The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-11-16

ate. tits the custom of the colleague of
new Senator to escort him to the vice
presidents desk to be sworn in, but when
Senator, Bruce, with the extraordinary en-
barr9Ssments of MS position, came to this
duty, he found hewould have to 60 through
the ord eal alone All the other new Sena-.
tors were escorted, but he had to walk by
himself down the aisle. When he had
taken the cath and was about to turn back
to his seat, he felt hand laid gently on
his arm. A tall, proud-looking man whom
he had never seen before stood beside him,
Offering his orm. Senator Bruce accepted
the courtesy with profound gratitude and
arm in arm with Senator Conkling walked
up the aisle.
whenever l can be of any service to
you, command me-" said the great New
Yorker and from that day he was the
guido on whom Senator Bruce relied for
information concerning established Sena-
torial courtesies, ceremonies and usages
which no man unaccustomed to them can
possibly understand.
Prof. john M. Langston, ex-United
States Minister to Liberia, and at present
a contestant for one of Virginia's seats in
Congress, is one of the most brilliant
men in Washington, and his wife is his
worthy mate. She was the daughter of a
white father and slave mother, and was
born at Rockingham, Richmond County,
North Carolina, but freed at her birth,
was afterward sent by the rich planter, her
father, in company with her younger sis
ter, TO the Quaker settlement at Harris
burg, 0. Here, in the horne of their guar
dian, Nathan Dix, the little girls remained,
attending the Quaker school, until they
were old enough 10 be sent to Oberlin, O..
There the daughters of the slave were
splendidly provided for by their father.
They were established in beautiful home
with servants in attendance, and every
thing that wealth could do was done to
give them an excellent education. After
she had been graduated with high honors
from the college, Sara Wall met and mar
r1ed MIR. Langston, the rising young colored
lawyer. Mrs. Langston is noble-lool1ing
woman, somewhat darker than most of
the leaders of colored society here, but
light enough to have been mistaken on one
interesting occasion for Caucasian. She
and her husband We're on their way from
Liberia to America. Her husbands
position as United States minister gave
| her precedence, and she was escorted to
her meals by the captain of the vessel who
placed her in the seat of honor at his
right. This was enough for the passengers
They gladly paid Difference to her, and one
family of Cubans became the inseperable
companions of the minister and his wife
On their arrival in New York Mr. and Mrs
Langston were admitted to one of the first
| hotels because they were supposed to be
Cubans, like their companions, but at the
table at dinner Mrs. Langston overheard a
conversation carried on near her Ply some
creatures who were particular, it seems
about the company they kept.
| q tell you, she is a niger" said one.
| mo she amt; she's CUBAN
~ don't believe it; I'll bet she's mig
ger"
eff thought she was-"
''Well, you can bet she ISL
why, they wouldn't let a niger into
this hotel and into the dining room to eat
with u.s."
There was much more of this sort of talk
which the proud, refined and highly edu
Gated lady had to sit and hear before the
meal was over; and worse than all she
knew that if this party made fuss about
it she would be in one way or another driv
en- from the hotel so she had to leave it tt
avoid the embarrassment and humiliation
which such a proceeding would cause.