Read Ebook: Ten Years in Washington or Inside Life and Scenes in Our National Capital as a Woman Sees Them ... to Which Is Added a Full Account of the Life and Death of President James A. Garfield by Clemmer Mary Shipley J L Contributor

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Ebook has 1298 lines and 187986 words, and 26 pages

ic--He Communicates Some Ideas--Models of Antiquity--Babylon Revived--Difficulty in Satisfying a Frenchman's Soul--The Man Who Planned the Capital--Who Was L'Enfant?--His Troubles--His Dismissal--His Personal Appearance, Old Age, Death, and Burial Place--His Successor--A Magnificent Plan--A Record Which Can Never Perish--An Overpaid Quaker--Jefferson Expresses His Sentiments--A Sable Franklin--The Negro Engineer, Benjamin Bancker--A Chance for a Monument, 38

OLD WASHINGTON.

How the City Was Built--"A Matter of Moonshine"--Calls for Paper--Besieging Congressmen--How They Raised the Money--The Government Requires Sponsors--Birth of the Nation's Capital--Seventy Years Ago in Washington--Graphic Picture of Early Times--A Much-Marrying City--Unwashed Virginian Belles--Stuck in the Mud--Extraordinary Religious Services, 51

THE CAPITAL OF THE NATION.

Expectations Disappointed--Funds Low and People Few--Slow Progress of the City--A Question of Importance Discussed--Generous Proposition of George Washington--Faith Under Difficulties--Transplanting an Entire College--An Old Proposition in a New Shape--What Washington "Society" Lacks--Perils of the Way--A Long Plain of Mud--Egyptian Dreariness--The End of an Expensive Canal--The Water of Tiber Creek--Divided Allegiance of Old--The Stirring of a Nation's Heart--A Personal Interest, 62

THE WASHINGTON OF THE PRESENT DAY.

Hopes Realized--Washington in 1873--Major L'Enfant's Dream--Old and New--"Modern Improvements"--A City of Palaces--The Capital in all its Glory--Traces of the War--Flowers on the Ramparts--Under the Oaks of Arlington--Ten Years Ago--The Birth of a Century--The Reign of Peace, 72

WHAT MADE NEW WASHINGTON.

Municipal Changes--Necessity of Reform--The "Organic Act" Passed--Contest for the Governorship of Columbia District--Mr. Henry D. Cooke Appointed--Board of Public Works Constituted--Great Improvements Made--Opposition--The Board and Its Work, 76

BUILDING THE CAPITOL.

Various Plans for the Building--Jefferson Writes to the Commissioners--"Poor Hallet" and His Plan--Wanton Destruction by the British, A. D. 1814--The Site Chosen by Washington Himself--Imposing Ceremonies at the Foundation--Dedicatory Inscription on the Silver Plate--Interesting Festivities--Extension of the Building--Daniel Webster's Inscription--His Eloquent and Patriotic Speech--Mistaken Calculations--First Session of Representatives Sitting in "the Oven"--Old Capitol Prison--Immense Outlay upon the Wings and Dome--Compared with St. Peter's and St. Paul's--The Goddess of Liberty--The Congressional Library--What Ought to be Done, 83

INSIDE THE CAPITOL.

A Visit to the Capitol--The Lower Hall--Its Cool Tranquility--Artistic Treasures--The President's and Vice-President's Rooms--The Marble Room--The Senate Chamber--"Men I Have Known"--Hamlin--Foote--Foster--Wade--Colfax--Wilson--The Rotunda--Great Historical Paintings--The Old Hall of Representatives--The New Hall--The Speaker's Room--Native Art--"The Star of Empire"--A National Picture, 93

OUTSIDE THE CAPITOL.

The Famous Bronze Doors--The Capitol Grounds--Statue of Washington Criticised--Horace Greenough's Defence of the Statue--Picturesque Scenery Around the Capitol--The City and Suburbs--The Public Reservation--The Smithsonian Institution--The Potomac and the Hights of Arlington, 104

ART TREASURES OF THE CAPITOL.

Arrival of a Solitary Lady--"The Pantheon of America"--Il Penserosa--Milton's Ideal--Dirty Condition of the House of Representatives--The Goddess of Melancholy--Vinnie Ream's Statue of Lincoln--Its Grand Defects--Necessary Qualifications for a Sculptor--The Bust of Lincoln by Mrs. Ames--General Greene and Roger Williams--Barbarous Garments of Modern Times--Statues of Jonathan Trumbull and Roger Sherman--Bust of Kosciusko--Pulling his Nose--Alexander Hamilton--Fate of Senator Burr--Statue of Baker--His Last Speech Prophetic--The Glory of a Patriotic Example--The Lesson which Posterity Learns--Horatio Stone, the Sculptor--Neglected Condition of the Capitol Statuary--Curious Clock--Grotesque Plaster Image of Liberty--Webster--Clay--Adams--The Pantheon at Rome--The French Pantheon, 109

WOMEN WITH CLAIMS.

The Senate Reception-Room--The People who Haunt it--Republican "Ladies in Waiting"--"Women with Claims"--Their Heroic Persistency--A Widow and Children in Distress--Claim Agents--The Committee of Claims--A Kind-Hearted Senator's Troubles--Buttonholing a Senator--A Lady of Energy--Resolved to Win--An "Office Brokeress"--A Dragon of a Woman--A Lady who is Feared if not Respected--Her Unfortunate Victims--Carrying "Her Measure"--The Beautiful Petitioner--The Cloudy Side of Her Character--Her Subtle Dealings--Her Successes, 120

THE CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY.

Inside the Library--The Librarian--Sketch of Mr. Spofford--How Congressional Speeches are Manufactured--"Spofford" in Congress--The Library Building--Diagram--Dimensions of the Hall--The Iron Book Cases--The Law Library--Five Miles of Book Shelves--Silent Study--"Abstracting" Books--Amusing Adventure--A Senator in a Quandary--Making Love Under Difficulties--Library Regulations--Privileged Persons--Novels and their Readers--Books of Reference--Compared with the British Museum--Curious Old Newspapers--Files of Domestic and Foreign Papers--One Hundred Defunct Journals--An Incident of the War of 1814--Putting it to the Vote--"Carried Unanimously"--35,000 Volumes Destroyed--Treasurers of Art Consumed--The New Library--The Next Appropriation, 127

A VISIT TO THE NEW LAW LIBRARY.

How a Library was Offered to Congress--Mr. King's Proposal--An Eye to Theology--The Smithsonian Library Transferred--The Good Deeds of Peter Force--National Documents--Eliot's Indian Bible--Literary Treasures--The Lawyers Want a Library for Themselves--The Finest Law Library in the World--First Edition of Blackstone--Report of the Trial of Cagliostro, Rohan and La Motte--Marie Antoinette's Diamond Necklace--A Long Life-Service--An Architect Buried Beneath his own Design--"Underdone Pie-crust"--Reminiscences of Daniel Webster and the Girard Will, 138

THE HEAVEN OF LEGAL AMBITION--THE SUPREME COURT ROOM.

Memories of Clay, Webster, and Calhoun--Legal Giants of the Past--Stately Serenity of the Modern Court--"Wise Judgment and Wine Dinners"--The Supreme Court in Session--Soporific Influences--A Glimpse of the Veritable "Bench"--The Ladies' Gallery--The Chief Justices of the Past--His Apotheosis--Chief-Justice Chase--Black-Robed Dignitaries--An Undignified Procession--The "Crier" in Court--Antique Proclamation--The Consultation-Room--Gowns of Office--Reminiscence of Judge McLean--"Uncle Henry and his Charge"--Fifty Years in Office, 144

THE "MECCA" OF THE AMERICAN.

The Center of a Nation's Hopes--Stirring Reminiscences of the Capitol--History Written in Stone--Patriotic Expression of Charles Sumner--Building "for all Time"--"This our Fathers Did for Us"--The Interest of Humanity--A Secret Charm for a Thoughtful Mind--An Idea of Equality--The Destiny of the Stars and Stripes--A Mother's Ambition--The Dying Soldier, 148

THE CAPITOL--MORNING SIGHTS AND SCENES.

The Capitol in Spring--A Magic Change--Arrival of Visitors--A New Race--"Billing and Cooing"--Lovers at the Capitol--A Dream of Perpetual Spring--Spending the Honeymoon in Washington--New Edition of David Copperfield and Dora--"Very Young"--Divided Affections: The New Bride--Jonathan and Jane--Memories of a Wedding Dress--An Interview with a Bride--"Two Happy Idiots"--A Walk in the City--President Grant--The Foreign Ambassadors--"Beau" Hickman--An Erratic Genius--Walt Whitman the Poet--A "Loafer" of Renown--Poets at Home--Piatt--Burroughs--Harriet Prescott Spofford--Sumner and Chase--Tiresome Men--How to Love a Tree, 153

FAIR WASHINGTON--A RAMBLE IN EARLY SPRING.

Washington Weather--Sky Scenery--Professor Tyndall Expresses an Opinion--A Picture of Beauty--Prejudiced Views--Birds of Rock Creek--The Parsonage--A Scene of Tranquil Beauty--A Washington May--Charms of the Season--Mowers at Work--The Public Parks--Frolics of the Little Ones--Strawberry Festivals--"Flower Gathering," 162

INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE--SHADOWS OF THE PAST.

LADIES OF THE WHITE HOUSE.

A Morning Dream--Wives and Daughters of the Presidents--An Average Matron of the 18th Century--Educational Disadvantages--A Well-Regulated Lady--Useful Wife--Advantages of Having a Distinguished Husband--A Modern Lucretia--Washington's Inauguration Suit--An Awkward Position for a Lady--Festivities in Franklin Square!--Transporting the Household Gods--Keeping Early Hours--Primitive Customs--Much-Shaken Hands--Remembrances of a Past Age--Very Questionable Humility--The Room in which Washington Died--Days of Widowhood--A Wife's Congratulations--A True Woman--Domestic Affairs at the White House--An Unfinished Mansion--Interesting Details--A Woman's Influence--A Monument Wanted--Devotion of a Husband--The "Single Life"--Disappointed Belles--An Extraordinary Reception--Blacked His Own Boots--A Daughter's Affection, 177

WIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS--LIFE AT THE WHITE HOUSE.

SCENES AT THE WHITE HOUSE--MEN AND WOMEN OF NOTE.

THE WHITE HOUSE DURING THE WAR.

Under a Cloud--"A Woman Among a Thousand"--Revival of By-gone Days--Another Lady of the White House--A "Golden Blonde"--Instinct Alike with Power and Grace--A Fun-Loving Romp--Harriet with her Wheelbarrow of Wood--A Deed of Kindness--The Wheel Turns Round--Gay Doings at the Capital--Rival Claims for a Lady's Hand--Reigning at the White House--Doing Double Duty--Marriage of Harriet Lane--As Wife and Mother--Mrs. Abraham Lincoln--Standing Alone--A Time of Trouble and Perplexity--Rumors of War--Whispers of Treason--Awaiting the Event--A Life-long Ambition Fulfilled--The Nation Called to Arms--What the President's Wife Did--The Dying and the Dead--Arrival of Troops--The Lonely Man at the White House--An Example of Selfishness--Petty Economies--The Back Door of the White House--An Injured Individual--Death of Willie Lincoln--Injustice which Mrs. Lincoln Suffered--The Rabble in the White House--Valuables Carried Away--Big Boxes and Much Goods--Mrs. Lincoln Disconsolate--Missing Treasures--Faults of a President's Wife, 231

THE WHITE HOUSE NOW.

After the War--A Contrast--Secretly Burying the Dead--A Wife of Seventeen Years--Midnight Studies--Broken Down--A party of Grandchildren--"God's Best Gift to Man"--The Woman Who Taught the President--Doing the Honors at the White House--Traces of the Soldiers--A State of Dirt and Ruin--Mrs. Patterson's Calico Dress--In the Diary--A Nineteenth Century Wonder--How the Old Carpets were Patched--How ,000 were Spent--Buying the Furniture--Working in Hot Weather--Very Good Dinners--Doors Open to the Mob--Sketching a Banquet--The Portraits of the Presidents--The Impeachment Trial--Peace in the Family--The Grant Dynasty--Looking Home-like--Mrs. Grant at Home--What Might Be Done, if--How a Certain Young Lady was Spoilt--Brushing Away "the Dew of Innocence," 243

RECEPTION DAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE--GLIMPSES OF LIFE.

Feeling Good-Natured--Looking After One's Friends--Ready to Forgive--Mr. Grant's "Likeable Side"--Rags and Tatters Departed--The Work of Relic-Hunters--Eight Presidents, All in a Row--Shadows of the Departed--A Present from the Sultan of Turkey--A List of Finery--A Scene Not Easily Forgotten--How They Wept for Their Martyr--Tales which a Room Might Tell--Underneath the Gold and Lace--The Census of Spittoons--"A Horror in Our Land"--The Shadow of Human Nature--Two "Quizzing" Ladies--An Illogical Dame--Her "Precarious Organ"--A Lady of Many Colors--"A New Woman"--A Vegetable Comparison--The Lady of the Manor--Women Who are Not Ashamed of Womanhood--Observed and Admired of All--Sketch of a Perfect Woman--After the Lapse of Generations--The "German"--The "Withering" of Many American Women--Full Dress and No Dress--What the Princess Ghika Thinks--A Young Girl's Dress--"That Dreadful Woman"--The Resolution of a Young Man, 256

INAUGURATION DAY AT WASHINGTON.

My Own Private Opinion--The Little "Sons of War" Feeling Bad--Brutal Mothers--Our Heroes--Later Festivities--A Lively Time--The Mighty Drum-Major--"Taken for a Nigger"--Magnificent Display--The Oldest Regiment in the States--Sketches of Well-known Men--Blacque Bey--Full Turkish Costume--The Japanese Minister--The Supreme Court--Congress Alive Again--The Valedictory--Taking the Oath--"The Little Gentleman in the Big Chair"--His Little Speech--His Wife and Family Behind--The New President--Memories of Another Scene--The Curtain Falls, 269

A PEEP AT AN INAUGURATION BALL.

How Sixty Thousand Dollars were Spent--Something Wrong: "Twas Ever Thus"--A Fine Opportunity for a Few Naughty Words--Lost Jewels--The Colored Folks in a Fix--Six Thousand People Clamoring for Their Clothes!--A Magnificent "Grab"--Weeping on Window-ledges--Left Desolate--Walking under Difficulties--The Exploit of Two Old Gentlemen--Horace Greeley Loses his Old White Hat--He says Naughty Words of Washington--A Little Too Cold--Gay Decorations--Modesty in Scanty Garments--The President Frozen--Ladies of Distinction--Half-frozen Beauties--Why and Wherefore?--A Stolid Tanner Who Fought his Way, 278

THE UNITED STATES TREASURY--ITS HISTORY.

The Responsibilities and Duties of the Secretary of the Treasury--Three Extraordinary Men--Hamilton Makes an Honest Proposal--The Mint at Philadelphia--A Little Personal Abuse--The Secretary Borrows Twenty Dollars--Modern Greediness--The Genius Becomes a Lawyer--Burning of Records--Hunting for Blunders and Frauds--The Treasury Building--A Little Variety--A Vision of Much Money--Old Debts Raked Up--Signs of the Times--The National Currency Act--Enormous Increase of the National Debt--Facts and Figures--The Credit of the Government Sustained--President Grant's Rule--George S. Boutwell Made Secretary--Great Expectations, 284

INSIDE THE TREASURY--THE HISTORY OF A DOLLAR.

THE WORKERS IN THE TREASURY--HOW THE MONEY IS MADE.

The Dollar with the Counters--In the Tubs--Getting a Wetting--Servants of Necessity--That Scorching Roof--Brown Paper Bonnets--A State of Dampness--Squaring Accounts--Superintending the Work--The Face-printing Division--The United States "Sealer"--Printing Cigar-Stamps and Gold-Notes of Many Colors--With a Begrimed Face--The Fiery Little Brazier--What the Man Does--The Woman's Work--The Automatic Register--An Observer Without a Soul--Our Damp Little Dollar--The Drying Room--The First Wrinkles--Looking Wizened and Old--Rejuvenating a Dollar--Underneath Two Hundred and Forty Tons--Smooth and Polished--Precious to the Touch--A Virgin Dollar--The "Sealer" at Work--Mutilated Paper--What the Women are paid--The Surface-Sealing Division--Seal Printing--The Aristocratic Green Seal--The Numbering Division--Dividing the Dollars--Snowy Aprons and Delicate Ribbons--Needling the Sheet--A Blade that Does not Fail--Sorting the Notes--The Manipulation of the Ladies--The Dollar "In its Little Bed"--Dollar on Dollar--"Awaiting the Final Call," 317

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