety votes against eighty-two for all the other candidates, and was elected.

John Griffin Carlisle, Speaker of the House, is a thorough parliamentarian, who rises above party lines in his rulings and is the model of courtesy in the chair. The clearness and the fairness with which he states a question to the House has never been equaled, and his ready recollection of precedents is wonderfully accurate. He is the fourth Kentuckian who has wielded the Speaker's gavel, Henry Clay having been elected again and again, while Linn Boyd, a veteran Representative, occupied the Speaker's chair for four years. John White, of Kentucky, was also Speaker for one term, but when it was ascertained that an eloquent address delivered by him at the close of a session had been pirated from one delivered by Aaron Burr on vacating the chair of the Senate, he was mercilessly ridiculed and committed suicide.

Another able Kentuckian in the House is William C. P. Breckinridge, of Lexington, who has inherited the brilliant oratorical powers of his father, the Rev. Dr. Robert C. Breckinridge, and of his uncle, Vice-President John C. Breckinridge. He is a model of venerable, manly beauty, his snow-white hair and beard bringing out in strong relief his ruddy complexion, while his large blue eyes gleam with forensic fire.

In the "gift enterprise" of seats, a New York Representative, Mr. Stahlnecker, drew the first prize and selected a seat in the third row from the front. Mr. Hiscock, who is always observed by all observers, had, with Mr. Hewitt, to content themselves with seats in the outside row. The seat of the patriarchal Judge Kelley was protected by his hat, and no one appropriated it until his name was called, when he again resumed his old place. General Robert Smalls, the coal-black Representative from South Carolina, was the object of much interest as he stepped forward to select his seat, and all necks were craned to get a view of New York's Republican standard-bearer when a scholarly, refined-looking gentleman responded to the name of Ira Davenport. Of course, all strangers wanted to see the indefatigable Randall, the economical Holman, the free- trader Morrison, the Greenback Weaver and the argentive Bland, the eloquent McKinley, the sarcastic Reed, the sluggish Hiscock, and the caustic-tongued Butterworth. Old stagers who remembered the shrunken, diminutive form of Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, could but smile when they saw his successor, Major Barnes, who weighs at least three hundred pounds.

The lobby is a quiet but efficient part of Congressional machinery. Scores of bills are considered and passed during every session, each involving thousands of dollars, and those having them in charge do not feel like turning a deaf ear to any one who can promise support. An occasional investigation reveals the work of ex- Congressmen, who hover about the Capitol like birds of prey, and of correspondents so scantily paid by the journals with which they are connected that they are forced to prostitute their pens. But the most adroit lobbyists belong to the gentler sex. Some of them are the widows of officers of the army or navy, other the daughters of Congressmen of a past generation, and others have drifted from home localities, where they have found themselves the subjects of scandalous comments. They are retained with instructions to exert their influence with designated Congressmen. Sometimes the Congressmen are induced to vote aye on a certain measure; sometimes to vote no, and it often occurs that where the lobbyist cannot make an impression on them, one way or the other, they will endeavor to keep them away from the House when the roll is called.

To enable them to do their work well, they have pleasant parlors, with works of art and bric-a-brac donated by admirers. Every evening they receive, and in the winter their blazing wood fires are often surrounded by a distinguished circle. Some treat favored guests to a game of euchre, and as midnight approaches there is always an adjournment to the dining-room, where a choice supper is served. A cold game pie, broiled oysters, charmingly mixed salad, and one or two light dishes generally constitute the repast, with iced champagne or Burgundy at blood heat. Who can blame the Congressman for leaving the bad cooking of his hotel or boarding- house, with the absence of all home comforts, to walk into the parlor web which the cunning spider-lobbyist weaves for him?

[Facsimile] Fredk T. Frelinghuysen FREDERICK T. FRELINGHUYSEN was born at Millstown, New Jersey, August 4th, 1817; graduated at Rutgers College in 1836; was Attorney- General of the State of New Jersey, 1861-1866; was United States Senator, 1866-1869, and again 1871-1877; was Secretary of State under President Arthur, December 12th, 1881 - March 4th, 1885; died at Newark, N. J., May 20th, 1885.

CHAPTER XLVI. THE PRESIDENT'S WEDDING.

President Cleveland was married at the White House at seven o'clock on the 2d of June, 1886, to Miss Frances Folsom, the daughter of his former law partner. Since the historic mansion had been occupied there had been eight marriages within its walls, but for the first time a President of the United States was the bridegroom. The day had been unpleasant, but in the afternoon it cleared off, and the sunbeams flittered through the foliage of the trees. Only a few relatives of the bride and high officials were invited, but a large crowd assembled around the door of the White House, where they could only hear the music of the Marine Band when the ceremony was commenced. At the same time a Presidential salute was fired from the Arsenal, and the church-bells chimed merry peals.

The state apartments at the White House were profusely decked with flowers, nodding palms, and tropical grasses. The crystal chandeliers poured a flood of light upon the scene, and the warm and glowing colors of the masses of scarlet begonias and jacqueminot roses mingled with the bright tints of the frescoed walls and ceilings. The open fire-places were filled with colias and small pink flowers, while on the mantels were large plaques of pansies bearing appropriate mottoes.

Precisely at seven o'clock the Marine Band struck up Mendelssohn's Wedding-March, and the President came slowly down the staircase with his bride leaning on his arm. They were unaccompanied—even the bride's mother awaited her coming. The bride wore a train four yards in length. Attached to the lower side of the train on the left was a scarf of soft, white India silk, looped high, and forming an overskirt, which was bordered on the edge with orange-blossoms. Across the bodice were full folds of muslin, edged with orange- blossoms. Long gloves were worn to meet the short sleeves. The bridal veil was of white silk tulle, five yards in length, fastened on the head with orange-blossoms, and falling to the end of the beautiful train, which, as the bride stood with bowed head beside the President, lay far behind her on the floor. Her only jewelry as a superb diamond necklace, the President's wedding present, and an engagement-ring containing a sapphire and two diamonds.

President Cleveland wore an evening dress of black, with a small turned-down collar, and a white lawn necktie; a white rose was fastened to the lapel of his coat. The bridal couple turned to the right as they entered the Blue Parlor from the long hall, and faced the officiating clergyman, Rev. Dr. Sunderland, who immediately commenced the ceremony in accordance with the usages of the Presbyterian Church.

After the couple had pledged their troth the President placed a wedding-ring upon the bride's finger, and Dr. Sunderland then pronounced them man and wife, with the injunction: "Whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder." The Rev. Mr. Cleveland, a brother of the bridegroom, then stepped forward and concluded the ceremony with an invocation of blessing upon the pair.

At the conclusion of the ceremony the bride's mother, Mrs. Folsom, was the first to tender her congratulations. She was followed by Miss Cleveland and the other relatives and friends in turn. Then the band struck up the march from Lohengrin, and the President and his wife led the way through the East Room to the family dining- room, where the wedding supper was served. The decorations were of an elaborate character. A mirror in the centre of the table represented a lake, on which was a full-rigged ship, made of pinks, roses, and pansies. The national colors floated over the mainmast, and small white flags, with the monogram "C. F." in golden letters, hung from the other masts. The guests were not seated, but stood up and enjoyed the croquets, game, salads, ices, and creams. The health of the bride and bridegroom was pledged in iced champagne. Each guest received a box of cardboard, containing a white satin box filled with wedding cake five inches long by two broad and two deep. On the cover the date was hand-painted in colors, and a card affixed bore the autograph signature of Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom, which they had written the previous afternoon.

At a quarter-past eight the President and his wife left the supper- room and soon reappeared in traveling dress. He wore his usual black frock business suit, and she a traveling dress of deep gray silk, with a large gray hat lined with velvet and crowned with ostrich feathers. They left the back door of the White House amid a shower of rice and old slippers, and were driven to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, where they took a special train for Deer Park.

[Facsimile] B. Sunderland BYRON SUNDERLAND was born at Shoreham, Vermont, November 22d, 1819; was graduated from Middlebury College in the class of '38; taught school for two years at Port Henry, New York; was a student at the Union Theological Seminary for two years and a half; was licensed to preach and was ordained in 1848 pastor of the Presbyterian church at Batavia, New York, where he remained for eight years; received a call to the Park Church at Syracuse, and was its pastor until the close of 1852; became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Washington in 1853, and has occupied its pulpit since, except from August, '64, to January, '86, when he was temporarily absent in charge of the American Chapel at Paris, France. From 1861 to 1864 he was Chaplain of the United States Senate, and resigned on account of failing health.

CHAPTER XLVII. A SUMMING-UP OF SIXTY YEARS.

The progress of Washington City during the past sixty years—1827- 1887—has been phenomenal. The United States of America, then twenty-four in number, now number thirty-eight, bound together by iron bands, then unknown, while the telegraph and the telephone add their usefulness to that of the railroads. Domestic rebellion showed itself, to be overthrown only after a struggle in which the courage and endurance of the North and the South were equally demonstrated. The teeming population of Europe has overflowed into every section of the Republic where wealth is to be won by enterprise and industry. The fertile prairies of the far West not only supply the inhabitants of the Eastern States with food, but they export large quantities of meat and of grain. The workshops and factories resound with the whir of wheels and the hum of well-paid labor, which, in turn, furnishes a market for agricultural and horticultural products. There has been of late a fomentation of ill-feeling and jealously between classes dependent upon each other, and both equally valuable to the nation. But, on the whole, it is impossible to deny that the United States is a free, a prosperous, and a happy country.

The national metropolis has, during these past sixty years, enjoyed peaceful progress. In 1827 the population of the entire District of Columbia was less than seventy-five thousand, of whom sixty-one thousand were inhabitants of the city of Washington; now the population of the District is two hundred and three thousand, and that of Washington is about one hundred and fifty thousand. The increase of wealth has been even greater than the increase of population. Then there was not a paved street, and it was often difficult to extract carriages from mud-holes in the principal thoroughfares; now there are many miles of stone and asphalt street pavements, shaded by thousands of forest trees. Then there were twenty-four churches, now there are over two hundred. Then there were no public schools for white children that amounted to much, and it was forbidden by law to teach colored children, now there are scores of schools, with their hundreds of teachers, and twenty- six thousand six hundred and ninety-six pupils in the white schools, and eleven thousand six hundred and forty pupils in the colored schools—thirty-eight thousand three hundred and thirty-six pupils in all. The streets, then dark at night when the moon did not shine, are now illuminated by electricity and gas. The public reservations are ornamented with shrubs and flowers, while numerous statues of the heroes and the statesmen of the country are to be seen in different parts of the city.

That the tone of society has been wonderfully improved during the past sixty years the earlier chapters of this book bear testimony. Duels and personal encounters are no longer witnessed at the national metropolis, and yet our legislators have not grown craven- hearted, nor do they lack indomitable energy and sound judgment. Neither is it true that Congress has become demoralized by railroad speculations, or degraded by the influence of shoddy, although the war subjected its members greatly to these influences, and some succumbed to them.

When the silver-toned trumpets of peace proclaimed the close of hostilities, Washington suffered from the laxity of morals and corruption attendant upon the presence of a great army of soldiers and a more unscrupulous legion of contractors. "I have seen," said Senator Hoar, on the impeachment of Secretary Belknap before the Senate, "the Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs in the House, rise in his place and demand the expulsion of four of his associates for making sale of their official privilege of selecting the youths to be educated at our military school. When the greatest railroad of the world, binding together the continent and uniting the two great seas which wash our shores was finished, I have seen our national triumph and exultation turned to bitterness and shame by the unanimous reports of the three Committees of Congress, two of the House and one here, that every step of that mighty enterprise had been taken in fraud. I have heard in the highest places the shameless doctrine avowed by men grown old in public offices that the true way by which power should be gained in the Republic is to bribe the people with the offices created for their service, and the true end for which it should be used when gained is the promotion of selfish ambition and the gratification of personal revenge."

The time was when the "Rex Vestiari," as the King of the Lobby styled himself, on a silver cup which he impudently presented to a retiring Speaker, had no difficulty in assembling the leading Congressmen and prominent diplomats around his table to enjoy his exquisite repasts. But there has come a more vigorous code of morality, and society is now rarely disgraced by the presence of these scoundrels.

The tone of the political newspapers of the country has greatly changed since the Democratic organ at Philadelphia, then the seat of Government, thanked God, on the morning of Washington's retirement from the Presidential chair, that the country was now rid of the man who was the source of all its misfortunes. The Federal newspapers at Washington City denounced President Jefferson for his degraded immorality, and copied the anathemas hurled against him from the New England pulpits as an atheist and a satyr. The letters written from Washington to newspapers in other cities used often to be vehicles of indecent abuse, and once one of the caused a duel between two Representatives, which resulted in the death of Mr. Cilley, of Maine. While there is less vituperation and vulgar personal abuse by journalists of those "in authority," the pernicious habit of "interviewing" is a dangerous method of communication between our public men and the people. The daily and weekly press of Washington will compare favorably with that of any other city in the Union.

A sad feature of Washington life is the legion of Congressional claimants, who come here session after session, and too often grow old and destitute while unsuccessfully prosecuting before Congress a claim which is just, but in some respects irregular. These ruined suitors, threadbare and slipshod, begging or borrowing their daily bread, recall Charles Dickens' portraiture of the Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce Chancery suite, which had become so complicated that no one alive knew what it meant. The French spoilation claims that were being vigorously prosecuted in 1827 are yet undetermined in 1886. None of the original claimants survive, but they have left heirs and legatees, executors and assignees, who have perennially presented their cases, and who are now indulging in high hopes of success. Government, after more than fourscore years of unjustifiable procrastination, is at last having the claims adjudicated, and in time the heirs of the long-suffering holders will be paid.

Up to the commencement of the great Rebellion, Washington was socially a Southern city, and although there have since been immigrations from the Northeast and the Northwest, with the intermediate regions, the foundation layer sympathizes with those who have returned from "Dixie" to control society and direct American politics. Many of those known as the "old families" lost their property by the emancipation of their slaves, and are rarely seen in public, unless one of the Virginia Lees or the daughter of Jefferson Davis comes to Washington, when they receive the representatives of "the Lost Cause" with every possible honor. There are but few large cities at the South, and intelligent people from that section enjoy the metropolis, where they are more at home than in the bustling commercial centres of the North, and where their provincialisms and customs are soon replaced by the quiet conventialities and courtesies of modern civilization. There are a few of the old camp-followers here who perfected their vices while wearing "the blue" or "the gray," and they occasionally indulge in famous revels, when, to use one of their old army phrases, they "paint the town red."

Washington society does not all centre around the Capitol, or in the legal circle that clusters around the Supreme Court, on in the Bureaucracy, where vigor of brains atones for a lack of polish, or among the diplomats, worshiped by the young women and envied by the young men. Vulgar people who amass fortunes by successful gambling in stocks, pork, or grain can attain a great deal of cheap newspaper notoriety for their social expenditures here, and some men of distinction can be attracted to their houses by champagne and terrapin, but their social existence is a mere sham, like their veneered furniture and their plated spoons.

Meanwhile, Washington, from a new settlement of provincial insignificance, has become the scientific and literary, as well as the political capital of the Union. Unfitted by its situation or its surroundings for either commerce or manufactures, the metropolis is becoming, like ancient Athens, a great school of philosophy, history, archaeology, and the fine arts. The nucleus of scientific and literary operations is the Smithsonian Institution, which, under the direction of Professor Spencer F. Baird, reflects high honor upon its generous founder, and is in fact what he intended it should be—an institution "to increase and diffuse knowledge among men."

In the National Museum there is a judicious admixture of the past and present, and still more, happily blending with these, are not only the wonders of the vegetable and floral kingdom, but of those geological, zoological, and ethnological marvels which it is the privilege of this age to have brought to light and classified. It is not only the storehouse of the results of scientific expeditions fitted out by the United States, but the depository of the contributions of foreign nations, which added so much to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876. The work of the United States Fish Commission is too well known to require description, and is of itself well worth a journey to Washington. Then there are the museums of the State, the War, and the Navy Departments, with that of the Department of Agriculture and the Army Medical Museum.

The Observatory, with its magnificent instruments for astronomical purposes, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the Naval Hydrographic Bureau, each with its stores of maps and charts; the Bureau of Education, the Indian Office, the General Land Office, and the Geological Survey are all scientific institutions of acknowledged position. The Corcoran Art Gallery, and the Roman Catholic and the Protestant Colleges, with their law and medical schools, add to the scientific and artistic attractions of the capital, while the facilities afforded by the Congressional and other libraries for study and research are of such a superior character that many men engaged in scientific pursuits have been attracted here from other sections.

There are also in Washington the Philosophical, the Anthropological, and the Biological Societies, devoted to general scientific investigation, and at the Cosmos Club the scientists develop the social side of their natures. The house long occupied by Mrs. Madison has been fitted up by the Club, the membership of which includes about all of the prominent scientific men in the city, and it is said that there are more men of distinction in science in Washington than in any other city in the country.

L'ENVOI

It is not without regret that I lay down my pen, and cease work on the Reminiscences of Sixty Years, of my life. As I remarked in the Preface, my great difficulty has been what to select from the masses of literary material concerning the national metropolis that I have accumulated during the past six decades, and put away in diaries, scrap-books, correspondence with the press, and note-books. Many important events have been passed over more lightly than their importance warranted, while others have been wholly ignored. But I trust that I have given my readers a glance at the most salient features of Life in Washington, as I have actually seen it, without indulging in sycophantic flattery of men, or glossing over the unpleasant features of events. "Paint me as I am," said Cromwell, and I have endeavored to portray the Federal Metropolis as I have seen it.

INDEX [omitted]

THE END